What income tax is withheld from my salary in my first year in France?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Until you have filed a French income tax return, the tax office can't calculate a personal rate, so your employer withholds income tax at a default rate set by an annual scale based on your monthly pay, from 0% to 43%. Newcomers can ask the tax office for a rate based on their situation.

Key facts

What	The source says	Source
Who collects the tax	Your employer (or pension fund) withholds it from your pay	Service Public F34009
Rate before your first return	A default rate, because the tax office has no declared information to calculate yours	BOI-IR-PAS-20-20-30-10, § 10; Service Public F34009
How the default rate is set	From an annual scale based on your monthly pay; it ranges from 0% to 43%	Service Public F34009; BOI-IR-PAS-20-20-30-10, § 90
Can you change it	Yes: people settling in France can ask for a rate based on their situation and current-year income	BOI-IR-PAS-20-20-30-10, § 40
When your own rate arrives	After your first return; rates are updated every September from the spring return	Service Public F34009; BOI-IR-PAS-20-20-30-10, § 20
Annual return	Still compulsory; tax withheld counts against the final bill	Service Public F34009

Why you start on the default rate

Since France collects income tax at source, your employer applies the rate the tax office sends it. Service Public, the government’s information site, explains that if you haven’t yet filed a tax return in France, the administration can’t calculate a personal rate and applies a default rate instead. The tax administration’s doctrine (BOFiP) gives “a taxpayer who has never filed a return” as the standard case.

The default rate comes from an annual scale based on your monthly taxable pay; Service Public says it runs from 0% to 43%. The doctrine adds that there are three scales: one for people living in mainland France or abroad, and two for overseas departments.

Even after you have a rate, the default rate can apply for a short while at the start of a new job: the employer only receives your rate after its first monthly payroll report, so the first payslip normally uses the default scale.

Asking for a rate that fits you

The doctrine says people who have no calculated rate because they have never filed a French return, including taxpayers settling in France, can ask the tax office to calculate and apply a rate based on their situation and expected income for the current year. Service Public says rate changes are requested from your online account on impots.gouv.fr (espace Finances publiques).

What happens next

Withholding doesn’t replace the annual return: Service Public says filing remains compulsory. The tax withheld during the year is credited against the tax calculated from your return. Your personal rate then reaches your employer and is updated each September after the spring return. If the tax due is higher than what was withheld, Service Public says the balance is taken in one payment in September if it is up to €300, or in four instalments from September to December above that.

Sources

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

This is general information, not legal advice, and Lumen is not a law firm. Rules change and offices differ: check the official sources above before you act. Found something wrong or out of date? Write to support@lumen.observer.