The limitation period (délai de reprise) is the period during which the French tax authorities may reassess a tax. For income tax, it is in principle three years. It is, however, as a general rule, extended to ten years where accounts held abroad have not been declared.
This article presents this rule, its exception for balances not exceeding €50,000 and the time limits applicable to other taxes and penalties. The longer the period, the larger the potential tax reassessments: a lawyer’s analysis may be useful to measure the risks, in particular where a taxpayer has forgotten to declare a foreign account.
In brief
- Where a foreign account has not been declared, the tax authorities may in principle reassess income tax over ten years instead of three.
- This period in principle only concerns income linked to the undeclared accounts or contracts.
- The three-year period applies if the taxpayer proves that the total balance of his or her foreign accounts never exceeded €50,000 during the year concerned.
- Since 2019, this proof in practice requires statements for the whole year, and no longer just the balance at 31 December.
- The fine for an undeclared account is in principle subject to a separate, shorter time limit.
Contents
The principle: a limitation period extended to ten years
Where the obligation to declare accounts opened, held, used or closed abroad (article 1649 A of the French Tax Code, CGI) has not been complied with, the tax authorities have an extended limitation period for income tax and corporate income tax: it runs until the end of the tenth year following the year for which the tax is due (article L169 of the Tax Procedure Code, LPF). The rule in principle also applies to life insurance contracts taken out abroad and to undeclared trusts, even where the accounts are merely “dormant”. The reporting obligations concerned are presented in a specific article.
This period, as a general rule, only concerns income or profits linked to the accounts or contracts for which the reporting obligation has not been complied with; the household’s other income remains subject to the ordinary limitation period.
Example: in 2026, where a foreign account has not been declared, the tax authorities may in principle reassess the income tax due for 2016 and subsequent years, until 31 December 2026 for the year 2016. The year 2015, on the other hand, would be time-barred.
The exception: balances not exceeding €50,000
The ordinary three-year period applies where the taxpayer proves that the total credit balances of his or her accounts held abroad did not exceed €50,000 at any time during the year for which the declaration should have been made.
Until 2018, the proof related to the balance at 31 December: in practice, it was enough to produce the statements of all accounts at that date. Since law no. 2018-898 of 23 October 2018, the threshold is assessed at any time during the year: in practice, the proof requires producing all the statements for the year for all foreign accounts, which is more burdensome.
How the rule has changed
The ten-year period was introduced by the law of 30 December 2008 for accounts located in States or territories that had not concluded with France an administrative assistance agreement allowing access to bank information. The law of 28 December 2011 then substantially amended it:
- it removed the condition relating to the absence of an administrative assistance agreement: the ten-year period now applies whatever the State in which the account is located;
- it extended this period to failures to comply with the reporting obligations of trustees (article 1649 AB of the CGI);
- it ruled out the ten-year period where the total balance of the foreign accounts was below €50,000 at 31 December, a condition assessed at any time during the year since 2019.
Time limits applicable to other taxes and penalties
The ten-year period specific to income tax should not be confused with those applicable to the other consequences of an undeclared account:
| Tax or penalty | Time limit in principle |
|---|---|
| Income tax and corporate income tax on income from undeclared accounts | Until the end of the tenth year following the year for which the tax is due, unless balances do not exceed €50,000 |
| Fine for an undeclared account (€1,500 per account per year) | Until the end of the fourth year following the year of the offence: in practice the last four or five returns |
| 60% taxation of assets whose origin has not been justified | Ten years from the expiry of the periods for replying to the request for justification (article L23 C of the LPF) |
| Real estate wealth tax (and ISF for years before 2018) | Up to ten years in certain cases |
The ordinary time limits are presented in the article on time limits for reassessment, and the fines in the article on fines for an undeclared foreign account. As these rules are technical, their application to a given situation generally deserves to be checked with a lawyer.
What I see in my cases
The limitation period is often a useful argument, and it is one of the first things I look at, along with the regularity of the procedure: I have fairly regularly had reassessments annulled because they were time-barred or for procedural irregularity. The calculation is not always simple, since the period depends on the tax, the penalty and, for foreign accounts, the amount of the assets: it deserves to be checked year by year.
FAQ
Does the ten-year period apply to all the household’s income?
In principle, no: it only concerns income or profits linked to the accounts or contracts for which the reporting obligation has not been complied with. Other income remains subject to the ordinary limitation period, in principle three years.
How can the three-year period apply?
By proving that the total credit balances of the foreign accounts did not exceed €50,000 at any time during the year concerned. Since 2019, this proof in practice requires producing the statements for the whole year for all accounts.
Does the ten-year period depend on the country where the account is located?
In principle, no. Since the law of 28 December 2011, it applies whatever the State in which the account is located, including where that State has concluded an administrative assistance agreement with France.
