French take-home pay is shaped by three independent layers: social-security contributions (cotisations sociales), the CSG/CRDS solidarity contributions, and income tax withheld at source (prélèvement à la source). The calculator above applies the 2025 URSSAF rates and shows the precise net for English-speaking professionals weighing salary offers in France or moving from another country.
Income tax and the 2025 schedule
France's income tax (impôt sur le revenu, IR) uses a five-band progressive schedule for 2025: 0% up to €11,497 of taxable income, 11% from €11,497 to €29,315, 30% from €29,315 to €83,823, 41% from €83,823 to €180,294, and 45% above. Each rate applies only to the portion of income within its band — the marginal rate is never applied to your whole salary.
A standard 10% professional-expense allowance (abattement) reduces taxable income, capped at €14,426 in 2025 (so it saturates at gross salaries above €144,260). The calculator applies the abattement automatically; itemising actual expenses (frais réels) can produce a better outcome for some employees but isn't modelled in v1.
Social contributions — cotisations sociales
Employee social contributions in France are layered:
• Health insurance (Maladie): 0% employee — fully employer-funded • Capped old-age (Vieillesse plafonnée): 6.90% on earnings up to the annual social-security ceiling (PASS 2025 = €47,100) • Uncapped old-age (Vieillesse déplafonnée): 0.40% on all earnings • Unemployment (Chômage): 0% employee since 2018 (the burden moved to CSG) • Complementary pension AGIRC-ARRCO: varies by tranche — typically ~3.15% on the first tranche (T1) and ~8.64% on the second (T2)
The combined employee-contribution share is around 22% of gross under the PASS, dropping above the ceiling as several contributions are capped.
CSG, CRDS, and the deductible portion
The CSG (Contribution sociale généralisée) and CRDS (Contribution au remboursement de la dette sociale) apply to 98.25% of gross. The total rate is 9.2% CSG + 0.5% CRDS = 9.7% combined.
Of that 9.7%, 6.8% of CSG is deductible from your income-tax base — meaning it reduces taxable income before the progressive schedule applies. The remaining 2.9% (non-deductible CSG 2.4% + CRDS 0.5%) doesn't reduce the tax base. The calculator handles the distinction automatically; you'll see both effects in the breakdown.
Withholding at source — prélèvement à la source (PAS)
Since 2019, French income tax is withheld monthly by your employer at a personalised rate communicated by the DGFiP (the tax authority). You can choose between three rates: individualised (couples taxed jointly — each spouse uses their own calculated rate), neutral (defaults to a single-filer without children, useful for preserving privacy from your employer), or default (typically the household average rate).
The calculator applies the theoretical marginal rate corresponding to your input — closest to the default rate for a single filer. If you're married with children using the quotient familial, or you've adjusted your personalised rate for any reason, your actual withholding may differ by several percentage points.
What the calculator does NOT cover
The calculator assumes a non-executive employee with single-filer tax status (quotient familial = 1 part). The following are not modelled in v1: executive status (statut cadre, with different AGIRC-ARRCO contributions), employer-provided complementary insurance (prévoyance, mutuelle), commute allowances, restaurant vouchers (titres-restaurants), profit-sharing or stock-purchase schemes (intéressement, participation, stock options, attribution gratuite), expatriate status, and bilateral tax treaties.
The quotient familial — dividing taxable income by the number of fiscal shares (parts) for married couples and dependents — is also not modelled. A married couple with one child (2.5 parts) would see a meaningfully lower tax bill than what the calculator shows for the same salary. A 'household' option is on the roadmap.