Lone parent: Don't forget to check box T on the tax return

Box T: for whom?

Box T ‘single parents’ refers to persons living alone (single, divorced or separated) with at least one dependent child or an invalid person under their roof. This information must be completed in Step 2 of your online “Personal Information” return or in Box B of Form 2042 for the paper return.

When is your situation taken into account?

The family situation is assessed on December 31 of the year of the change of situation (Civil partnership breakdown, separation, divorce), i.e. your situation on December 31, 2025 for your income for the year 2025 to be reported in 2026. You do not have to justify your situation, it will be done automatically, but only to report these changes to the tax administration.

The benefits you get by ticking the T box

The profits are based on the number of tax shares you can declare, which have an impact on your family quotient. The number of shares affects the amount of tax: the larger the shares, the lower the tax. Box T provides an additional half-share. Whereas, for a couple, the first child represents half a share, for a single parent, the child will represent an entire share.

The scale of shares for single parents is as follows:

• Single parent with 1 dependent child: 2 tax shares.
• Single parent with 2 dependent children: 2.5 tax shares.
• Single parent with 3 dependent children: 3.5 tax shares.

From 3^e child, each additional child counts for 1 tax share.

Box L for parents whose child has left the tax home

If you lived alone at 1^er January 2025 (or as of December 31, 2025, in the event of a divorce/separation/breakdown of Civil partnerships in 2025), check box L “Situations that may qualify for an additional half-share - Single, divorced, separated, widowed” on your 2025 tax return. This box L allows you to keep half a tax share even if your child no longer lives under your roof. The conditions are:

• it is no longer attached to your tax household;
• and that you raised him for at least 5 years, and that you live alone without any dependants. The duration of 5 years can be continuous or discontinuous. It must be reached for at least 1 child.