Faxing the tax office
Disputed tax notice, document requested by the office: the case reference is everything.
Personal taxation in France is handled by the national tax authority, direction générale des Finances publiques, which is organised into tax offices nationwide. Digital is the default route: via your impots.gouv.fr account you can check, reply, and upload documents. Fax remains a valid option for attaching a supporting document or replying to a letter, as long as that letter states a fax number. On the transmission report, include the reference printed on the notice together with your tax number, and verify which channels the dispute accepts, together with the applicable time limit.
Why the tax office still accepts faxes
Tax offices work file by file, through dated written exchanges: requests for supporting documents, proposed adjustments, disputes. Some offices and their professional contacts — accountants, agents — have kept fax for bulk submissions, and some letters still display a fax line in the header.
For you, the stakes are the date: the authority's letter sets a deadline, and your transmission report proves the day you sent it. If the letter cites no fax number, don't go looking for one elsewhere: use impots.gouv.fr or postal mail.
Where to find the valid number
- The header in the received letter: it names the tax office and the contact managing your file, along with the return details.
- The 'Contact' section of impots.gouv.fr, which guides you to the correct office according to your tax location and circumstances.
- A call to the relevant office, to confirm a fax will actually be attached to your file rather than lost.
What the cover sheet should say
- The name of the receiving tax office and, if stated, that of your contact.
- Your tax identification number plus the reference shown on the correspondence you are responding to.
- The fiscal period in question and the reason: reply, attachments, or contestation.
- A breakdown of the documents — payslips, certificates, proof of payment — and the page count.
The proof to archive
Collect your sending receipt, the exact PDF, and the agency letter you are responding to. When a deadline is contested, these three items show what was delivered, when, and to which department. Faxeroo's PDF delivery confirmation adds a dated proof of delivery, charged only upon delivery of the fax.
Other channels, sometimes preferable
Your online account at impots.gouv.fr
View your notices, use the secure messaging service, and upload documents after signing in: the most direct route, with no waiting in line.
The signed letter
Disputes are filed by signed letter: the notice indicates where to send it. Registered mail isn't required, though it does leave a postal record.
The public accountant or the drop-in desk
An authorized professional can respond on your behalf, and public finance offices take appointments during the filing season.
Other guides
- Water damage, theft, accident: the reporting deadline is ticking, and proof of sending counts.
- Reporting an absence on time, without revealing anything about your health condition.
- Pension, life certificate, RIB to update: a social security number copied without a single error saves months.
- A sick leave notice sent too late cuts into your benefits: the send date counts double.
Send to an organisation
This topic
- Faxing an organization: instructions
- Pension, life certificate, RIB to update: a social security number copied without a single error saves months.
- A sick leave notice sent too late cuts into your benefits: the send date counts double.
- Card to block: phone first. For everything else, a properly referenced document is often sufficient.
Keep reading
Pages chosen to help you prepare a send, track it, or keep proof of it.