Account 467: complete guide, examples and mistakes to avoid

Updated April 4, 2026 - Account 467 is one of the most used — and most misunderstood — accounts in the French General Chart of Accounts (PCG). Classified under "Miscellaneous debtors or creditors", it records transactions with third parties that do not fall under customers (411), suppliers (401), the State or employees. In 2026, mastering this account remains essential for any company that wants to produce reliable financial statements that can withstand a tax audit.

Quick answer: Account 467 records receivables and payables that do not fit into the standard third-party accounts of the PCG. It is subdivided into 4671 (advances and deposits received), 4672 (deposits paid), 4673 (deposits and consignments received), 4678 (other debtor accounts) and 4679 (other creditor accounts). Its balance can be either debit or credit. Every entry must be documented and cleared promptly.

Account 467 belongs to class 4 of the PCG — "Third-party accounts" — and more specifically to subclass 46, "Miscellaneous debtors and creditors". Under ANC regulation No. 2014-03 as amended (2026 version), transactions whose balance can be either debit or credit are recorded in subdivisions under this account.

In practice, account 467 serves as a financial interface for flows that do not fit into any of the company's usual circuits. It can have a debit balance (the company is a creditor) or a credit balance (the company is a debtor), making it particularly flexible — and therefore particularly exposed to misuse.

To complete, see Capitalized production: how to account for it?, Multi-currency accounting and Irrecoverable debt: proof, VAT and accounting.

The PCG provides several subdivisions of account 467 to ensure fine traceability of operations:

This granularity is not optional. It allows operations to be segmented by nature, facilitates inventory work and justifies balances to the statutory auditor or the tax administration.

Account 467 is used in several concrete situations that we frequently encounter in our firm:

Disbursements and expense recharges

Disbursements are expenses advanced by the company on behalf of a client. The invoice must be issued in the client's name. This is the typical case of notaries who pay court fees or legal announcements for their clients.

Entry when paying the disbursement:

Entry when recharging the client:

Security deposits and guarantees

When a company pays a security deposit for equipment or premises rental, it uses sub-account 4672. This amount remains on the balance sheet asset side until the rented item is returned.

Employee expense reports

An expense report submitted by an employee and awaiting reimbursement can transit through account 467 before final allocation to an expense account (class 6) or through account 421 (Personnel – Remuneration due).

Factoring retention guarantees

When a company assigns its receivables to a factor, the factor typically retains a portion as a guarantee. If the contract spans a single financial year, the retention is recorded in 467. Beyond that, it falls under account 275 (Deposits and guarantees paid).

Temporary transactions with shareholders

Certain one-off transactions with shareholders — distinct from capital contributions or standard loans — can transit through account 467. Warning: account 467 must never replace account 455 (Shareholders – Current accounts) for the structural tracking of shareholder current accounts.

A common mistake is using account 467 where another account would be more appropriate. Here are the essential distinctions:

• ▸467 vs 455 (Shareholder current account): account 455 is dedicated to structural financial relationships with shareholders: current account contributions, loans, repayments, interest on current accounts. Account 467 only records one-off and atypical transactions with any third parties.
• ▸467 vs 471 (Suspense accounts): account 471 is a transit account for operations awaiting definitive classification.

Account 467 records identified receivables or payables outside usual circuits.

• ▸467 vs 401/411 (Suppliers/Customers): whenever an operation relates to the normal operating cycle (purchases, sales), it must be recorded in the dedicated accounts, not in 467.
• ▸467 vs 468 (Miscellaneous creditor accounts and accrued expenses): account 468 covers expenses incurred but not yet invoiced.

Account 467 records operations with identified third parties.

Account 467 becomes a real problem when it serves as a "parking lot" for poorly classified entries. Here are the warning signs we identify during our audit missions:

• ▸a balance that grows from one financial year to the next without clear justification;
• ▸old entries (more than 12 months) never cleared;
• ▸vague descriptions such as "miscellaneous", "to regularize" or "pending justification";
• ▸no supporting documents attached to entries;
• ▸a mix of operation types in the same sub-account.

Hayot Expertise Advice: account 467 must remain an account that is explained, documented and quickly cleared. If it becomes a permanent accounting parking lot, entries must be reclassified instead of feeding it further. A tax auditor who discovers a €50,000 account 467 without detail will immediately consider these sums as undeclared income or unjustified expenses.

Case study: an unjustified account 467 of €85,000

During a tax audit for a client, we discovered a debit balance of €85,000 in account 467, accumulated over three financial years. Line-by-line analysis revealed:

• ▸€32,000 in directors' travel expenses not allocated to expenses;
• ▸€18,000 in advances on services never invoiced;
• ▸€20,000 in informal loans to employees without agreements;
• ▸€15,000 in supplier payments misclassified.

