Approximately nine million French individuals will get an average payout of €600 on Thursday, January 15th. This is an advance on their tax breaks and credits, which will be paid or reimbursed this summer.
The French who will get an average payout of €600 on Thursday, January 15th, are those who claimed tax breaks or credits (for services given at home, contributions, rental investments, etc.) on their 2024 income tax return (filed in spring 2025).
This figure accounts for 60% of the tax advantages earned last year (for costs incurred in 2024). Approximately nine million French families receive tax credits or reductions each year, totalling €5.8 billion.
Income taxes withheld at the source are computed at a rate that does not include tax breaks and credits. This payment serves to minimise the tax burden at the start of the year and “contributes to preserving the purchasing power of the French citizens concerned,” according to the Ministry of the Economy.
The second payment will be sent this summer, after the tax authorities have analysed the 2025 income tax return (due in May or June 2026) and determined that the tax-deductible costs for 2025 are larger than or equivalent to those of 2024.
Because if the tax authorities find that the payment of this January 15th is greater than the tax reductions and/or credits that the taxpayer can obtain, the latter will have to repay the difference in September.
The advance is made by a bank transfer with the description “AVANCE CREDIMPOT”. “Taxpayers whose bank details are not known to the tax authorities will receive this advance in the form of a cheque sent by mail,” informs the Ministry of the Economy.
If a taxpayer did not claim any tax breaks or credits on their income tax return last year but intends to do so this year, they will not get anything on January 15.
The entire amount will be paid this summer once the tax authorities analyse the tax return made in the spring.
If a taxpayer who has received a payment is aware that they will be ineligible the following year or that their payment will be reduced, they may decrease or cancel the January advance payment between October and early December of the preceding year.
To do so, users must visit the tax website and navigate to their personal account, then to the “Withholding Tax” area.
