Article 1649 A of the French Tax Code requires every individual with tax domicile in France, as well as certain associations and non-commercial companies, to report each year the accounts opened, held, used or closed abroad. A separate obligation is set out in article 1649 AA of the Tax Code for life-insurance policies (and capitalisation contracts) taken out abroad; certain digital-asset accounts fall under article 1649 bis C. Failure to report is penalised by the fine of article 1736, IV, 2 of the Tax Code: €1,500 per unreported account and per year (raised to €10,000 where the account is held in a State or territory that has not concluded an administrative-assistance convention with France). Article L. 169, paragraph 5 of the Book of Tax Procedures extends the reassessment period to 10 years, unless the taxpayer proves that the total credit balances of the foreign accounts did not exceed €50,000 at any time during the year concerned. This page is the annual how-to; the text and the fine are analysed in our page article 1649 A of the Tax Code: form 3916 and fine, and the regularisation of omitted years in regularising foreign accounts.
Article 1649 A of the Tax Code is one of the pillars of the French anti-fraud framework, complemented by article 1649 AA for life-insurance policies taken out abroad. The annual reporting of foreign accounts (form 3916 for accounts, 3916-bis for life-insurance policies, filed as a schedule to the 2042 return) is mandatory for every individual with tax domicile in France, as soon as they hold or use an account outside France or hold a power of attorney over it, even where the account is held by a third party (relative, spouse) and the taxpayer is merely a user.
The cost of a breach is far from trivial. The fine of article 1736, IV, 2 of the Tax Code (€1,500 per unreported account, raised to €10,000 where the account is located in a State that has not concluded an administrative-assistance convention) applies per account and per year not reported. Across several accounts held for several years, the total can reach tens of thousands of euros. And the reassessment period extended to 10 years (LPF art. L. 169, para. 5), unless the taxpayer proves that total balances never exceeded €50,000 during the year, allows the tax authorities to look back a long way.
The firm assists taxpayers in the course of regularisation (voluntary preventive procedure) and defends taxpayers in litigation facing post-audit reassessment proposals.
The obligation covers every account opened, held, used or closed outside France during the year, including third-party accounts that are used through a power of attorney. An account is used as soon as a credit or debit transaction is made on it during the year (Conseil d'État, 4 March 2019, no. 410492); since 1 January 2019 all accounts held must be reported, even inactive ones (BOI-CF-CPF-30-20, § 120).
Individuals with tax domicile in France within the meaning of article 4 B of the Tax Code. But also associations and companies that do not have a commercial form (civil companies, joint ownerships), whatever their tax regime, established in France. Companies of commercial form (in particular SA, SARL, SNC) are not subject to the obligation (BOI-CF-CPF-30-20, § 70). However, an individual who is the economic beneficiary of a foreign account, or who uses for themselves a power of attorney over a third party's account, reports it personally (same BOI, § 50 and 120).
The obligation has been progressively extended. Life-insurance policies (and capitalisation contracts) taken out outside France fall under article 1649 AA of the Tax Code (declared on the same form no. 3916-3916 bis), a provision distinct from art. 1649 A applicable to bank accounts. Digital-asset accounts (cryptocurrencies) held with foreign platforms are subject to art. 1649 bis C since 2019, with a separate penalty regime (Tax Code art. 1736, X: €750 per wallet or €125 per omission, raised to €1,500 / €250 where value exceeds €50,000). For bank accounts, art. 1736, IV, 2 applies (€1,500 / €10,000); for life-insurance policies, art. 1766 (same amounts).
Fine of article 1736, IV, 2: €1,500 per unreported account and per year (€10,000 where the account is located in a State or territory that has not concluded an administrative-assistance convention with France). Omissions or inaccuracies in a return that has been filed fall under the fine of article 1729 B, 2 (€15 per omission, at least €60, at most €10,000). Reassessment period of 10 years (LPF art. L. 169, para. 5), unless the taxpayer proves that total balances abroad did not exceed €50,000 during the year. Where the tax authorities rectify tax in respect of sums held in an undeclared account, the 80% surcharge of art. 1729-0 A of the Tax Code applies: it replaces the fine, cannot be lower than it and excludes the 40% or 80% surcharges of article 1729.
Voluntary regularisation, before any audit, is the most protective option. The STDR closed on 31 December 2017: regularisation falls under ordinary law, with the taxpayer's tax office. No reduction is due as of right. Method, costs and worked cases: see our page on regularising foreign accounts.
