French corporate tax return deadline 2027: dates by financial year-end

Quick answer. For a financial year ended 31 December 2026, the tax return (liasse fiscale) of a company subject to corporate income tax (return no. 2065 and its schedules) must be filed by Tuesday 4 May 2027 at the latest, the second working day after Saturday 1 May. The practical date for electronic filing in the 2027 campaign is due to appear in the 2027 tax calendar. For a financial year ending on any other date: within three months of the year-end.

In 2027, 1 May and 8 May fall on a Saturday, Ascension Day on Thursday 6 May and Whit Monday on 17 May. The statutory filing date therefore comes one day earlier than in 2026, the corporate tax balance slips from Saturday 15 May to Tuesday 18 May, and the last CA12 annual return under the simplified VAT regime falls on the same day as the tax return. This article sets out the 2027 dates by year-end, the deadlines around the tax return and what a late filing costs. The dates of the previous campaign remain in our article on the 2026 tax return filing deadline.

The results return of a company subject to corporate income tax (IS) must be filed by Tuesday 4 May 2027 at the latest. Article 223(1) of the French General Tax Code (CGI) sets this deadline at the second working day after 1 May when the financial year ends on 31 December or when no financial year ends during the calendar year. For a financial year ending on any other date, the return is filed within three months of the year-end.

How 4 May 2027 is worked out#

• Saturday 1 May 2027 is Labour Day, and Sunday 2 May is not a working day.
• Monday 3 May is the first working day after 1 May.
• Tuesday 4 May is the second: that is the deadline.

In 2026, 1 May fell on a Friday; the second working day after it was Tuesday 5 May 2026.

No "paper" deadline: the return is filed online#

Corporate income tax returns and their schedules are filed electronically (Article 1649 quater B quater of the CGI). The same obligation covers returns for industrial and commercial profits (BIC), non-commercial profits (BNC) and agricultural profits, returns for the CVAE (business value-added contribution) and returns of property companies not subject to corporate income tax. 4 May 2027 is the statutory deadline for an online filing, not a paper option: a return filed by any other means triggers a surcharge of 0.2% of the tax, with a minimum of €60 (Article 1738 of the CGI).

The additional time allowed for electronic filing#

Article 223 sets out no additional time: the time allowed for electronic filing (the EDI-TDFC procedure or the EFI online mode) is a matter for the tax authorities. In 2026, the official service-public page on corporate income tax stated 15 extra calendar days, which moved the deadline for a financial year ended 31 December 2025 to Wednesday 20 May 2026. For the 2027 campaign, the electronic filing date is due to appear in the 2027 tax calendar and is not given here; the statutory deadline remains Tuesday 4 May 2027.

Our view. We advise building the preparation of the tax return around Tuesday 4 May. If extra time for electronic filing is granted again in 2027, treat it as a margin, not as the target. The last CA12, the final settlement of the 2026 CVAE and the return of property companies not subject to corporate income tax are also due on 4 May: do not count on any extra time for them. A filing rejected the day before the deadline also leaves little time to correct it.

Under the texts in force on 22 October 2026, the rule is the same as in 2026: three months after the year-end, or the second working day after 1 May for a 31 December year-end, with mandatory online filing. The 2027 finance bill, as initially tabled, does not amend the articles that set these deadlines. It is the public holidays of May 2027 that shift the dates.

When the financial year does not end on 31 December, the results return is filed within three months of the year-end (Article 223(1) of the CGI), and the corporate tax balance is paid no later than the 15th of the fourth month after the year-end (Article 1668(2)). The table gives these dates for the year-ends whose return is due in 2027.

The corporate tax balance dates are postponed under Article 199-0 of Annex IV to the CGI: a payment deadline that falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday is extended to the next business day.

Article 223 only says "within three months of the year-end": the table uses the end of the third month. For a year-end on 28 February, 30 April or 30 September 2027, to be safe, aim for the same day of the month three months later: Friday 28 May, Friday 30 July and Thursday 30 December 2027.

In 2026, the service-public page on corporate income tax only gave a date including the extra time for electronic filing for a financial year ended 31 December or where no financial year ended; for other year-ends, its table kept to the three months. Use the statutory deadline for those year-ends.

