Wise, Revolut, PayPal: which foreign accounts go on form 3916

Anyone whose tax home is in France reports every account abroad that was opened, used or closed during the year (comptes ouverts, utilisés ou clos à l'étranger) on form 3916, with the annual return. For online bank accounts, service-public points to the IBAN: if it does not begin with FR, the account is foreign. A payment account such as PayPal is exempt only if three conditions are all met.

What has to be reported

Situation	Report it?	Source
An account outside France with a bank or other financial services provider (prestataire de services financiers)	Yes	service-public F34342
An online bank account with an IBAN that does not begin with FR	Yes, every year, as a foreign account	service-public F34342
A digital asset account on a foreign platform, or an assurance-vie policy taken out abroad	Yes	service-public F34342
A power of attorney (procuration) over someone else's foreign account	Yes: both the account holder and the attorney have to report it	service-public F34342, impots.gouv
An account used for buying or selling online, linked to an account in France, with no more than €10,000 received from sales in the year	No, but only if all three conditions are met	service-public F34342, impots.gouv

Who has to report

The obligation applies to private individuals whose tax home is in France (particulier domicilié en France). Service-public explains that this covers mainland France and the overseas departments and regions (Drom). French nationals living in Monaco are mentioned separately. Both the account holder and anyone with a power of attorney to use the account have to report it.

How to tell whether an account is foreign

Service-public suggests looking at the IBAN: a French IBAN begins with FR. If it begins with anything else, the account is reported every year as a foreign account.

Wise and Revolut are not mentioned by name on the official pages. Treating an account with either of them as foreign when its IBAN does not begin with FR is our reading of the general IBAN rule, not something the source says in so many words.

The exemption for payment accounts (PayPal)

An account abroad does not have to be reported if all three of these conditions are met (conditions cumulatives):

1. it is used to pay for online purchases or to receive payment for items sold;
2. it is linked to an account already held in France;
3. no more than €10,000 was received on it from sales during the year.

Impots.gouv gives PayPal as an example of this kind of account, and stresses that every other account abroad must be reported, even if it is linked to a French account.

How the accounts are reported

Accounts are reported at the same time as the annual income tax return (déclaration de revenus). The box (case) for foreign accounts is ticked on the return, and a separate declaration is attached for each account. Impots.gouv calls these attachments forms 3916 / 3916 bis. The tax office may already have selected them; if not, they are added at step 3 of the online return. The same form is used for bank accounts, digital asset accounts and assurance-vie policies held abroad. On paper, one form per account is completed, dated and signed.

Penalties

Failure	Penalty	Source
Account abroad not reported	€1,500 per account	service-public F34342, impots.gouv
As above, for an account in a country with no agreement with France on fighting tax fraud	€10,000 per account	service-public F34342, impots.gouv
Money held in an unreported account	An 80% surcharge on the tax due, instead of the €1,500 or €10,000 fine	service-public F34342
Digital asset account abroad not reported	€750 per account, or €1,500 if the account was worth more than €50,000 at any time during the year	service-public F34342

Service-public cites articles 1649 A and 1736 of the French General Tax Code (Code général des impôts).

What can change the answer

• Tax home. The obligation depends on having a tax home in France; how that is decided is a separate subject.
• The IBAN. For online bank accounts, service-public uses the IBAN to decide where the account is held.
• Any of the three conditions not met. If so, the payment-account exemption does not apply.

About Fiscly

After a move, nearly everyone ends up wondering which of their foreign accounts, cards and wallets belong on form 3916 and which do not. We went through this ourselves and built Fiscly for ourselves and for others who have moved here.

A questionnaire in six languages that ends with a step-by-step guide to the declaration.

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This material is for general information and does not replace individual advice.