Following the President of the Republic's announcements on March 12, 2020, the DGFIP has introduced exceptional measures to support companies in difficulty in paying their taxes. These measures include the possibility of applying for and obtaining a remission of direct taxes. Find out more.
Companies in difficulty: how to obtain a direct tax rebate
Companies affected by Covid-19 can apply for a deferment of payment or remission of direct taxes (notably corporate income tax), using a special form posted online by the tax authorities and accessible at impots.gouv.fr.
The direct tax rebate may only be granted in the event of serious difficulties that cannot be overcome by a deferral. Companies or groups with over 5,000 employees or sales in excess of €1.5 billion must not have made any dividend distributions or share buybacks between March 23 and December 31, 2020.
The form provided by the DGFIP requires companies toindicate the reasons for their inability to pay.
These may include :
- a drop in sales, in which case the monthly sales figures for the months preceding the request and for the corresponding months of the previous year must be specified
- other outstanding debts
- a deterioration in cash flow or other factors likely to justify a delay in payment or a discount.
The granting of this grace is subject to a personalized examination of the request, taking into account the company's financial situation and difficulties.
What other exceptional support measures are available to professionals?
Deferral of income tax instalments at source
Self-employed workers facing financial difficulties can quickly adapt the amount of tax they pay to their economic situation.
Three options are available:
- Reduce the levy rate to reduce future instalments
- Defer payments on account for industrial and commercial profits (BIC), non-commercial profits (BNC) and agricultural profits (BA) to the next due date.
- Eliminate the instalment: in this case, payment of the instalment is deferred. Instalment payments will be reinstated once the financial situation has been re-established.
Requests for modulation or deferment of instalments can be made on the tax site, in the "Individual" section, then by clicking on "Manage my withholding tax".
CFE exemption for certain companies
Voluntary communes and inter-municipalities can grant a rebate of 2/3 of the amount of business property tax due for 2020.
This measure applies to companies with sales of less than 150,000 euros in N-1, or in the last 12-month financial year ending that same year when the financial year does not coincide with the calendar year.
Another condition: the main business activity must belong to a sector that has been particularly hard hit by the crisis, given the scale of the decline in activity.