2022 Tax Return: Why You May Pay Less Taxes This Year

This is GOOD news for the 2022 income tax refund campaign. The income tax scale, i.e. the income tax scale corresponding to progressive tax levels, is being revised this year by 5.4% to adjust for inflation. Slightly more than inflation in 2022, which ended up at 5.2% according to INSEE. “This is tax evasion of more than 6 billion euros,” welcomes Gabriel Attal, Minister of Public Accounts.

But for many French people, it will even lead to lower taxation. Indeed, for this scale reassessment to be tax-neutral, the taxpayer’s income would have to follow in 2022 in the same proportions. “It is quite possible that at the same time wages did not increase by 5.4%,” analyzes Virginie Roitman, president of the Paris-Ile-de-France Chartered Accountants. And if there were increases, they certainly took place at the end of the year or from January 1, 2023.” sometimes replaced a pay raise.

For example, a single person who earned €1,800 per month net in 2021 paid €683 in income tax last year. If in 2022 his salary increased by only 2% and reached 1836 euros per month, then this year he will only owe the tax authorities 614 euros. Conversely, if his boss had been more generous by giving him a 7% revaluation in 2022 (€1,926 per month), his tax would have risen to €769 in 2023.

Some households will become tax-free

How many taxpayers can benefit from this? “It is too early to say what we will find out about this in the summer,” evacuates Jérôme Fournel, director general of the public finance department. The rate of taxpayers liable to pay income tax may even be significantly reduced. The tax-free threshold, that is, the income ceiling that cannot be exceeded in order to pay nothing to the tax authorities, has indeed also been raised, which could exclude many taxable households from taxation.

For example, a couple with two children will not pay taxes this year up to 41,335 euros of income, while last year they had to pay from 39,240 euros. “Every year we have a little less than a million taxpayers who are not taxed, and the same number become taxpayers,” we lament in Bercy.

But that’s without taking into account other measures that could lower the score for some. “If your wages did not increase last year at the same rate as the scale, you benefit from an increase in the tax credit ceiling for childcare up to 6 years and an increase in the overtime exemption ceiling from 5,000 euros to 7,500 euros. , you are the main winners of this year,” emphasizes Virginie Roitman.

As part of the Hello tax operation, the Order of Chartered Accountants answers your questions free of charge on 0.800.065.432 from 22 to 26 May from 9:00 to 18:00 (and until 21:00 on May 23 and 25).