Married couples and those in a civil partnership in France are treated as a single tax household, meaning each partner is legally responsible for the other’s tax debts, including income tax, property wealth tax, and the secondary residence council tax.
Under the principle of joint tax liability, the French tax authority can demand full payment of any outstanding tax debt from either spouse, regardless of each person’s individual income or personal circumstances.
Liability survives separation
Separation, divorce, or dissolution of a civil partnership does not automatically end this joint obligation. Former spouses and partners remain in principle jointly liable for tax debts accumulated during their relationship.
How to apply for discharge
A taxpayer can apply to be relieved of a shared tax debt in limited circumstances. The applicant must be separated from their former partner through divorce, civil partnership dissolution, legal separation, an authorisation for separate residence, or abandonment of the shared home.
A discharge may be granted where there is a significant disproportion between the debt and the applicant’s financial situation, provided the applicant has met all their own tax obligations since the separation.
Discharge is also possible if the debt arose from fraud committed by a former partner, on condition that the applicant did not participate in, benefit from, or even know about the fraud.
A 2024 reform on family asset law introduced a further option described as a gracious discharge, which allows for the cancellation of all or part of a tax debt for victims of domestic violence.
According to the Ministry of the Economy, an application for discharge must be sent to the tax authority and include divorce or separation judgments, proof of income and outgoings, and any evidence supporting the applicant’s good faith or personal situation.
