Some good news awaits the personal finances of the French at the start of the year. We are thinking in particular of the payment of interest on their savings accounts, such as those on their Livret A or their popular savings accounts. We are also thinking about the future drop in electricity costs on February 1, which should – finally! – reduce their energy bill, the expected reduction being estimated at 14% for the regulated rate according to the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). To this good news will be added a third for 9 million tax households, who will receive a transfer from the tax administration in the days to come.
The tax services will in fact make payments on Wednesday January 15 in favor of nearly 9 million households. The amount is not fixed: not everyone will receive the same amount. But it will often reach several hundred euros.
This payment will often be a surprise for the recipient taxpayers. Especially since the title of the service issuing the transfer which appears on their account can sometimes make them think of a tax error. It may in fact come from a tax department that does not correspond to their department or region. It is therefore completely normal, for example, to receive a transfer from the “DDFIP de la Haute Vienne” or the “DRFIP Grand Est” without living in these areas.
The transfer of January 15, 2025 is in reality nothing exceptional or mysterious. It is linked to the operation of withholding tax. Each year on this date, taxes pay an advance to the taxpayer who benefits from tax credits or reductions. The latter are not included in the calculation of its withholding tax rate: they are therefore subject to regularization in the form of transfers.
You will therefore receive the advance from the tax authorities if you benefited from credits or tax reductions last year. This is mainly the case if you have employed an employee at home, declared donations or rental investment expenses or even childcare or accommodation costs in a nursing home.
The amount paid is equivalent to 60% of the tax benefit received in 2024, calculated on the basis of expenses incurred in 2023. Example: if you benefited from a tax credit of €1,000 in 2024 for childcare costs. child paid in 2023, you will receive €600 on January 15, 2025. The balance of credits and reductions will then be calculated in the summer of 2025 on the basis of the 2024 expenses reported in the income tax return sent next spring.
If you are concerned, the tax transfer will be labeled “ADVANCE CREDIMPOT” on your bank account. Taxes issue the transfer on Wednesday, January 15, but recipient taxpayers will sometimes have to wait one to two additional days to receive the amount in their account due to bank processing times.
