Taxes: be careful when filing your tax return, the "right to make mistakes" could soon be removed

Following a recent court ruling, the right to make mistakes, which is present in our tax returns , could be significantly called into question. This small revolution could affect the 40.7 million French tax households.

This right to make mistakes was introduced in 2017 by newly elected President Emmanuel Macron. It allows taxpayers to correct their mistakes if they have incorrectly filed their taxes rather than face a fine. The tax authorities trust the taxpayer and do not require proof. Based on this principle, more than 800,000 rights to make mistakes have been granted since 2018.

But all this may be coming to an end. In 2017, a tax-paying couple discovered they had been victims of fraud, receiving less money than they had declared. They filed a claim, invoking the right to make mistakes and correct themselves. Initially, the tax authorities refused, arguing that the couple could not prove this drop in income.

In June 2024, the Paris Administrative Court finally ruled in their favor. But the Ministry of the Economy appealed this decision to the Council of State. The latter ruled that a downward correction could not have legal value unless it was accompanied by formal proof provided by the taxpayer. This is virtually impossible to achieve, especially when it involves fraud.

The risk with this decision by the Council of State is that the right to make mistakes becomes impossible when it comes to a downward adjustment of income, and that proof is required to justify it. But in the opposite case, for an upward adjustment, the tax authorities will trust the taxpayer.