Corporate taxation in France – Focus on corporate income tax

To better understand how corporate income tax  works in France, let’s check some keypoints.

Focus on corporate income tax in France

The corporate income tax (IS) is an annual tax levied on the profits made during an annual period by companies operating in France.

Corporate income tax rates in France

The standard corporate income tax rate will be gradually lowered as of fiscal years beginning on January 1, 2017 as follows:

Companies with a turnover lower than 7.63 M € :

Company with a turnover of less than 7.63 M € :

The reduced rate of 15% applies to SMEs that meet the following 2 conditions:

Turnover before tax less than €7.63 million
Capital fully paid up and held at least 75% by individuals (or by a company applying this criterion)

For the fiscal year beginning in January 2021, this rate is applicable to SMEs whose turnover before tax is less than €10 million.

Declaration of results

Regardless of the tax regime (normal or simplified ), the company subject to corporate income tax must declare its income by electronic means.

Deadline for filing

The deadline for filing the income tax return depends on the closing date of the accounting period.

Accounting year closed on December 31st N-1

The filing must be done at the latest on the 2nd day following May 1st N.

In principle, companies have an additional period of 15 days to file their income tax returns electronically.

If the company has closed its accounting period on December 31, 2020, it has until May 19, 2021 to file its income tax return electronically. The benefit of this administrative tolerance is to be validated each year.

Accounting year closed between January and November

The filing must be done at the latest in the 3 months following the closing.

For example, for a fiscal year ending on June 30, the filing must be done before September 30.

In principle, companies have an additional period of 15 days to make the electronic transmission of their income tax returns, by electronic means. This is a flexibility granted by the administration since a few years.

Payment of corporate income tax installments

Regardless of the company’s turnover, the payment of the corporate income tax must be made online.

The company must calculate and pay the corporate income tax spontaneously in 4 installments on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15, by means of the statement of installment n°2571. However, for small companies whose corporate income tax is less than €3,000, the payment of a deposit is not necessary.