Declaring a Change of Family Status

Any change in your family status (marriage, divorce, birth, death) affects your tax calculation, by modifying the number of family tax shares (quotient familial). This change must be declared as soon as possible.

This page explains how to make this declaration, what information to provide, and offers a ready-to-use letter template, plus a tool to automatically generate your personalized letter.

When should you write this letter?

• You recently married or divorced;
• A new child was born into your family;
• A dependent family member passed away;
• The number of your tax dependents changed.

In all these cases, a written letter remains a reliable way to update your tax file.

Required information to include

• Your first and last name and tax number;
• The nature of the change and its date;
• The new number of dependents;
• Supporting documents (marriage certificate, divorce ruling, birth certificate).

The more accurate this information is, the more accurate your tax calculation.

Official letter template

Important note: the letter sent to the tax office must be written in French, as it is a French administration. Below is a template you can use as a basis.

[First name LAST NAME]
[Full address]
[Tax number]

Tax Office for Individuals of [City]
[Office address]

Written in [City], on [Date]

Subject: Change of family status

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am informing you of a change in my family status on [date]: [nature of change].

[...]

→ The complete letter, tailored precisely to your situation and ready to send, is generated automatically in 3 minutes using the tool above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I declare immediately upon change?

Advisable to declare quickly, but actual impact usually appears in the next annual return.

What is the quotient familial?

A system dividing your income by your family's number of shares to calculate tax fairly based on household size.

Does marriage always reduce my tax?

Not necessarily, depends on both partners' income and their balance.

What happens after divorce?

Each party returns to filing separately, with dependents adjusted for each.

Should I correct my current return or only the next one?

Depends on the change date, advisable to check with the tax office to determine the concerned return.