French tax return filing deadline 2026: dates by fiscal year-end

Quick answer. For companies closing their financial year on December 31, 2025, the legal filing deadline for the annual tax return package (liasse fiscale) is set at Tuesday May 5, 2026 (Article 53 A of the French Tax Code — CGI). Through the EDI-TDFC or EFI electronic-filing channels, the French tax authority (DGFiP) grants an additional 15-calendar-day extension, which moves the practical filing deadline to Wednesday May 20, 2026. For year-ends on another date, the return must be filed within 3 months of the year-end close, plus the same 15-day extension when electronic filing is used.

The annual statement of results remains a structural yearly obligation. In 2026, more than 99 % of French companies subject to corporate income tax (IS), to industrial and commercial profits (BIC) or to non-commercial profits (BNC) submit it to the DGFiP through EDI-TDFC (Transfert des Données Fiscales et Comptables — machine-to-machine filing channel via a certified EDI partner) or through EFI (Échange de Formulaires Informatisé — direct online filing in the professional area on impots.gouv.fr). Paper filing has almost disappeared for business taxpayers. This widespread digitalisation has a direct consequence: the practical date to remember is no longer the strict legal deadline of Article 175 of the CGI, but the deadline extended by 15 calendar days, formalised by administrative doctrine (BOFiP BOI-BIC-DECLA-30-60-30 § 60).

At Hayot Expertise, we support around forty SME and start-up directors each year throughout the TDFC campaign. Our day-to-day observation is clear: the costliest confusion is rarely the deadline itself, but the difference between the date the director signs the tax return package, the date of technical transmission to TDFC, and the date of the rejection-free acknowledgement of receipt issued by the DGFiP. That three-step distinction sits at the heart of our reverse-planning method, because only the third date carries legal weight in the event of dispute or French tax audit (CF fiscale).

Year-end on December 31, 2025 (the most common case)#

For the vast majority of IS-paying companies and BIC businesses closing on December 31, 2025, the 2026 schedule is as follows.

Because electronic transmission is now the norm for business taxpayers, May 20, 2026 is the target date for any company closing on December 31. The May 5 date remains useful for the rare non-electronic filings and for the precise calculation of late-payment interest under Article 1727 CGI.

Year-ends on another date#

The general rule is straightforward: the statement of results must be filed within 3 months of the financial year-end. The 15-day electronic-filing tolerance also applies.

A few worked examples for the 2026 campaign:

Cessation of activity, dissolution or business transfer#

The logic changes drastically. Article 201 of the CGI imposes a very short window: 60 days from the definitive closure of the establishment (or from the publication of the transfer in a French legal-notices journal in the case of a goodwill sale). In this scenario, no additional electronic filing tolerance applies. For a self-employed professional (BNC), the same 60-day deadline applies upon cessation (Article 202 CGI). This non-extendable deadline requires immediate coordination with your chartered accountant to avoid losing prior loss carryforwards or being caught off-guard by an immediate taxation event.

The term "liasse fiscale" actually covers a primary statement and a set of annexes that vary by tax regime. Correctly positioning your deadline starts with identifying the applicable form.

The forms to know#

• Form 2065-SD: statement of results for companies subject to corporate income tax (SAS — simplified joint-stock company, SARL — limited liability company, SA — public limited company, SCA, SE). Annexes 2050 to 2059-G (standard real regime) or 2033-A to 2033-G (simplified real regime).
• Form 2031-SD: BIC statement of results for sole proprietorships or partnerships taxed at personal income tax (IR). Same annexes as above depending on the regime.
• Form 2035-SD: BNC statement of results (independent professionals, IR-taxed self-employed). Annexes 2035-A and 2035-B.
• Form 2139-SD / 2143-SD: BA (agricultural profits) returns for farmers (simplified real regime / standard real regime).
• Form 2072-SD: return for SCI (real-estate civil partnerships) subject to IR (real-estate income).
• Form 2257-SD: transfer pricing documentation, mandatory above EUR 50M of turnover.

Each tax package carries its own annexes, tables and consistency controls. You must also check the alignment of the file with your 2026 French tax deadlines, your VAT 2026 for SMEs and, where relevant, your outsourced tax return filing setup. For tax-consolidated groups, see also our deep-dive on holding-based tax optimisation.

EDI-TDFC: the dominant professional channel#

EDI-TDFC (Échange de Données Informatisé — Transfert des Données Fiscales et Comptables, i.e. machine-to-machine filing of tax and accounting data) is the channel used for the overwhelming majority of tax return packages prepared by a chartered accountant. The certified EDI partner signs and timestamps the submission against the DGFiP's TDFC portal. The EDI acknowledgement of receipt (AR-EDI) constitutes legally enforceable proof of filing. The TDFC campaign opens on April 1 and closes on May 20 for fiscal years ending on December 31.