Points to watch in 2027. Four statutory filing deadlines fall on a weekend: Sunday 31 January, Sunday 28 February, Saturday 31 July and Sunday 31 October 2027. The postponement rule in Annex IV covers payment deadlines: do not extend it by analogy to a filing deadline. If you work to the statutory date, use the Friday before: 29 January, 26 February, 30 July and 29 October 2027.

A year-end date is also chosen for its calendar: the steps and the filing consequences of a change are set out in our article on changing the financial year-end date.

For financial years ended 31 December 2026, four different returns fall due on Tuesday 4 May 2027 and the corporate tax balance is paid on Tuesday 18 May. The table follows the order of the year.

Filing with the registry, which is separate from the tax return, is covered in our article on filing the annual accounts.

The 2027 corporate tax instalments are paid on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December. Each instalment is one quarter of the reference tax; no instalment is due when that tax does not exceed €3,000, nor during the first financial year of a new company. The calculation is explained in our article on corporate tax instalments.

The last CA12#

The simplified VAT regime is abolished for transactions on which VAT becomes chargeable on or after 1 January 2027 (Law no. 2025-127 of 14 February 2025, Article 38). For a business whose financial year matches the calendar year, the CA12 filed on Tuesday 4 May 2027 is therefore the last one: Article A. 161-28 of the Code on taxes on goods and services (CIBS) sets it on the second working day of May. For a non-calendar financial year, the reform applies to transactions carried out after the end of the financial year that includes 31 December 2026. The switch to CA3 returns is covered in our article on the end of the simplified VAT regime in 2027.

In practice. The last CA12 and the tax return go out on the same day. Reconcile the turnover declared for VAT with the turnover in the accounts before both filings: a difference is easier to explain before 4 May than when the tax authorities ask about it.

Property companies not subject to corporate income tax#

An SCI that lets its buildings or makes them available to its partners files a return every year, no later than the second working day after 1 May, stating for the previous year the partners, the buildings and each partner's share of the income (Article 46 C of Annex III to the CGI). For 2026, the deadline is Tuesday 4 May 2027, and the return is filed online. That text sets out no additional time: use 4 May as the working deadline. The filing obligations of an SCI under income tax are covered in our article Do you really need an accountant for an income tax SCI?.

Documents to attach to the results return#

In addition to the documents required by Article 38 of Annex III to the CGI, Article 223(2) of the CGI requires the following to be provided together with the return:

• the minutes and extracts of the deliberations of the board of directors or of the shareholders;
• a statement of the profits distributed and of the sums made available to the partners that constitute distributed income.

The service-public page on corporate income tax adds the list of persons holding at least 10% of the share capital and the list of subsidiaries and shareholdings. The content of the tax return itself is described in our article the French tax package: definition and content.

The underestimated risk. These documents do not come out of the bookkeeping: they depend on the breakdown of the share capital, on the partners' decisions and on the shareholdings held. A tax return that is ready on the figures can stay on hold for lack of an up-to-date list of partners. Gather this information in March, not the day before 4 May.

Another return can go with the tax return: by way of exception, the return of fees, commissions and other sums paid in 2026 (DAS2), due by 31 January 2027 at the latest, can be filed at the same time as the results return (Article 240 of the CGI). The details are in our article on the DAS2 return.

In law, returns 2031 (industrial and commercial profits) and 2035 (non-commercial profits) must reach the tax authorities no later than the second working day after 1 April, which is Monday 5 April 2027; the tax authorities may extend this deadline each year through a calendar published on their website, but not beyond 1 July (Article 175 of the CGI, to which Articles 53 A and 97 refer). The date that results from the extension depends on that calendar: in 2026, the published practice set the filing of the 2035, like that of the return of a sole trader under the actual BIC regime, no later than 15 days after the second working day after 1 May, which gave Wednesday 20 May 2026.

These returns are also filed online (Article 1649 quater B quater of the CGI). The 2035 is covered in detail in our guide to the 2035 return, and the position of furnished landlords in our article on the LMNP tax package.

