By Benjamin Roure L'Hermitte
If you are a tax resident of France, form 3916, or 3916-bis, is how you declare every account opened, held, used or closed outside France during the year: a bank account back home, an account with a foreign broker, an online payment account such as PayPal, an account on a foreign crypto platform, or a life insurance contract taken out abroad. It is filled in online with the French income tax return, one entry per account, even if the account is empty. Forgetting costs €1,500 per account, €10,000 in a country that does not exchange tax information with France, €750 for a crypto account, and the tax office can then go back up to ten years.
- Who: every tax household resident in France, for each account held abroad by any of its members, including accounts held under a power of attorney.
- Which accounts: foreign banks, brokers and trading platforms, online payment accounts, crypto platforms, foreign life insurance; even unused, empty or closed during the year.
- How: online, at step 3 of the income tax return (annexes “3916 / 3916 bis”), one entry per account.
- Fines: €1,500 per bank or securities account (€10,000 outside a tax agreement), €750 per crypto account (€1,500 above €50,000), and a ten-year look-back period.
Keeping accounts abroad is legal: your UK or US bank account, a German or American broker, a Swiss account for a cross-border worker or a foreign crypto platform are all allowed. The only obligation is to report them to the French tax office every year, with the income tax return. That report is form 3916, and 3916-bis for crypto accounts. Many people who move to France keep their old accounts and do not know the rule.
This guide explains who must declare, which accounts are covered and which are not, how to fill in the form online, the rules for crypto accounts, the fines and the look-back period, and how to fix a missed account. The rules come from impots.gouv.fr, the official notice of the form and the French official tax bulletin (BOFiP).
TL;DREvery account opened outside France by you or a member of your tax household must be declared each year on form 3916 or 3916-bis, attached to the online French tax return: bank, broker, payment account, crypto platform, foreign life insurance. Even an empty, unused or closed account. The only exception is an online payment account linked to a French account, used only for online purchases or sales of goods, receiving €10,000 or less a year. Forgetting costs at least €1,500 per bank account and €750 per crypto account.
Who must file form 3916
The obligation applies to individuals, associations and non-commercial companies domiciled or established in France (French tax code, article 1649 A). For a tax household, each account of each member is declared: yours, your spouse's or partner's, a dependent child's. Anyone holding a power of attorney over an account abroad declares it too, giving the account holder's identity.
Since January 1, 2019, all accounts held abroad must be declared, whether or not they were used during the year (BOFiP, BOI-CF-CPF-30-20, § 120). An account opened, used or closed during the year is declared for that year, even if it no longer exists when you file. There is no minimum amount for a bank account: an empty account is declared like a full one.
Which accounts to declare, and which not
| Account | Declare? | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Bank account at a foreign bank (current, savings) | Yes | 3916, bank account section |
| Account with a broker or trading platform based outside France | Yes | 3916, bank account section |
| Foreign online payment account (PayPal, multi-currency accounts) | Yes, except under the €10,000 exception | 3916, bank account section |
| Account on a foreign crypto platform | Yes | 3916-bis, digital assets section |
| Self-custody crypto wallet (hardware or software) | No, under the notice's definition | None |
| Life insurance or capitalisation contract taken out abroad | Yes | 3916, life insurance section, and box 8TT |
The official notice defines a bank account as an account opened outside France with a bank or any other body or person that usually holds securities, shares or cash in deposit. A foreign brokerage account, a securities account or an account with an online payment service therefore falls within the definition; the guide on U.S. brokerage accounts explains how such accounts work. A crypto wallet you hold yourself is not opened with anyone, so it is outside the definition of a digital asset account, which targets an account opened with a person who holds assets in deposit.
The €10,000 exception
According to impots.gouv.fr, an account does not have to be declared if it meets all three conditions: it is used only to pay for online purchases or receive payments for sales of goods, it is linked to an account opened in France, and the total received on it during the year does not exceed €10,000. A PayPal account used only to pay for purchases is therefore exempt. The same account receiving income, transfers from individuals or trading gains must be declared.
Neobanks and IBANs: check where the account is held
What matters is where the account is opened, not which app you use. A European neobank or payment service may hold your account in another EU country, and some issue a French IBAN through a branch in France. Before deciding, check in your contract which entity holds the account and the country of your IBAN, given by its first two letters. When in doubt, declaring one account too many costs nothing; forgetting one costs €1,500.
Three common cases
- Expats: the UK, US or other bank accounts you kept after moving to France must be declared, even if you rarely use them.
- Cross-border workers: the Swiss, Luxembourg or German account that receives your salary is a foreign account and must be declared.
- Funded traders: the account funded by a proprietary trading firm is in the firm's name; the account that receives your payouts, if it is held abroad, must be declared.
How to fill in form 3916 online
- Open the online income tax return in your personal space on impots.gouv.fr, in spring, on the dates set each year.
- At step 3, select the annexes “3916 / 3916 bis”; they may already be preselected if you filed them the year before.