EFI: the online channel inside the professional area#

EFI (Échange de Formulaires Informatisé — online form-by-form filing) allows direct keyboarding of the forms inside the professional area on impots.gouv.fr. This channel suits simpler structures (micro-enterprises outside the liasse scope, some SCI). The 15-day electronic filing extension applies there as well.

What the tolerance does not cover#

The 15-day additional period applies only to the statement of results and its annexes. It does not extend to:

• the corporate income tax balance (form 2572);
• the corporate income tax instalments (form 2571);
• the CVAE memo return 1330-CVAE (which has its own deadline);
• the DAS2 return (fees paid to third parties);
• monthly or quarterly VAT returns;
• the DECLOYER return (professional rental properties).

A late filing is never neutral. Article 1728 of the CGI sets out a surcharge of:

• 10 % in the absence of a formal notice, or if the return is filed within 30 days of a formal notice;
• 40 % when the return is not filed within 30 days of a formal notice;
• 80 % when an undisclosed activity is uncovered.

On top of that, late-payment interest under Article 1727 CGI applies (0.20 % per month, i.e. 2.4 % per year), calculated on the tax due from the legal due date. In cases of prolonged non-filing, the DGFiP may proceed with an ex officio assessment (Article L66 of the Tax Procedures Book — LPF), based on the elements it holds, which shifts the burden of proof onto the business.

First short or first long financial year#

For a newly created company, two distinct configurations arise:

• First financial year ending in N+1 (a long financial year of 12 to 23 months): the first tax return package is filed at that closing, with no interim statement.
• No financial year closed in N+1: a provisional return (estimated form 2065) must be filed at the latest by May 5 of N+2, based on results computed as at December 31 of N+1, pursuant to Article 37 of the CGI.

IS-paying companies under the tax consolidation regime#

The parent company of a French tax-consolidated group files both its individual tax return package and the group tax return package (annexes 2058-A bis, 2058-B bis, 2058-ER) on the same deadline as the individual liasse. Subsidiaries file their individual liasse. Coordination of the various deadlines is critical, especially when the parent and several subsidiaries fall under different territorial DGFiP services.

IR-taxed SCI#

Form 2072-SD follows the same May 20, 2026 deadline through electronic filing for SCI closing on December 31, 2025. Our article on the balance sheet and how to read it explains the key restatements to anticipate before the year-end close.

Auto-entrepreneurs and micro-BIC / micro-BNC#

Micro-entrepreneurs do not file a liasse fiscale strictly speaking: they report their turnover on the personal income tax return (form 2042-C-PRO) and declare monthly or quarterly revenue to URSSAF (the French social security collection agency). The 2042-C-PRO deadline follows the personal income tax (IR) calendar (May to June 2026 depending on the French département).

1. Confusing the date of signature with the date of submission. A tax return package signed on May 19 but electronically transmitted on May 21 is late.
2. Ignoring technical rejections. An EDI rejection (DGFiP error codes) without correction before May 20 counts as a missed filing.
3. Overlooking consistency with the FEC. Any discrepancy between the liasse and the FEC accounting entries file draws the attention of the tax audit programmer (CF fiscale).
4. Failing to anticipate the IS balance. The corporate income tax balance is due on May 15, 2026 for December 31 year-ends — a date that does not benefit from the electronic filing tolerance.
5. Forgetting specific annexes. 2059-F (composition of capital), 2059-G (subsidiaries and shareholdings) and 2058-FC (tracking of carried-forward losses) are critical annexes that are easy to miss.

Hayot Expertise advice. Set an internal close date at least 15 days before the official deadline. You retain a real cushion to absorb an EDI rejection, a disagreement on a provision, or a last-minute question on client gifts (2026 tax limit).

To secure a May 20, 2026 deadline on a December 31 year-end, here is the reverse plan we apply to our SME clients:

1. D-90 (February 20) — finalisation of the trial balance, matching of auxiliary accounts, bank reconciliations.
2. D-60 (March 20) — accounting review, justification of accounts, validation of physical inventory counts and stocks.
3. D-45 (April 5) — year-end close, computation of the accounting result, first tax restatements.
4. D-30 (April 20) — finalisation of the tax result, arbitrations on sensitive expenses, validation of provisions.
5. D-15 (May 5) — director's signature on the tax return package, final consistency check, technical EDI submission.
6. D-5 (May 15) — monitoring of acknowledgements of receipt, processing of any technical rejections, archiving of evidence.
7. D (May 20) — confirmation of the rejection-free AR-EDI, archiving of the signed tax return package, the receipt and the FEC.

The filing deadline is only meaningful if your file is ready, internally consistent and ready to transmit electronically. A pre-submission review prevents late filings, unnecessary corrections and subsequent reassessments during a French tax audit.

Discover our tax and year-end support in Paris 8th or outsource your financial steering to our outsourced CFO service.