French tax receipt for donations: how it works for a shelter or rescue

Can your association issue receipts?

The tax receipt is reserved for organisations of general interest. Three conditions must be met: the association does not carry on a profit-making activity, its management is disinterested, and it does not operate for the benefit of a restricted circle of people.

In addition, its activity must have one of the characteristics listed in article 200 of the French General Tax Code. Animal protection is not named there in so many words. A ministerial reply of 2014 brings under “defence of the natural environment” the taking in of stray or abandoned animals through the running of shelters, as well as treating them, neutering them and having them adopted.

That reply is not included in the published tax guidance. To remove the doubt, the association can apply for a rescrit: the tax administration has six months to reply, and its silence counts as agreement.

What the donor can deduct

An individual is entitled to a tax reduction equal to 66% of their donation, counted up to a limit of 20% of their taxable income. Any excess is carried forward over the following five years. The 75% rate is reserved for other causes, such as help for people in difficulty: it does not apply to animal protection.

A company is entitled to a reduction of 60% of its payments up to €2 million, 40% beyond that, up to a limit of €20,000 or 5‰ of its turnover if that amount is higher.

What the receipt must state

There are two forms: Cerfa no. 11580 for donations from individuals, and Cerfa no. 16216 for those from companies, which have also had to produce a receipt since 2022.

Their layout may be adapted, and a receipt may be produced on a computer and then sent over the internet, provided the donor cannot alter it. A single receipt for the year is allowed. All the information on the form must, however, be included:

• a serial number;
• the organisation: name, SIREN or RNA number, address, purpose, and its status (association loi 1901 [French non-profit association], recognised as being of public utility…);
• the donor: last name, first names, address;
• the amount, in figures and in words, and the date of payment;
• the form of the donation, its nature (money, gift in kind, volunteer expenses waived…) and the payment method;
• the date and the signature of the chair, the treasurer or an authorised person.

Numbering: what is required

The form includes a “serial number” (numéro d’ordre): each receipt must therefore be numbered. The texts do not expressly require continuous numbering. It remains the safest practice: during an audit, the tax administration draws up the list of receipts issued and checks it against the sums received.

After the receipt: declaring and keeping records

Any organisation that issues receipts declares each year the total amount of the corresponding donations and the number of receipts issued, without naming the donors. The declaration is made within three months of the end of the financial year; for a financial year ending on 31 December, no later than the second working day after 1 May. An association with no other tax obligation files it online.

The documents that support the receipts (donations register, copies of receipts, bank statements) are kept for six years.

If a receipt is wrongly issued

Knowingly issuing a receipt without being entitled to do so exposes the association to a fine whose rate is that of the tax reduction, applied to the sums shown on the receipt: 66% for a donation from an individual. The figure of 25%, still quoted here and there, has not been in force since the French Finance Act for 2019.