- Fill in one entry per account: holder or attorney, type of account, number, characteristics (current, savings, other), opening and closing dates, name and address of the institution, personal, professional or mixed use.
- Check the boxes on the main return: 8UU for accounts abroad, 8TT for a life insurance contract taken out outside France.
- Keep a record of the acknowledgment and of the list of accounts declared, useful the next year and if the tax office asks.
The paper form no. 3916-3916 bis exists for those who file on paper; it is attached to form 2042, with one form per account. An account is declared again every year while it is open, and one last time for the year it is closed. Income from the account, such as interest, dividends or gains, is declared separately; the guide on the French flat tax and box 2OP covers how it is taxed.
Form 3916-bis for crypto accounts
Accounts opened with a crypto platform based outside France are declared in the digital assets section of the same form, often called 3916-bis (French tax code, article 1649 bis C). The notice defines them as accounts opened with any person that usually holds digital assets in deposit. For each account, you give the account number or the email address used to open it, the opening and closing dates, the provider, chosen from the list offered or described by its name, postal address and website, and how you hold it.
The fines are specific: €750 per undeclared account, or €125 per omission or inaccuracy, capped at €10,000 per return; €1,500 and €250 when the value of crypto accounts abroad exceeded €50,000 at any point in the year. Declaring the account does not replace declaring gains on disposals, which follow their own rules.
Fines, surcharges and the look-back period
| Failure | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Undeclared bank or securities account | €1,500 per account and per year; €10,000 if the country has no administrative assistance agreement with France |
| Undeclared crypto account | €750 per account (€125 per omission or inaccuracy), €1,500 (€250) above €50,000 |
| Undeclared foreign life insurance | €1,500 or €10,000 depending on the country |
| Income or wealth that went through an undeclared account | Surcharge of up to 80% of the tax due |
Two more rules make it worse. Sums that went through an undeclared account are presumed to be taxable income unless you prove otherwise (BOFiP, BOI-CF-CPF-30-20, § 235). And the period during which the tax office can correct income tax rises from three to ten years (Livre des procédures fiscales, article L169), unless the total balance of your accounts abroad stayed below €50,000; since the law of October 23, 2018, that threshold is assessed at any point in the year, not only on December 31 (BOFiP, BOI-CF-PGR-10-50, § 215).
Missed an account? How to fix it
It is better to correct before the tax office notices: accounts held in more than a hundred countries are reported automatically to the French administration under the automatic exchange of information. For the current year, the return can be corrected online from your personal space while the correction service is open; for a past year, send an amended return through the secure messaging of your personal space, with the missing 3916 forms. Income produced by the account, such as interest, dividends or gains, is declared at the same time.
The most common mistakes
- Thinking an empty or unused account does not count: since 2019, every account held abroad must be declared.
- Forgetting an account closed during the year: it is still declared for the year it was closed.
- Forgetting the accounts of a spouse, partner or children in the tax household.
- Declaring the account but not its income, or the reverse: they are two separate obligations.
- Confusing a crypto platform with a personal wallet: the foreign platform is declared, a wallet you hold yourself is outside the definition.
This guide is educational and is not personalized tax advice. The rules quoted are those in force for returns filed in 2026, according to impots.gouv.fr, the notice of form 3916-3916 bis and the BOFiP.
Frequently asked questions
What is form 3916 in France?
The form French tax residents use to declare each account opened, held, used or closed outside France during the year by a member of the tax household: bank, broker, online payment account, crypto platform, foreign life insurance. It is filed with the income tax return.
What is the difference between form 3916 and 3916-bis?
It is the same form, no. 3916-3916 bis. The 3916 part covers bank and securities accounts and life insurance contracts; the 3916-bis part covers accounts opened with a foreign crypto platform.
Do I need to declare my UK or US bank account if I live in France?
Yes. Every account held outside France by a French tax resident must be declared each year, even if it is rarely used or nearly empty. The fine is €1,500 per undeclared account.
Is there a minimum balance for declaring a foreign account?
No, not for a bank account. The €10,000 figure only concerns an exception for online payment accounts linked to a French account and used for online purchases or sales of goods.
Where is form 3916 in the online tax return?
At step 3 of the online income tax return, among the annexes: select “3916 / 3916 bis”, then fill in one entry per account.
What is the fine for an undeclared foreign account?
€1,500 per bank or securities account and per year, €10,000 if the country has no administrative assistance agreement with France, €750 per crypto account (€1,500 above €50,000), plus a surcharge of up to 80% of the tax if income escaped tax.
Do I need to declare a PayPal account?
Not if it is used only for online purchases or sales of goods, is linked to a French account and receives €10,000 or less a year. Otherwise it must be declared.
Do I need to declare a personal crypto wallet?
A wallet you hold yourself is not opened with any institution and is outside the notice's definition of a digital asset account. An account on a foreign crypto platform must be declared on form 3916-bis.