How net pay is calculated in France
A French payslip goes from gross (brut) to "net à payer avant impôt" by deducting employee social contributions, then the income tax is withheld at source (prélèvement à la source, PAS). On €3,000 gross a month, a non-cadre employee pays about €658 in contributions, leaving €2,342 before tax and roughly €2,217 after a 5.1% withholding rate.
- Pension: state pension 6.90% up to the social-security ceiling (€4,005 a month in 2026) plus 0.40% on all pay, and Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension 3.15% + CEG 0.86% (8.64% + 1.08% above the ceiling). Cadres also pay APEC (0.024%).
- CSG and CRDS: 9.7% on 98.25% of gross plus the employer's health-insurance (mutuelle) share. Of that, 6.8% is tax-deductible; the other 2.9% is added back to the taxable net.
- Mutuelle: your share of the mandatory company health insurance, typically €20–50 a month.
- Income tax (PAS): your household rate is applied to the "net imposable". The calculator estimates the rate from the 2026 barème (0/11/30/41/45%), with the 10% professional-expense deduction, family quotient (parts for spouse and children, capped at €1,807 per half-part) and décote. You can switch to the neutral rate (taux neutre), which ignores family situation. Your actual rate is shown on impots.gouv.fr, and any difference is settled after the tax return.
Payment convention and hourly wages
French salaries are paid monthly over 12 months. A 13th month (13e mois) is paid only if your contract or collective agreement provides it, and you can switch it on as an option. The legal working week is 35 hours. Hourly wages are converted with 35 × 52 ÷ 12 = 151.67 hours a month, so the 2026 minimum wage (SMIC) of €12.31 an hour comes to €1,867.02 a month. Overtime premiums are not modelled. Employer costs include the 2026 general reduction (RGDU) for pay below three times the SMIC. See Service-Public.fr and URSSAF for the official rates.