Spanish newcomers queue for their NIE, Portuguese ones for their NIF. In France you queue for nothing: the tax number simply arrives, a year after you do. That is the good news, and also the confusing part, because many newcomers spend weeks looking for a form that does not exist. The French tax number, the numéro fiscal, is born from your first tax return.
What is the French tax number?
The numéro fiscal is a 13-digit identifier issued by the Direction générale des Finances publiques (DGFiP), the public finance administration. According to the format described by the EU for tax identification numbers, the first digit is always 0, 1, 2 or 3. It identifies you with the tax office for income tax and for local taxes, and you will find it on your tax return and on your tax notices.
Do not confuse it with the numéro de sécurité sociale, the 15-digit number that opens your health insurance. They are delivered by different bodies and they are not interchangeable. If your employer asks for a "numéro" to start your health cover, it is the social security number they want.
How do you get a French tax number?
You do not apply. The administration creates it when you file your first return. The official sequence goes like this:
- The year you arrive (year N). No tax formality is needed to obtain a number.
- Spring of year N+1. You declare all the income you received from your arrival date until 31 December, on form 2042, with annexes if needed, for example form 2047 for income received abroad.
- Your online space. To file online you create your personal account on impots.gouv.fr once the tax office has checked your identity. If you are not set up in time, a paper return is the fallback.
Your first return is filed with the Service des impôts des particuliers (SIP) that covers your new address. You can find yours on the impots.gouv.fr website using your postcode.
Can you file your first tax return online in France?
Service-Public (page verified on 5 June 2026) says online filing is compulsory when your main home has internet access, and that paper is for people who cannot file online. For a newcomer the catch is access: before you can create your personal space on impots.gouv.fr, the tax office must check your identity. If you have not received a letter from the tax office, contact your SIP with your civil status, a postal address and a copy of an ID document. You then receive an email and can create your space with your numéro fiscal and your access number.
The official pages are not fully consistent on this point, though. The page "I am coming or returning to France" says that if you declare income or assets in France for the first time, a paper return is compulsory. If in doubt, ask your SIP which route it expects. If you cannot get online access in time, send the paper form 2042 to your SIP: it can be printed from the website, or picked up at the SIP or at a France services counter, and the paper route needs time for the post.
Do I need a tax number before I arrive?
Almost never. Banks, landlords and employers do not ask for it; they ask for ID, proof of address and, for the landlord, proof of income. Your employer deals with the payroll deduction at source, which applies a default rate at the beginning because the administration does not know your income yet.
There is one exception: if you already received French income before moving, for instance rent from a flat you own, you probably already have a non-resident tax number. Keep it. Your file will be transferred to the SIP of your new home.
What changes if you move to the French overseas departments?
The tax number works the same way, but the tax is different. The income tax is reduced by 30% in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion and by 40% in French Guiana and Mayotte, within a ceiling (€2,450 for the 30% rate and €4,050 for the 40% rate in the 2026 scale on 2025 income, according to the official income tax brochure). The rate depends on where you live on 31 December of the year in which you received the income. Read more in living in the French overseas departments.
What do British people need to know?
The tax procedure is the same for Britons, but nothing happens before the right of residence is sorted. The right to stay is a separate subject, covered in moving to France from the UK. Becoming a French tax resident also has consequences in your old country, including a possible departure declaration and the tax treaty between the two states. Each country has its own procedure to declare that you no longer live there.
Common mistakes with the French tax number
- Waiting for a letter. Nobody will send you a number if you do not file a return.
- Ignoring the return because tax is withheld. The deduction at source is only an advance. The annual return stays compulsory.
- Confusing the number with the online access number. The online access number changes every year, while your numéro fiscal stays the same. Keep it safe.
- Forgetting foreign income. Rent, dividends or pensions from abroad go in annex 2047, and foreign bank accounts must be declared.
If you are unsure which of your income to declare or where, our assistant Moovy can walk you through a typical profile before you meet a tax adviser.
What documents do you need for your first French tax return?
The core document is the paper form 2042, which you can print from impots.gouv.fr, collect from your SIP or ask for at a France services counter. Depending on your income you add annexes: 2047 for income received abroad, 2044 for rents, and 2042-NR if you also had French income before you became resident, for the period when you were not resident.
Gather the proof of your income for the year: pay slips, pension statements, foreign income statements, and the amount of any tax already withheld abroad. If you are asked for an identity check to get online access, you need your civil status details, your postal address and a copy of an ID document. All of this is free of charge.
When is the deadline for the French tax return?
The dates change every year, so look at the calendar of the campaign. For the 2026 campaign, on income of 2025, the paper return had to be sent by 19 May 2026, while the online deadline was staggered between 21 May and 4 June 2026 depending on the department of residence. The first return you file as a newcomer follows the same campaign, one year after you arrive. Mark the date in your calendar when you land: a return filed late can bring penalties, and the paper route needs time for the post.
What happens after you file?
The tax office registers you and allocates your number. In the summer you receive your tax notice, avis d'impôt, with the amount to pay or refund and a personalised withholding rate that your employer then applies. If you have not done so yet, you can create your personal online space at that point; from then on you file online, check your notices and manage your payments. Keep every notice: banks, landlords and other administrations accept the tax notice as proof of income and address.
The tax number sits alongside, not instead of, your French social security number and your foreign tax number. If you ever need to quote it abroad, for instance for the tax authority of your former country, the French number is the one on your return.
Do you need a French tax number to start working?
No. Your employer withholds tax with a default rate at first. You do not need a tax number to sign a contract, receive your first salary or open an account. The number matters because it opens your online tax space, and because it is the identifier French authorities use whenever they exchange information about you. For work, see working in France.