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Income tax - Withholding tax
Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Income tax: 2026 income tax return for 2025
This page is up to date at 1er January 2026.
However, forms, online services and information materials are not yet available for the 2026 tax year of the 2025 tax return. They will be put online as soon as they are available.
In addition, the draft budget law for 2026 could not be promulgated before 1er January 2026.
The law n°2025-1316 of 26 december 2025 The Special Authorizes the Government to Collect Taxes, Without Modifying the Scales, Until the Adoption of a Budget Law for 2026.
If the Finance Law for 2026 changes the rules presented on this page, the content will be updated after the publication of the Finance Law in the Official Journal.
Want to understand your income tax withholding or report a change in circumstances? The tax is levied on your income from work or replacement (salary, pension for example) at the same time as you collect it. But you can request a change to your direct debit rate if you wish. We tell you what you need to know.
What applies to you ?
In France
The withholding tax is to charge the tax at the same time as you collect your income.
If you are employee or pensioner, the tax is collected by your employer or pension fund.
You pay the corresponding income tax by down payments from your bank account directly by the tax authority if you are in one of the following situations :
- Self-employed
- Farmer
- You benefit from income received directly (e.g. land income).
The levy depends on the type of income concerned:
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Wages, pensions and replacement income
The levy applies to the following income:
- Salaries and wages
- Retirement pensions
- Unemployment benefits
- Daily sickness benefits
- Taxable portion of severance pay.
FYI
The levy is indicated on your payroll.
The tax is deducted directly from your income by the collector according to a levy rate calculated by the tax authorities.
For example, your employer or your pension fund, France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi), Health Insurance.
If your situation changes during the year (change in income or family situation), you can request a change to your rate.
This modulation is possible downwards under certain conditions.
Land income
These incomes are subject to income tax by installments levied by the tax authority on your bank account.
Deposits are calculated by the tax authorities on the basis of the amount of income reported in the previous year.
They are taken from your bank account every month (or every quarter under certain conditions).
Maintenance payments
These incomes are subject to income tax by installments levied by the tax authority on your bank account.
Deposits are calculated by the tax authorities on the basis of the amount of income reported in the previous year.
They are taken from your bank account every month (or every quarter under certain conditions).
Life annuities for consideration
The Life annuities for consideration are taxable.
These incomes are subject to income tax by installments levied by the tax authority on your bank account.
Deposits are calculated by the tax authorities on the basis of the amount of income reported in the previous year.
They are taken from your bank account every month (or every quarter under certain conditions).
Incomes of self-employed workers
These incomes are subject to income tax by installments levied by the tax authority on your bank account.
Deposits are calculated by the tax authorities on the basis of the amount of income reported in the previous year.
They are taken from your bank account every month (or every quarter under certain conditions).
Income from foreign sources
These incomes are subject to income tax by installments levied by the tax authority on your bank account.
Deposits are calculated by the tax authorities on the basis of the amount of income reported in the previous year.
They are taken from your bank account every month (or every quarter under certain conditions).
Your withholding tax rate depends on your situation.
General case
The levy rate applied to you is determined by the tax office.
You get it after you file your tax return.
It is calculated for your tax home.
You can find it on your particular space of the site impots.gouv.fr.
Taxes: access to your space Private
This personalized rate is communicated to your employer or pension fund to set up the levy.
The levy rate is modified every year in september, based on the spring tax return.
You're married or past
If you are married or past and imposed in common, you automatically get a individualized rate withholding tax.
Your individualized rate applies exclusively to income you have personally.
The common income of your tax home are subject to a levy rate calculated for all household income.
The following (net taxable) income is considered to be personal income :
- Wages
- Pensions and life annuities
- NCB: titleContent
- BIC: titleContent
- BA: titleContent
- Remuneration allocated to the managers and partners of certain businesses.
Other income subject to withholding tax (land income for example) are considered to be common income.
Your individualized rate is calculated based on your situation over the past year:
- Spouse or partner with the lowest incomes
- Spouse or partner with the highest incomes.
Please note
Income not subject to withholding tax (income from investments subject to the single flat-rate levy, for example) are excluded from the calculation for determining which of the spouses or partners has the lowest incomes.
If you benefit from an individualized rate, you can opt for the rate calculated on the basis of total income of your tax household.
You can request change directly in your online private space:
Taxes: access to your space Private
The new rate shall apply no later than 3e the month following your request.
If you have not yet filed a tax return, the administration cannot calculate a personalized rate.
In this case, it applies you a default rate.
This rate is set based on your monthly withholding base, which is the amount of your salary.
The rate is applied on the basis of annual scale. It ranges from 0% to 43%.
Report to the tax authority within 60 days any change in your situation:
- Marriage
- Signature of a Civil partnerships: titleContent
- Birth, adoption or custody of a minor child
- Death of one of the spouses or partner of Civil partnerships
- Divorce or breakdown of Civil partnerships.
You can report the change directly in your online Private space.
Taxes: access to your space Private
Reporting the change of situation allows you to change your collection rate.
You can ask to change your direct debit rate at source if you are in one of the following situations:
- You want to lower your rate
- You want to increase your rate
- You are married or past and you want to opt for your tax home instead of your individualized rate
- You don't want to pass on your personalized rate to your employer.
You can request the change directly in your private space online:
Taxes: access to your space Private
If you want to get personalized information, you can contact this service.