Not necessarily. According to the service-public page on corporate income tax, a new company that does not draw up a balance sheet during its first calendar year of activity does not have to file a provisional return. It is taxed on the results of the period running from the start of its activity to the end of its first financial year, no later than 31 December of the year following its creation (Article 209(I) of the CGI). A company set up in 2026 whose first financial year ends in 2027 therefore files nothing in May 2027 for 2026.

Illustrative case. An SAS registered in September 2026 sets the end of its first financial year at 31 December 2027. It has no tax return to file in May 2027 and pays no corporate tax instalments during that first financial year. Its first results return will cover the period from September 2026 to 31 December 2027 and will be due no later than the second working day after 1 May 2028. Conversely, a company set up in February 2026 whose first financial year ended on 31 December 2026 files its tax return by Tuesday 4 May 2027 at the latest.

Late filing of the results return triggers a surcharge of 10% of the tax if it takes place without a formal notice or within thirty days of receiving one, and of 40% if the return is not filed within those thirty days (Article 1728 of the CGI). Late-payment interest of 0.20% per month is added on tax paid late (Article 1727). Filing on paper costs 0.2% of the tax, at least €60 (Article 1738).

Late-payment interest runs from the first day of the month following the month in which the tax should have been paid. Where the Article 1728 surcharge applies, the interest stops running on the last day of the month in which the return is filed.

Illustrative case: filing on paper. A company declares €12,000 of tax on a return filed on paper: 0.2% gives €24, but the €60 minimum applies. For €90,000 of tax, the surcharge reaches €180. A loss-making company, with no tax to pay, incurs a fine of €15 per document, at least €60 and at most €150 for the documents filed together.

Illustrative case: year-end on 31 March 2027. A company subject to corporate income tax closes its financial year on 31 March 2027. Its results return is due by Wednesday 30 June 2027 at the latest and its corporate tax balance by Thursday 15 July 2027. If it files its return in August without having received a formal notice, the surcharge is 10% of the tax: €2,000 on €20,000 of tax. If it waits for a formal notice and does not file within thirty days of receiving it, the surcharge rises to 40%, or €8,000. Late-payment interest is added on any sums paid late.

A full or partial waiver of fines and surcharges can be requested once they are final; before that, a settlement can reduce them. Both routes also apply to late-payment interest (Article L. 247 of the French Tax Procedure Code). They are open on the company's request and are never automatic. The surcharges are explained in detail in our article on the 10%, 40% and 80% surcharges.

• Year-end date and statutory filing deadline noted (Tuesday 4 May 2027 for a 31 December 2026 year-end)
• 2027 electronic filing date entered in the schedule as soon as the tax authorities publish it
• List of partners holding at least 10% of the capital, subsidiaries and shareholdings, and statement of distributed income gathered
• Turnover on the last CA12 reconciled with the accounts
• Final settlement of the 2026 CVAE prepared for 4 May, where applicable
• Return of property companies not subject to corporate income tax ready for 4 May
• Corporate tax balance and balance form no. 2572 scheduled before the Whitsun weekend, for the Tuesday 18 May deadline
• Corporate tax and CVAE instalments of 15 June entered in the cash-flow plan
• Approval meeting and filing of the accounts with the registry scheduled after the tax return

• Financial year closed on 31 December 2026: corporate tax return by Tuesday 4 May 2027 at the latest, one day earlier than in 2026, and online.
• Electronic filing: 15 extra calendar days in 2026; the 2027 date is due to appear in the 2027 tax calendar, so aim for 4 May.
• Corporate tax balance on Tuesday 18 May 2027: a payment deadline separate from the tax return.
• The last CA12, the final settlement of the 2026 CVAE and the return of SCIs not subject to corporate income tax are also due on 4 May.
• Non-calendar financial year: filing within three months of the year-end; four of these dates fall on a weekend in 2027.

This article presents published texts; any decision that commits your business requires a review of your situation, your documents and the law in force on the date of the decision. To organise your company's 2027 year-end and filing calendar, you can talk to our chartered accounting firm in Paris 8th, a member of the Ordre des experts-comptables, and see our bookkeeping and accounts review and business tax pages.