Elderly and disabled persons on a modest income in France benefit from an enhanced personal income tax allowance.

If you are tax resident in France and you are over 65 years of age, or suffer from a disability, you benefit automatically from an income tax allowance in 2015.

The applicable date for reaching 65 years of age to benefit this year is no later than 31st December 2014. In the case of a couple, only one of them need reach this age for them both to benefit from the allowance.

In the case of a disabled person there is no age qualification, but they must have a level of disability of at least 80% (or 40% in the case of military or occupational disability).

The age and disability allowances are not cumulative.

In order to be eligible your total net taxable income in 2014 must not have not exceeded €23,700, a figure that applies to the fiscal household, not just to a single member within it.

The level of the allowance will depend on your income:

• If your income is less than €14,710, it is €2,344 if only one member of the household is over 65 years, and it is €4,688 if the couple reach the age threshold.
• If your income is between €14,710 and €23,700 the allowance is €1,172 and €2,344 respectively.

These allowances are reviewed annually in line with inflation.

In addition to this allowance there is also an automatic 10% allowance on pension income, which cannot be lower than €379 per pension or higher than €3,707 per fiscal household.