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Summary
France uses a household-based progressive income tax (impot sur le revenu) with five brackets, applied after a 10% standard deduction for employment expenses. However, the largest deductions from a French payslip are social contributions (cotisations sociales), which are deducted at source by the employer and fund pensions, health insurance, unemployment, and family benefits. The combined employee social contribution rate is approximately 22-25% of gross salary, making it one of the highest in Europe.
Since 2019, income tax is also withheld at source (prelevement a la source), so French employees see both social charges and income tax deducted directly from their payslip.
How it works
French take-home pay is calculated in two stages:
- Social contributions (cotisations sociales) — deducted from gross salary to arrive at “net imposable” (taxable net)
- Income tax (impot sur le revenu) — withheld at source based on progressive brackets
Employee Social Contributions
- CSG (Contribution sociale generalisee) — 9.2% on 98.25% of gross (effectively 9.04% of gross), of which 6.8% is deductible from taxable income
- CRDS (Contribution au remboursement de la dette sociale) — 0.5% on 98.25% of gross (effectively 0.49%)
- Retirement - base (Assurance vieillesse plafonnee) — 6.9% on gross up to EUR 47,100 (1x PASS)
- Retirement - base (Assurance vieillesse deplafonnee) — 0.4% on total gross
- Complementary pension AGIRC-ARRCO Tranche 1 — 4.01% on gross up to EUR 47,100
- Complementary pension AGIRC-ARRCO Tranche 2 — 9.86% on gross between EUR 47,100 and EUR 376,800
- Unemployment (Assurance chomage) — 0% employee share (employer-only since October 2018)
- Other contributions — CEG (contribution d’equilibre general) 0.86% T1 / 1.08% T2
Income Tax Brackets (2025)
Income tax is calculated on net imposable (gross minus deductible social contributions minus the 10% standard deduction for professional expenses, capped at EUR 14,426). The quotient familial system divides income by the number of household shares (parts) before applying brackets, then multiplies the result back.
For a single person (1 part):
| Taxable income per part | Tax rate |
|---|---|
| EUR 0 — EUR 11,600 | 0% |
| EUR 11,601 — EUR 29,579 | 11% |
| EUR 29,580 — EUR 84,577 | 30% |
| EUR 84,578 — EUR 181,917 | 41% |
| Above EUR 181,917 | 45% |
Social Security Contributions (Employee Share, 2025)
| Component | Rate | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| CSG (total) | 9.2% on 98.25% of gross | None |
| CRDS | 0.5% on 98.25% of gross | None |
| Retirement - capped (vieillesse plafonnee) | 6.9% | EUR 47,100 (1x PASS) |
| Retirement - uncapped (vieillesse deplafonnee) | 0.4% | None |
| AGIRC-ARRCO Tranche 1 | 4.01% | EUR 47,100 |
| AGIRC-ARRCO Tranche 2 | 9.86% | EUR 47,100 — EUR 376,800 |
| CEG Tranche 1 | 0.86% | EUR 47,100 |
| CEG Tranche 2 | 1.08% | EUR 47,100 — EUR 376,800 |
PASS (Plafond Annuel de la Securite Sociale) for 2025 = EUR 47,100.
Worked Example
For a gross salary of EUR 40,000 (single, no dependents):
- Social contributions:
- CSG: EUR 40,000 x 98.25% x 9.2% = EUR 3,615.60
- CRDS: EUR 40,000 x 98.25% x 0.5% = EUR 196.50
- Retirement (capped): EUR 40,000 x 6.9% = EUR 2,760.00
- Retirement (uncapped): EUR 40,000 x 0.4% = EUR 160.00
- AGIRC-ARRCO T1: EUR 40,000 x 4.01% = EUR 1,604.00
- CEG T1: EUR 40,000 x 0.86% = EUR 344.00
- Total social contributions: ~EUR 8,680
- Net imposable (taxable income):
- Deductible CSG: EUR 40,000 x 98.25% x 6.8% = EUR 2,672.40
- Net imposable: EUR 40,000 - EUR 2,672.40 = EUR 37,327.60
- After 10% deduction: EUR 37,327.60 x 90% = EUR 33,595
- Income tax (single, 1 part):
- EUR 0 — EUR 11,600 at 0% = EUR 0
- EUR 11,601 — EUR 29,579 at 11% = EUR 1,977.69
- EUR 29,580 — EUR 33,595 at 30% = EUR 1,204.50
- Total income tax: ~EUR 3,182
- Take-home pay: EUR 40,000 - EUR 8,680 (social) - EUR 3,182 (tax) = ~EUR 28,138/year (~EUR 2,345/month)
Assumptions and Limitations
- 2025 rates only — uses brackets and social contribution rates for 2025 income
- Single earner, 1 part — does not model the quotient familial for couples or families (2+ parts reduce the effective tax rate)
- Employment income only — salaried workers in the private sector. Does not model self-employment (TNS), civil servants, or micro-entrepreneur regimes
- Standard 10% deduction — uses the default deduction for professional expenses rather than actual (frais reels)
- No overtime exemption — France exempts certain overtime hours from social contributions and income tax; this is not modelled
- Employer contributions not shown — employer social charges (~45% of gross) are paid on top of gross salary
- Mutuelle (complementary health) — mandatory employer-provided health top-up is not modelled as a deduction