While the tax credit for home employment remains a flagship mechanism to support the millions of French families using childcare services, assistance for the elderly or dependent persons, as well as household chores, tax authorities are increasing their vigilance. This social aid lever, while making daily life easier for many households, also represents a major challenge in the fight against tax fraud. Bercy, aware of the budgetary stakes represented by this tax niche – the second most costly after the research tax credit – is intensifying tax audits in 2025 and deploying innovative technological tools to detect misuse, while preparing a possible targeted reform of the scheme as part of the 2026 budget.
In this context, the tax declaration related to home employment becomes a privileged observation ground for the authorities to identify fraudulent practices: false invoices, undeclared work, or illegal double claiming of tax benefits within the same household. Furthermore, the introduction of immediate advance certainly facilitates access to the credit, but also creates new opportunities for tax evasion. To preserve the effectiveness of this social measure while ensuring rigorous management of public funds, the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) has strengthened its arsenal, now including artificial intelligence and automatic cross-checks. This dynamic is part of a global strategy aimed at transparency and tax justice, both for taxpayers who respect the rules and for the social economy as a whole.
- 1 Strengthening tax controls against fraud related to the home employment tax credit
- 2 Common forms of fraud in the home employment tax credit and their consequences
- 3 Towards a reform of the home employment tax credit as part of the 2026 budget
- 4 Concrete impacts for beneficiaries: securing your tax credit amid strengthened controls
- 5 Perspectives and digital solutions for an effective and fair fight against tax fraud
The increase in frauds around the home employment tax credit has led Bercy to significantly strengthen its tax control operations. While this scheme aims to reduce the cost of home help services for millions of French households, it also represents fertile ground for diversions whose financial scale worries public authorities. In 2025, the generalization of the “immediate advance” has simplified access to tax credits, but it has also paved the way for an increase in abusive and sometimes fraudulent uses.
To counter these practices, the tax administration has multiplied detection techniques using, in particular, sophisticated software capable of analyzing tax returns in real time and spotting anomalies. These tools notably allow automatic comparison of declarations between employers and employees, thus detecting potential inconsistencies or suspicious duplicates in credit requests.
This policy of increased surveillance also materializes by a significant rise in targeted tax audits in this sector. In some cases, Bercy adopts a proactive approach, conducting controls even before weak signals are triggered, which demonstrates the priority given to this fight. Thus, a household declaring a tax credit disproportionate to its profile or a personal services company accused of issuing irregular invoices will automatically be placed under reinforced monitoring.
The intensive fight against fraud is not limited to IT techniques or classical audits. It also relies on cooperation between different administrations, including tax inspection services, which coordinate their actions to cross-check information concerning providers and beneficiaries. This comprehensive mechanism strengthens the traceability of financial flows related to the tax credit and limits tax evasion spaces.
Common forms of fraud in the home employment tax credit and their consequences
Understanding the nature of frauds targeted by Bercy helps better grasp the importance of the measures adopted and their effects on the tax credit scheme. In recent years, several illicit methods have been vigilantly targeted:
- False service declarations: these involve fabricated or exaggerated invoices between individuals and providers, or false attestations that make appear work or hours not actually performed.
- Duplicate tax benefit: in certain households, two members separately declare the same service, thus generating a double benefit.
- Partial declaration: it is common for the number of hours or actual remuneration to be underestimated when undeclared work is present.
- Circumvention of ceilings: tricks such as artificially splitting services among several beneficiaries or repetitive changes in declarations aim to stay under authorized thresholds while maximizing aid.
These different frauds have serious impacts on public finances and distort the role of social aid represented by the tax credit. The table below summarizes the main forms of abuse, their methods, and the penalties faced by fraudsters:
| Type of abuse | Method used | Consequences and risks incurred |
|---|---|---|
| Fictitious services | Issuance of false invoices or attestations | Tax adjustment and heavy financial penalties |
| Partial declaration | Under-reporting of actual hours or wages | Sanctions up to suspension of the tax credit and fines |
| Duplicate schemes | Artificial splitting of the service to claim the credit multiple times | Removal of the tax benefit and inclusion in fraudster lists |
To illustrate these effects, consider a family in the Paris region which, by multiplying declarations for the same home help, received a significant tax adjustment. This household lost the tax credit benefit for several years, which increased their budget burden but also served as an example in their neighborhood for the need to respect the rules.
These sanctions are necessary to protect genuine beneficiaries and preserve the integrity of the system. They are part of a broader policy where prevention and education, notably through distributing guides of good practices, play a key role alongside strict controls.