Who shall I contact
By phone:
0809 401 401
Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 7 pm, excluding public holidays.
Free service + price call
The tax return is mandatory, regardless of how much you earn.
The withholding tax does not change this obligation.
You can benefit from a automatic declaration.
You receive a notice indicating your income.
Your obligation depends on your situation:
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Your situation hasn't changed
The automatic declaration dispenses you from any steps. You just need to check the information available to the tax authorities.
If your income hasn't changed, you don't no steps to take.
Your situation has changed
You have to make a statement if your situation changes.
For example, if you have a child, if you are married or if your income changes from the previous year.
FYI
You will find in your tax return the details of all your withholding taxes for the past year. You can check them, and modify them if necessary.
If the tax calculated from your return is higher than the total of the levies made in the previous year, you still have to pay additional tax.
Example :
In 2025, you paid €150 per month of withholding tax, i.e. an annual total of €1,800.
The tax calculated from your return made in spring 2026 is €2,100.
You will have to pay a tax supplement of €300 (€2,100 - €1,800).
There are several reasons for this discrepancy, including the following:
- Your income has gone up and you haven't asked change your collection rate
- You touched a advance of tax reductions or credits too high.
The tax supplement (balance) to be paid is indicated on your tax notice.
The tax supplement is taken from your bank account in one of the following ways:
- Up to €300 : in 1 time in September
- More than €300 : in 4 times from September to December.
In addition to the top-up tax, you continue to pay your withholding tax for the current year.
For example, you pay the additional tax due for 2025 and the withholding tax due for your 2026 income.
If you have difficulty paying the additional tax, you can request a payment deadline.
Video - Withholding tax: why do I have a balance to pay?
Vidéo - Withholding tax: why do I have a balance to pay?
In case of change of your bank details, you must notify the tax services from your personal space on impots.gouv.fr or by phone.
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By internet
By phone
Who shall I contact
By phone:
0809,401,401
Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 7 pm, excluding public holidays.
Free service + price call
A change must be reported before the last day of the month to be taken into account from the following month.
To prepare for a tax top-up payment or a refund of an overpayment, you must report any bank changes before 1er july.
Abroad
Rules specific to certain revenues apply if you do not reside in France.
Whether you are French or not, tax services consider that your tax domicile is in France if you fill in one of the following criteria :
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Your home is in France
Your tax domicile is in France if the habitual residence of your household is France.
Your home is made up of you and your family.
The tax authority detains the following persons:
- Your married, past or common-law partner
- Your children.
On the other hand, it does not hold back your other relatives (parents, siblings, etc.)
If you are single without children, your home is where you usually live, apart from your business trips.
Your main residence is in France
Your tax residence is in France if it is the place of your main stay, that is to say that you are staying there at least 183 days during the yeartherefore, more than 6 months.
For income tax purposes, France means the following territories:
- Mainland France, coastal islands and Corsica
- Overseas Departments (with peculiarities).
You work in France
Your tax domicile is in France if you have your main activity there.
The main activity is the one you spend the most effective time on or the one that provides you with most of your income.
If you have more than one activity, the main activity is taken into account.
An activity carried out incidentally is not concerned.
Please note
Your tax domicile is in France if you are a manager of a company whose head office is in France and it has a turnover of more than 250 million euros.
For income tax purposes, France means the following territories:
- Mainland France, coastal islands and Corsica
- Overseas Departments (with peculiarities).
The center of your economic interests is in France
Your tax domicile is considered in France if you've made your major investments there.
Likewise, if the seat of your business, from where you administer your property, is in France.
For income tax purposes, France means the following territories:
- Mainland France, coastal islands and Corsica
- Overseas Departments (with peculiarities).
One international convention concluded between France and a foreigner country may provide for different rules. If necessary, check your situation with the tax authorities of the foreigner concerned.
If you live in France and your spouse or partner Civil partnerships: titleContent to his tax domicile outside France (in application of a tax treaty), you must report the following income:
- Your income and that of children and dependants who have their domicile in France
- The income from a French source of your spouse or partner of Civil partnerships domiciled outside France (provided that the tax is attributed to France by the tax convention).
For know your tax residence, check your situation with your tax department.
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You are still in France
Consult your personal income tax service :
You can contact him directly from your online space:
You're abroad
Ask the non-resident tax service.
Who shall I contact
By phone
+33 (0) 1 72 95 20 42
Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm
By mail
By post
10 rue du Center
ASD 10010
93465 Noisy-Le-Grand Cedex
A withholding tax applies to the following income:
- Salaries and wages for an activity in France
- Pensions and life annuities if the body paying them is established in France.
The deduction is levied by your employer or pension fund.
Withholding tax rates vary depending on the source of income:
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Metropolis
The deduction is calculated by income brackets at the following rates:
- 0%
- 12%
- 20%.
Overseas Departments
The deduction is calculated by income brackets at the following rates:
- 0%
- 8%
- 14.4%.
These rates are applied by income brackets according to a annual scale, and after a 10 % reduction.
You must report your withholding tax.
Check the "Non-resident withholding tax" box on your online tax return, then complete the relevant fields.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For general information
By phone:
0809 401 401
Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 7 pm, excluding public holidays.
Free service + price call
To contact the local service managing your file
Tax department (treasury, tax department...)To be helped in his steps
France Services / House of services to the public
Simulator
Online service
FAQ
Service Public
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Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Finance
Directorate-General for Public Finance