With the majority comes the time of responsibilities, paperwork, difficult choices but also a personal imposition.
But in practice, at 18, financial independence is often unattainable.
Which is also not bad for parents, fiscally speaking
The family quotient in question
First of all, it should be remembered that income tax is based on the family quotient, an index taking into account the number of dependents.
As a measure of fairness, the tax authorities allocate shares of the family quotient for each of the children who live with you: up to 4 for a single parent, against 5 for a married or PACS couple.
Beyond 4 children, each more mouth to feed will count for 1 additional part.
The administration then divides the amount of your taxable income by your number of shares, before submitting the result to the progressive tax scale.
Without going into technical considerations, the main thing is to know that a high family quotient makes it possible to reduce your taxation.
But this tax benefit only lasts as long as your children are dependent on you.
A simple procedure
In principle, a young person becomes personally taxable as soon as he comes of age. However, as it is rare to be self-employed at this age, the law allows him to be attached to his parents' tax household as long as he has not reached 21 years of age on January 1 of the taxable year, or 25 years old when 'he is pursuing higher education. In this way, the house can continue to benefit from the increase in shares of the family quotient and, in the process, from the small tax reduction linked to their schooling (153 euros in high school and 183 euros in higher education).
To do this, simply indicate the connection in the box provided for this purpose in the annual income tax return or during the year in the “Manage my deduction at source” section on Impots.gouv.fr.
For his part, the young adult does not have to file a tax return and can also live in his own home.
On the other hand, he must give his parents a request for connection drawn up and signed on plain paper, to be kept in the event of an inspection.
Note that as an exception, a disabled child can be attached to his parents' household regardless of his age.
A calculation not necessarily advantageous
If the tax connection is often a reflex, it is not always wise. Logically, this option should be ruled out if your older boy or girl already has income, since it is added to yours in your tax return. Subject to certain ceilings, his internship allowances, odd jobs and apprenticeship salaries are not taken into account. Moreover, if your child has married, entered into a civil partnership or has become a parent, increasing your shares is impossible. Instead, it is an income allowance that applies per person attached to your tax household (5,959 euros for 2020 income).
Moreover, the law caps the tax reduction linked to the family quotient at 1,570 euros per additional half-share (outside specific limits).
Therefore, families can often achieve greater financial savings by separating the tax household from the adult child, in order to deduct from their taxation the alimony that they pay him to meet his needs, especially if he is student.
The authorized ceiling varies here depending on whether the young person lives with his parents (a flat rate of 3,542 euros applies for 2020) or has his own accommodation (up to 5,959 euros of justified costs for 2020).
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Take the test
Are you hesitating between the attachment to the tax household and the deduction of child support for your adult child?
In terms of taxation, there is unfortunately no miracle formula: you always have to go through the calculation to determine the most advantageous option.
However, it is quite easy to perform online simulations on the official Impots.gouv.fr website.
Economy
Family
Taxes
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