The firm regularly conducts voluntary regularisations for taxpayers who have accumulated unreported foreign accounts over several years (international inheritances, historical structuring, past expatriations). Our methodology: a full audit of positions, calculation of the tax impact and potential fines, filing of the amended return with explanatory support, and discussion of penalties in an audit.
In the event of an audit opened by the tax authorities (request for clarification, reassessment proposal), we build the defence on the grounds of characterisation, reassessment period and mitigation of penalties.
Every individual with tax domicile in France within the meaning of article 4 B of the Tax Code, as well as associations and companies that do not have a commercial form (civil companies in particular), whatever their tax regime, established in France. The report is filed as a schedule to the 2042 return via form 3916 (and 3916 bis for foreign life-insurance policies).
Every account opened, held, used or closed during the year outside France: current account, savings account, securities account, a third party's account over which you use a power of attorney, digital-asset account (crypto, art. 1649 bis C), foreign life-insurance policy (art. 1649 AA). The doctrine takes a broad reading: an account merely used (without being the holder) must be reported.
Fine under article 1736, IV, 2 of the Tax Code: €1,500 per unreported account and per year, raised to €10,000 where the account is held in a State or territory that has not concluded an administrative-assistance convention with France. Omissions or inaccuracies in a return that has been filed fall under article 1729 B, 2 (€15 per omission). To this are added the 10-year reassessment period (LPF art. L. 169, para. 5, subject to the €50,000 threshold) on the income of the account, late-payment interest and, in case of rectification, the 80% surcharge of article 1729-0 A, which replaces the fine.
Not systematically. Article L. 169, paragraph 5 of the Book of Tax Procedures extends the period to 10 years in the event of a breach of the reporting obligation of art. 1649 A, for the income relating to the undeclared accounts only. The extension is set aside where the taxpayer proves that the total credit balances of the foreign accounts did not exceed €50,000 at any time during the year concerned: the ordinary three-year period then applies. The threshold is assessed across all foreign accounts, not account by account. See the worked cases in our page on regularising foreign accounts.
Yes, and since the Act of 25 June 2026 until the end of the second year following the reply. Where the tax authorities, within the initial reassessment period, have asked the competent authority of another State or territory for information (Switzerland or Portugal, for instance), they may rectify the omissions or insufficiencies relating to that request until the end of the second year following the year in which the reply was received and, at the latest, until 31 December of the third year following the year in which the initial period expired (LPF, art. L. 188 A). Before Act no. 2026-534 of 25 June 2026 (art. 101), the period after the reply was one year; the ceiling of the third year is unchanged. The new rule applies to reassessment periods expiring on or after the publication of the Act, on 26 June 2026. The extension requires that you were told of the request within sixty days of its dispatch, and of the reply within sixty days of its receipt, and it covers only the omissions relating to the request. The tax authorities are not bound to use it (BOI-CF-PGR-10-60, para. 360, whose text of 16 January 2019 still describes the former one-year period). Example: for 2016 income of an undeclared foreign account, whose ten-year period (LPF, art. L. 169) expires on 31 December 2026, a request sent in 2026 and answered the same year allows reassessment until 31 December 2028 (31 December 2027 before the reform); a reply in 2027, or no reply, leads to 31 December 2029.
Yes. The STDR closed on 31 December 2017, but voluntary regularisation remains possible under ordinary law, with the competent tax office: missing forms 3916, amended returns, payment of the tax. Before any audit, it avoids in principle the 80% surcharge of article 1729-0 A, which presupposes a rectification, and the mandatory referral to the prosecutor (LPF art. L. 228); the fine per account remains due. See regularising foreign accounts.
The heirs of a deceased person with tax domicile in France who held unreported foreign accounts inherit his or her tax debts: tax, fines and interest due for the years not time-barred. They must also include these assets in the estate return (ten-year reassessment period, LPF art. L. 181-0 A) and report the account for the following years if they hold or use it. The tax authorities cross-check estate returns against automatic exchanges of information (CRS, FATCA).
General framework: minimum rate, social levies, tax treaties.
Voir la page Foreign accountsLimitation, surcharges, worked cases, Switzerland and trusts.
Voir la page Foreign accountsThe text, the account used, the fine per account and per year.
Voir la page WealthDetermining tax residence (Tax Code art. 4 A and 4 B).
Voir la pageA confidential initial consultation to audit your situation, organise a voluntary regularisation or defend your interests in the event of an audit.
© BENSAID Avocats. The information on this site does not constitute legal advice and cannot replace a personalised tax analysis.
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