Financial Facts About France
From January 1st, 2019, France has been applying a withholding tax system ("Prélèvement à la Source" or PAS, in French), enabling
employers to collect tax from the employees' salaries every month, which means that workers typically receive their monthly wages
net of tax.
The rate is communicated by the tax authorities and is calculated based on the previous tax return (déclaration de revenus).
This new withholding tax regime only applies to individuals who are tax residents.
Foreign employees classified as non-residents for tax purposes must adhere to the prior system of submitting an annual French tax
return and ensure they have enough funds to pay their income taxes.
France has many important industries, including tourism, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metals, electronic equipment, textiles,
and food.
Among these, tourism is the largest industry, France being the most visited country in the world, with over 83 million tourists
every year.
The capital, Paris, is the largest urban economy in France and the third worldwide.
Taxes Included in This French Salary Calculator
-
Income Tax (Impôt Sur Le Revenu)
on personal income is progressive, with higher rates being applied to higher income levels (four tax brackets).
Low income earners (salary less than €11,294) do not pay income tax, but after this amount the tax grows progressively up until
45% for individuals who earn more than €177,106.
The amount of tax that you pay is based on your earnings as an individual if you are not married or in a registered partnership,
or on your earnings as a household, otherwise.
-
Surcharge Tax (Taxe Supplémentaire)
is applied on high incomes.
If you are single, you will pay a rate of 3% if your income is between €250,000 and €500,000, and 4% for income exceeding
€500,000.
-
Social Security Contributions (Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale)
the employer withholds the employee's social security contributions at source and remits the total amount to the social security
authorities.
The contributions are computed on the employee's yearly gross salary.
The social security contributions include:
- employee old-age insurance (upper limit)
- employee old-age insurance
- employee supplementary pension
- the general social contribution (CSG), payable by individuals living in France who benefit from the compulsory health insurance
-
the contribution to the social debt (CRDS), applied to earnings and to income from wealth.
The territorial scope of the CRDS is the same as the CSG.
CRDS is paid by individuals living in France who benefit from a compulsory insurance scheme.
The information presented here is based on the fiscal regulations in France in 2024.
Visit impots.gouv.fr for more details.