Income tax - How are deferred income taxed?

Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Income tax: 2026 income tax return for 2025

This page is up to date at 1er January 2026.

However, forms, online services and information materials are not yet available for the 2026 tax year of the 2025 tax return. They will be put online as soon as they are available.

In addition, the draft budget law for 2026 could not be promulgated before 1er January 2026.

The law n°2025-1316 of 26 december 2025 The Special Authorizes the Government to Collect Taxes, Without Modifying the Scales, Until the Adoption of a Budget Law for 2026.

If the Finance Law for 2026 changes the rules presented on this page, the content will be updated after the publication of the Finance Law in the Official Journal.

Deferred income is income received in a year for an activity carried out in a previous year. They are taxed under a particular system, the quotient system. It avoids excessive taxation. We present the rules to know for deferred income received in 2025 and 2026.

Collected in 2025

Deferred income is income that you received in 2025, but which corresponds to the remuneration of activities that you performed in 2024 or earlier (over one or more years).

The offset must not not be your fault.

For example: salary or promotion reminder, pension reminder, rent arrears.

These revenues have been subject to withholding tax like other income.

If you report your deferred income with your other income, you may significantly increase your taxes.

You can request that these revenues be taxed according to the quotient system which limits this risk

The quotient system allows to avoid the gradual nature of the scale of the tax.

The calculation depends on the number of calendar years corresponding to the normal payment deadlines.

This number is then increased by 1.

Example :

In 2025, you received arrears for 6 monthly installments in 2022 (November, December) and 2023 (January, February, March, April).

The deadlines correspond to 2 calendar years (2022 and 2023).

The coefficient to be used is 3 (2+1).

The quotient system is applied in 2 steps:

  1. Add one-third of the exceptional income to the usual income (add to the total taxable net income the quotient thus determined)
  2. Multiply by 3 (the quotient thus determined) the corresponding tax supplement.

Please note

The tax on deferred income is paid in one go.

To benefit from the quotient system, you do not report your deferred income with your operating income on your 2026 2025 income tax return.

So you don't have to, for example, declare a wage recall with your other salaries and wages, or a rent backlog with your land income.

You must declare them as deferred income.

You must enter the total of these revenues within the planned framework page 3 of Declaration No 2042 C (row 0XX).

You must detail the amount and nature of the income deferrals to be imposed on the quotient, collected by each member of the household by one of the following means:

  • Within the scope of the declaration
  • On free paper attached to Declaration No. 2042.

For each amount, you must specify the year of its normal maturity.

The declaration of income by internet is mandatory if your main residence has internet access and you are able to file your declaration online.

The 2025 return of 2024 income is complete.

The 2026 2025 income tax return will begin in April 2026.

The 2025 return of 2024 income is complete.

The 2026 2025 income tax return will begin in April 2026.

Collected in 2026

Deferred income is income that you received in 2026, but that corresponds to the remuneration of activities that you performed in 2025 or earlier (over one or more years).

The offset must not not be your fault.

For example: salary or promotion reminder, pension reminder, rent arrears.

This income was subject to withholding tax like other income.

If you report your deferred income with your other income, you may significantly increase your taxes.

You can ask that such income be taxed in accordance with quotient system which limits this risk

The quotient system allows to avoid the gradual nature of the scale of the tax.

The calculation depends on the number of calendar years corresponding to the normal payment deadlines.

This number is then increased by 1.

Example :

In 2026, you received arrears for 6 monthly installments in 2023 (November, December) and 2024 (January, February, March, April).

The deadlines correspond to 2 calendar years (2023 and 2024).

The coefficient to be used is 3 (2+1).

The quotient system is applied in 2 steps:

  1. Add one-third of the exceptional income to the usual income (add to the total taxable net income the quotient thus determined)
  2. Multiply by 3 (the quotient thus determined) the corresponding tax supplement.

The tax on deferred income is paid in one go.

You will be required to report deferred income received in 2026 in your 2027 income tax return 2026 (spring 2027), regardless of the amount.

To benefit from the quotient system, you will not have to declare your deferred income with your business income.

So you won't have to, for example, declare a wage recall with your other salaries and wages, or a rent backlog with your land income.

You must report them as deferred income.

You must enter the total of these revenues within the planned framework Declaration No 2042 C.

You will have to detail the amount and nature of the income deferrals to be imposed on the quotient, collected by each member of the household by one of the following means:

  • Within the scope of the declaration
  • On free paper attached to Declaration No. 2042.

For each amount, you will have to specify the year of its normal maturity.

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