Form 3916: declaring a foreign account (N26, Revolut, cross-border account…)
One form 3916 per account held, opened, used or closed abroad during the year — bank account, life insurance or securities account, even inactive. Forgetting costs a €1,500 fine per account. Crypto has its variant: the 3916-bis per foreign platform.
Who is concerned (more people than you’d think)
Any French tax resident holding an account outside France: a cross-border worker’s Luxembourg or Swiss account, but also neobanks headquartered abroad (N26 in Germany, Revolut in Lithuania, Wise in Belgium…) and foreign brokers.
Online, tick box 8UU of the 2042, then fill one 3916 PER account — even if the account earned nothing, even if it’s empty, even if it was closed during the year.
What forgetting costs
€1,500 fine per undeclared account per year, raised to €10,000 if the account is in a country without an information-exchange agreement with France. Most European countries and Switzerland exchange bank information automatically: the administration knows the account exists.
For digital-asset accounts, declare on the 3916-bis per foreign platform (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken…), even with zero sales during the year — forgetting costs €750 per account.
Three minutes to be compliant
The “Income tax return (2042)” flow asks whether you hold foreign accounts and lists exactly what to tick (8UU) and what to fill, account by account.
Frequently asked questions
My N26 account is in my name in France — is it a foreign account?
Yes: what matters is the country where the account is held (the institution’s seat), not your address. N26 is a German account, Revolut a Lithuanian one — both must be declared.
Do I declare the account every year or just once?
Every year the account was held, opened, used or closed — the online return usually re-offers last year’s 3916s, to confirm or update.