Towards a reform of the home employment tax credit as part of the 2026 budget
The debate on the future of the home employment tax credit is intensifying ahead of the 2026 budget. The Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, expressed the intention to review this scheme to improve its fairness and efficiency. The project notably aims to better target beneficiaries and adjust the credit according to users’ real needs.
The currently studied options are multiple. The first consists of conditioning the benefit of the credit on income ceilings, ensuring that tax aids better benefit modest households or dependent persons. This measure would allow a fairer redistribution of public resources and reduce abuses by more affluent households.
Furthermore, it is considered to modulate the credit rate according to the nature of services. For example, services linked to dependency could benefit from a higher tax advantage than so-called “comfort” services such as housekeeping or gardening, which are often the source of abuses. This differentiation seeks to focus aid on essential needs.
Finally, strengthening traceability between employer, employee, and third-party provider is at the heart of reflections, notably through digital solutions to facilitate controls and limit undeclared work. New obligations could emerge to impose regular transmission of supporting documents and increased automation of verifications in tax declarations.
| Envisioned measure | Expected benefits | Priority beneficiaries |
|---|---|---|
| Personalized capping based on income | More tax fairness and better resource allocation | Modest families, dependent seniors |
| Modulation by service category | Overall cost reduction of the scheme | Users of non-essential services (housekeeping, gardening) |
| Enhanced digitalization of controls | Increased fight against fraud and simplified procedures | All concerned taxpayers |
The potential impact of these changes will not be neutral for the millions of households using this scheme. Take the case of a family in Toulouse benefiting from a home care assistant, whose credit modulation slightly reduces the amount recovered due to their income level. Nevertheless, this household retains access to appropriate support, the goal being to effectively direct public aid without penalizing legitimate users.
Concrete impacts for beneficiaries: securing your tax credit amid strengthened controls
For the millions of users of the home employment tax credit, the ramping up of tax control requires increased vigilance in managing their tax declarations. Maintaining documentary rigor and avoiding mistakes becomes essential to secure this tax benefit.
It is crucial to keep all proofs related to declared services: employment contracts, invoices, attestations, and traceable payment evidence such as CESU or bank checks. These supporting documents are often requested in case of tax inspection. Moreover, regularly monitoring one’s situation on the personal tax space allows quickly identifying any anomaly and correcting it before it leads to an adjustment.
Some errors are common and can quickly become costly: omission of supporting documents leading to suspension of benefits, cash payments that are not traceable, or simple mistakes in entering amounts. To prevent these situations, here are some good practices to adopt:
- Systematic archiving of all documents related to home employment.
- Payment by official means such as CESU, transfers, or checks, promoting their traceability.
- Careful reading of each tax declaration before validation.
- Use of simulation tools and tax advice to optimize declarations.
Specialized organizations, as well as digital platforms, now offer personalized support to avoid errors and fraud risks. These services play an essential role, especially for families whose management of these aids is complex, notably those employing multiple providers or handling disability or dependency situations.
Perspectives and digital solutions for an effective and fair fight against tax fraud
Beyond sanctions and classic reinforcements, Bercy’s strategy to combat fraud related to the home employment tax credit also involves digital innovation and prevention through education.
New technologies establish themselves as an essential ally: official mobile applications now facilitate declarations, integrating alert systems that signal anomalies or missing supporting documents in real time. Moreover, online simulators allow taxpayers to assess their eligibility and optimize their declaration without risking exceeding authorized ceilings.
The State is also multiplying efforts to raise users’ awareness about the risks of undeclared work at home and the importance of compliant declarations. Educational materials, as well as online training, are freely accessible, offering targeted advice and practical cases adapted to the complexities of different user profiles.
Finally, strengthened collaboration between tax administrations, social services, and specialized associations creates an environment of concerted control. This multi-actor approach aims to combine rigor and assistance, so that the fight against tax evasion is not seen as an obstacle but as a guarantee of fairness and sustainability of the scheme.
| Tool or Assistance | Main function | Advantage for the user |
|---|---|---|
| Official tax application | Declaration, monitoring, and automatic alerts | Significant reduction of errors and potential fraud |
| Associative support and specialized advice | Personalized simulations and optimization | Better knowledge of rights, less stress |
| Online training | Tax rules education | Enhanced autonomy and secured procedures |
This transition towards an integrated and digital fight against fraud appears essential to maintain citizens’ trust in the use of public funds. Thus, everyone is invited, through prudent and enlightened management of their tax declaration, to contribute to the system’s balance while fully benefiting from the aids to which they are entitled.
