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France Employment Benefits Guide

the French taxation of employment benefits. The guide covers: the company car (voiture de fonction) — the benefit in kind (avantage en nature) is calculated as: (a) 9% of the purchase price of the vehicle (including VAT) for the employer, plus the insurance and maintenance costs paid by the employer, with a minimum of 9% of the purchase price; the benefit is reduced by contributions from the employee (if the employee pays for private fuel or contributes to the lease); the benefit is subject to social charges (cotisations sociales) and income tax; the fuel paid by the employer is included in the benefit (the "avantage en nature carburant" — 30% of the purchase price if the employer pays for all fuel, plus the 9% base); the meal vouchers (titres-restaurant) — the employer contributes 50–60% of the face value of the meal voucher (the "titre-restaurant"); the employer's contribution is exempt from social charges and income tax up to a limit of €5.97 per voucher (2026); the employee's contribution (40–50%) is out of the employee's net salary; the meal vouchers can be used for food purchases (restaurants, supermarkets, bakeries) up to €19 per day; the health insurance (mutuelle) — the employer must provide a "mutuelle santé" (health insurance) for all employees since 2016; the employer pays at least 50% of the premium; the employer's contribution is exempt from social charges and income tax up to a limit (the "plafond forfaitaire d'exonération" — approximately €375 per year per employee (2026) for the mandatory collective coverage); the employee's contribution (50% maximum) is deductible from the employee's income in certain cases; the theatre and entertainment tickets (places de spectacle) — the employer can provide up to 6 tickets per year per employee and 50% of the cost of a season ticket; the benefit is exempt from social charges and income tax; the sports and leisure activities — the employer's contribution to a sports club or leisure activity (up to 5% of the PASS per year) is exempt from social charges and income tax; the employee savings plans (PEE and PERECO) — the "Plan d'Épargne Entreprise" (PEE) — the employee can invest up to 25% of the gross salary per year; the employer can match the employee's contributions up to a limit (the "abondement" — up to 300% of the employee's contribution, capped at €8,128 per year (2026); the employer's matching contribution is exempt from social charges and income tax for the employee; the funds are locked for 5 years (except for early withdrawal events: marriage, birth, divorce, disability, unemployment, retirement, purchase of a main residence); the PERECO (Plan d'Épargne Retraite d'Entreprise Collectif) — the employer's contributions are deductible from the taxable income of the employee (in the same way as the PER); the funds are locked until retirement; the company profit-sharing (intéressement) — a performance-based bonus linked to the company's results: the amounts are exempt from social charges (up to a limit of 75% of the annual Social Security ceiling) but subject to income tax (unless invested in the PEE within 15 days); the company profit share (participation) — a mandatory profit-sharing scheme for companies with 50+ employees: exempt from social charges and income tax if invested in the PEE within 15 days.

French employment benefits are a significant component of total compensation. All amounts in Euros (EUR). For related reading, see our Hiring Employees Guide → and Payroll Tax Guide →.

Company Car (Véhicule de Fonction)

• Benefit-in-kind calculation: The company car benefit is calculated as 9% of the purchase price (including VAT) of the vehicle. If the employee pays for private fuel, the 9% rate applies. If the employer pays for fuel, the rate is 30% (9% + 21% for the fuel component). For electric vehicles, the rates are reduced by 50% until 2027 (4.5% and 15%). The benefit is reported on the employee's payslip and is subject to social charges and income tax.

PEE — Employee Savings Plan

• Employer matching (abondement): The employer can match the employee's contributions to the PEE at up to 300% of the employee's contribution, capped at €8,128 per year (2026). The matching contribution is exempt from social charges and income tax for the employee. The employee's contribution is made from net salary. The funds are locked for 5 years (the "indisponibilité de 5 ans").
• Profit-sharing (intéressement): The intéressement is a voluntary bonus linked to the company's performance. The amounts are exempt from social charges (up to 75% of the annual PASS) but subject to income tax (the "CSG/CRDS" at 9.70% is applied). If invested in the PEE within 15 days of payment, the amounts are also exempt from income tax.

For the payroll tax treatment and the DSN declarations, see our Payroll Tax Guide →. For the tax-free benefits and allowances, see our Hiring Employees Guide →.