PAS (Prélèvement à la Source)
The French withholding-tax system — collects income tax monthly via payroll, like UK PAYE.
PAS — Prélèvement à la Source — is the French system for collecting personal income tax (impôt sur le revenu) directly from monthly payroll. Introduced in 2019, PAS replaced the previous one-year-delayed annual declaration model. The employer applies a personalised rate ("taux personnalisé") communicated by the DGFiP based on the employee's previous year's declaration.
Three rate options are available: taux personnalisé (the default — based on household composition + last-year income), taux individualisé (split couple-rates within a household), taux neutre (employer doesn't know the personal situation — applies a neutral grid). The annual declaration still happens each May/June to reconcile any difference between PAS withheld and final tax owed.
PAS applies to French residents; non-residents follow a separate non-resident withholding schedule. The France calculator on this site models the PAS-equivalent monthly net assuming the taux personnalisé for a single filer.
Calculator pages that use this term
See also
- CSG + CRDS (French social-contribution levies) — Two French levies — CSG (~9.2%) + CRDS (0.5%) — funded by gross pay before income tax.
- Tranche (French / Spanish income-tax band) — A discrete income range with a fixed marginal tax rate — the French / Spanish equivalent of a UK tax band.
- Marginal tax rate — The percentage paid in tax on the next unit of income earned — distinct from the average effective rate.