French Income Tax Calculator 2026

How is income tax calculated in France?

French income tax is worked out in several steps. You start from your income (salaries, pensions, other income) and subtract the flat 10% deduction for work expenses or your actual expenses (frais réels), then deductible expenses (payments into a PER retirement plan, maintenance paid) and, for people over 65 or with a disability, a special allowance: this gives your net taxable income (revenu net imposable). It is divided by the number of shares (parts) in your household to get the family quotient (quotient familial); the progressive scale is applied to that quotient, and the result is multiplied by the number of shares. Then come the cap on the family quotient benefit, the allowance for residents of the overseas departments (DOM), the décote for low-income households and, finally, tax reductions. This calculator follows these steps in order and shows each amount, so you can see where the final figure comes from. It is designed for French tax residents, including expats living in France: it does not calculate tax for any other country.

French income tax brackets 2026 (2025 income)

For tax paid in 2026 on 2025 income, the brackets were raised by 0.9% by the 2026 Finance Act. Per share: 0% up to €11,600, 11% from €11,601 to €29,579, 30% from €29,580 to €84,577, 41% from €84,578 to €181,917 and 45% above that. Each rate only applies to the part of your income that falls within its bracket: moving into the 30% bracket does not mean paying 30% on all your income. For example, a single person with €30,000 of net taxable income pays €2,104, about 7% of that income. The rate of your highest bracket is called the marginal tax rate (taux marginal d'imposition, TMI): it is the rate applied to one extra euro.

Tax shares, family quotient and the cap: how many parts do you have?

A single person has 1 share, a married couple or a couple in a PACS has 2. Each of the first two dependent children adds a half-share, and each child from the third onwards a full share. In shared custody (résidence alternée), the first two children count for a quarter share each and the following ones for a half-share. A single parent gets an extra half-share (a quarter share for each of the first two children if they are all in shared custody), a widowed person with a dependent child keeps 2 shares, and disability or veteran status can give an extra half-share (a quarter share for a disabled child in shared custody). The benefit of each half-share is capped, however: €1,807 per half-share for 2025 income, and €4,262 for the first child's share of a single parent. For a widowed person with a child, this cap is calculated against 1 share, with an additional reduction of up to €2,011; each disability or veteran half-share gives an additional reduction of up to €1,801. When the saving exceeds the cap, the tool tells you and applies it.

The décote: a reduction for small tax bills

The décote lowers the tax of households whose gross tax is low: it applies if that tax is below €1,982 for a single person or €3,277 for a couple. It equals €897 (single, divorced, widowed) or €1,483 (couple) minus 45.25% of the gross tax. A single person with gross tax of €1,000 therefore gets a décote of about €445 and pays only €555. The décote is calculated after the family quotient cap and before tax reductions. That is why a small change in income can change your tax more than expected around these thresholds. Finally, a tax bill under €61 is not collected: you then have nothing to pay.

Average rate, marginal rate and withholding tax

The average rate is your net tax divided by your net taxable income: it is the real share of your income that goes in tax, usually much lower than the marginal rate. The marginal rate is the rate of your highest bracket, the one that applies to one more euro; if the family quotient is capped, it is read on your income divided by your base shares. Withholding tax (prélèvement à la source) is taken from your salary every month at the personal rate set by the French tax office. The tool estimates this rate by dividing the tax before reductions and credits by your income before the 10% deduction. Reductions and credits do not lower this rate: they are paid back to you through the January advance and the summer balance. Your actual rate appears on your tax notice (avis d'impôt) and in your personal account on impots.gouv.fr, and it may differ because of the previous year's income or a rate adjustment.