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It’s tax season in France – and that, unfortunately, also means that it is tax scam season. But, how can you tell the fake from the fact? Here’s how to avoid ‘les arnaques aux impôts’.
If you make your income tax declaration online, the portal has been open since April 10th. You may have had an email reminder from France’s lovely taxman. Or have you?
READ ALSO The bumper French tax guide for 2025
Emails
Any email from the proper taxman will come from the following address (after the @ sign): @dgfip.finances.gouv.fr
Ignore any emails that do not include this address exactly as it is mentioned above.
Other clues may include spelling and grammar errors in the text – which might be more difficult to spot for non-native French speakers.
Beware, too, an email that appears to be overly urgent – if the title says ‘alerte’ or ‘remboursement’ in the subject line, proceed with caution.
READ ALSO The French website that helps you avoid financial scammers
Furthermore, never respond to an email asking for your bank details, credit card number or a copy of your identity documents.
French tax authorities are explicitly not allowed to ask users to provide bank details or personal information by e-mail, either to pay tax or claim a tax credit or refund, or to reveal their personal details. If you are asked to do so, do not reply to this message. 
READ ALSO How to tell if a message from French authorities is genuine or a scam
Websites
If you intend to complete your French income tax declaration online, know that there are only two official links. 
The first is the homepage of the tax office, at this address: www.impots.gouv.fr/accueil 
It looks like this.
You’ll notice, in the screengrab, a warning against fraudulent SMS messages that reads: Warning! SMS messages are currently circulating with the following fraudulent content: “[Impots. gouv] Crypto transactions have been detected on your accounts. Declare them to avoid a 40% surcharge”. Do not reply to these messages
The second official URL is this one: https://cfspart-idp.impots.gouv.fr  
The landing page looks like this – and allows you to connect to your personal space, using a 13-digit reference number. You would also get to this page from the initial impots.gouv.fr website by clicking ‘Connexion à l’espace particulier’.
Once you have accessed your personal tax account, the URL displays https://cfspart.impots.gouv.fr/enp/ plus a few letters that change depending on the tab you click. On here you can make your declaration without fear of scams.
The basic rule to avoid scams is straightforward. The web address for any tax declarations should always include this: impots.gouv.fr 
Unfortunately, scammers know this. So, they often create fake websites that not only look a lot like the real thing – the web address, too, is very similar. 
READ ALSO How to avoid being the victim of tax scams in France
Check the web address carefully – and several times, if you need. Scammers have used impots-gouv.fr (a hyphen instead of a full point); or impot-gouv.fr (a hyphen and impot is singular); or impotsgouv.fr (no full point between impots and gouv).
All may be easily missed, if you’re even slightly distracted. The best advice, always, is to check the address very carefully.
Watch out, too, for addresses that end “.com”, “.net”, or even “.eu” – these are fake, too. 
SMS
On April 15th, the front page of France’s tax website featured a clear warning about fraudulent SMS messages. It read Warning! SMS messages are currently circulating with the following fraudulent content: “[Impots. gouv] Crypto transactions have been detected on your accounts. Declare them to avoid a 40% surcharge”. Do not reply to these messages
The goal of any fraudulent SMS message is to make you panic so that you respond and click on the link in the text message. It is a phishing message.
READ ALSO How to avoid typical French tax scams and other frauds
If you do click on the link, you will arrive at a site that looks very similar to the real tax website. Confirm by checking the address bar at the top. 
Leave the website, report the SMS message. As long as you have entered no personal information, the criminals have failed.
READ ALSO What to do if you have fallen victim to a scam in France
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