The Pay as You Earn system in France reported to 2019

9 June 2017

The French Prime Minister announced the report of the pay as you earn tax system to 1 January 2019. This is to allow an audit and an experimentation. The arrangements for the transition year will be deferred for one year and the taxation arrangements for 2018 will remain unchanged from those applied in 2017.

The postponement announced by the Prime Minister must make it possible to examine the technical and operational robustness of the device and to assess the reality of the induced load for collectors, in particular companies, by means of an audit and an experiment.

The audit will be conducted by a team of the General Inspectorate of Finance and an independent firm selected by the General Secretariat for Modernization of Public Action. Experimentation will begin in early July with all voluntary participants, whose mobilization is essential to test the device in real conditions.

The Minister of Action and Public Accounts, Gérald Darmanin, will go to the field by the beginning of September to consult with companies, trade unions, local and regional authorities and all stakeholders Issues raised. He will also be available to the Finance Committees of the National Assembly and the Senate to answer their questions.

The Minister of Public Affairs and Accounts is particularly grateful to officials of the Directorate General of Public Finance, as well as companies, public employers, social welfare agencies and software publishers who have worked hard to prepare this project.

The pay as you earn system will be an improvement for the French by allowing the tax collection to be adjusted in real time to reflect changes in incomes and the situation of each individual. The deferral decision will make it possible to reassure all the economic players to implement this reform under the best conditions.

The arrangements for the transition year will be deferred for one year and the taxation arrangements for 2018 will remain unchanged from those in force in 2017.

Implementation of the carryover will be the subject of legislative and regulatory measures in the near future.


Cabinet Roche & Cie, Chartered accountant in Lyon, France.
Specialist in non-residents’ real estate taxation.

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