The level of social security contributions payable by business owners in France is comparatively high, although it is partially offset by a more generous income/company tax system.
The amount you will pay depends on your income and the tax system you use.
Those with micro-entrepreneur status pay a fixed percentage rate of their turnover (not profit). The rate depends on the activity, but ranges from 12.20% to 23.20% depending on the activity. You can read more at Social Security for Micro-Entrepreneurs.
For those who run the business through a company, the amount payable is based on net income, although a minimum level of contributions are payable, even though the business may be loss-making.
Contrary to the micro-entrepreneurs, company owners do not pay a single flat rate charge, but different percentage rates for the various social rights to which they have an entitlement.
These rights include health cover, invalidity, family benefits, sick pay, and pensions. The social charges CSG/CRDS are also payable, although they grant no social rights.
By far the largest contribution is for pensions, both main and complementary, accounting for around 65% of the total charge.
The table below shows the amount payable by a non-salaried business owner (gerant) at different levels of net income, ranging from €18,000 a year, to €46,000 a year, effective from 1st January 2025. There are marginal differences between different professional sectors, not shown here. In particular, the rates for professions libérales affiliated to CIPAV are different.
As can be seen, the total percentage contribution is around 40% of profits before tax. However, the good news is that social security contributions are a deductible business cost against income tax.
€18,000 | €7,374 |
€24,000 | €10,507 |
€36,000 | €16,722 |
€48,000 | €22,521 |
In order to reduce the amount payable, business owners can use a range of strategies, one of which is remuneration by dividends, when only the social charges of 17% are payable. However, the distribution cannot be greater than 10% of the share capital of the company, after which the full panoply of charges become due. We will look in more detail at the issue of business owner remuneration in a future article.
Related Reading:
<li><a href="https://www.french-property.com/guides/france/business/micro-entrepreneur"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guide to Starting a Micro Business in France</span></a></li>