Our intervention consisted of reclassifying each line, regularizing the associated taxation and setting up a monthly review procedure for the account. The cost of this regularization? Approximately €4,000 in accounting fees. The cost avoided in tax reassessment? More than €30,000.

Transactions recorded in account 467 can have direct tax consequences:

• ▸VAT on advances and deposits: advances received on orders are subject to VAT upon receipt (article 269-1-a of the CGI). A deposit in 4671 therefore generates an immediate declaration obligation.
• ▸Stamp duties on security deposits: some security deposits may be subject to registration duties, particularly in the context of commercial leases.
• ▸Shareholder current account remuneration: if shareholder transactions pass through 467 instead of 455, the administration may reclassify the sums and challenge the deductibility of any interest.
• ▸Justification during audits: the tax administration requires supporting documents for each entry (contracts, invoices, bank statements). Lack of documentation opens the door to reassessments.

To maintain a clean and defensible account 467, we recommend the following procedure:

1. ▸Monthly review: examine each line of account 467 during monthly closing.
2. ▸Precise description: each entry must mention the third party concerned, the nature of the operation and the reference of the supporting document.
3. ▸Systematic supporting document: contract, invoice, statement or agreement must be archived and attached to the entry.
4. ▸Estimated clearance date: each line must have an identified regularization deadline.
5. ▸Quarterly reporting: produce a detailed statement of 467 with line aging (less than 3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, more than 12 months).
6. ▸Clearance before closing: settle or reclassify all lines prior to the current financial year before finalizing the accounts.

<details> <summary>What is the difference between account 467 and account 455 (shareholder current account)?</summary>

Account 455 is specifically dedicated to structural financial relationships with shareholders: current account contributions, loans, repayments, interest on current accounts. Account 467 records one-off and atypical transactions with any third parties (not just shareholders). Using 467 for a shareholder current account is a classification error that the tax administration can penalize through reintegration and a challenge to the deductibility of interest.

</details> <details> <summary>Should account 467 be cleared before the financial year closing?</summary>

Ideally, yes. Account 467 should not serve as a permanent suspense account. Each line must be either cleared (settled, reimbursed or offset) or reclassified into the appropriate definitive account before the accounts are finalized. Old unjustified lines are a major warning sign during a tax audit and may be reintegrated into taxable income.

</details> <details> <summary>Which professions are required to use account 467?</summary>

Certain professions have a legal obligation to use account 467 to track stocks they do not own: tobacco shops (scratch cards and tax stamps), PMU betting shops, press depots. Notaries and lawyers also use it for disbursements incurred on behalf of their clients (legal announcements, court filings, bailiff fees). In these cases, account 467 operates in mirror: a debited side for purchases, a credited side for sales or recharges.

</details> <details> <summary>Are advances recorded in 4671 subject to VAT?</summary>

Yes. Under article 269-1-a of the French General Tax Code, VAT on advances is due upon receipt, even if the service or delivery has not yet been completed. A deposit received and recorded in 4671 must therefore generate a VAT declaration in the period of receipt. This obligation is often forgotten by companies, which creates reassessments during audits.

</details> <details> <summary>How to handle an old line in account 467 whose origin cannot be found?</summary>

Faced with an orphan line in account 467, the recommended approach is: (1) search for any available documentation (emails, agreements, bank statements); (2) identify the third party concerned and contact them if possible; (3) if the origin remains untraceable after investigation, reclassify the line as an exceptional income (account 778) if the balance is credit, or as an exceptional expense (account 658) if the balance is debit. This decision must be documented in a summary note archived with the annual accounts.

</details>

We can help you go over the details, resolve suspense items and put the balance sheet into a more defensible logic.

Quick link: Put your accounting file back under control

Account 467 is a legitimate and useful accounting tool when it remains exceptional, documented and regularly cleared. On the other hand, it becomes a major warning signal when it absorbs recurring anomalies without resolution logic. In 2026, with tax audits increasingly based on automated data cross-referencing, the quality of your third-party accounts — and account 467 in particular — is a compliance issue as much as a financial readability issue.

Our recommendation is simple: review your account 467 every month, document every line, clear every suspense item. Today's accounting rigour avoids tomorrow's tax reassessment.

Contact: Do you have an account 467 that accumulates lines without a clear explanation? Our firm can help you clean it and reclassify operations properly. Make an appointment with Hayot Expertise

(Official sources: ANC regulation No. 2014-03 as amended — 2026 version, ANC 2026 Chart of Accounts, Service-Public.fr — Accounting obligations, BOFiP on conversion differences, article 269-1-a of the CGI)