Estimate the French personal income tax (IR) on a gross salary.
2025 brackets on 2024 income (DGFiP). Excludes CSG/CRDS, prélèvements sociaux, plafonnement du quotient familial, and credits/deductions. Indicative — for filing, use impots.gouv.fr.
For most French households, the annual income tax (impôt sur le revenu, IR) is the second-largest line item after rent or mortgage — typically 5 % to 25 % of gross salary depending on income level and family situation. The system is progressive (five brackets) and family-aware (the quotient familial divides taxable income by a number of "parts" before applying the brackets, then multiplies the result back), which makes the marginal rate substantially less informative than the effective rate. A single childless person earning €50 000 pays a higher percentage than a family of four earning the same. This calculator turns a gross annual salary plus a family-parts selection into the exact amount of tax due, the after-tax income, the effective rate, and the marginal bracket — the four numbers that matter for most planning decisions, from "can I afford a €1 200 rent" to "is the additional pay rise worth it". The rates and brackets are the 2025 schedule applied to 2024 income, the version published by DGFiP at the end of 2024 and used for the spring 2025 declaration.
The tax is computed in three steps. Step 1 — net taxable income. The 10 % "abattement frais professionnels" reduces taxable salary by 10 %, with a floor of €504 and a ceiling of €14 171 (2025 figures). For most salaried workers the 10 % is bigger than €504, so the deduction is simply 10 % of gross salary, capped above €141 710. Step 2 — quotient familial. Net income is divided by the number of family parts (1 for a single adult, 2 for a married couple, +0.5 per dependent child for the first two children, +1 from the third). This gives the per-part quotient. Step 3 — bracketed tax per part, then ×parts. The 2025 brackets on 2024 income are: 0–11 497 € at 0 %; 11 498–29 315 € at 11 %; 29 316–83 823 € at 30 %; 83 824–180 294 € at 41 %; above 180 294 € at 45 %. The calculator applies each bracket marginally to the per-part quotient, sums the tax, multiplies by the number of parts, and reports the total. Marginal rate is the bracket the per-part quotient lands in. Effective rate is total tax / gross income.
Two inputs: gross annual salary in euros, and family parts (a dropdown listing the standard configurations). The defaults — €40 000 and 1 part — represent a single-adult mid-career office worker, a common reference case. The result panel shows the tax due, the after-tax income, the effective rate (what fraction of gross is paid in tax), the marginal bracket (which slice of additional income would be taxed at), the per-part quotient, and the 10 % deduction applied. The mini-stat panels make it easy to see the gap between marginal and effective rates — a 30 % marginal bracket usually produces an 11 % to 14 % effective rate, because the lower brackets carry their own zero or low rates that pull the average down.
A single-adult earning €40 000 gross. Step 1: 10 % deduction = €4 000 (floor €504, ceiling €14 171 — the 10 % wins). Net taxable = €36 000. Step 2: quotient = €36 000 / 1 part = €36 000. Step 3: bracket math on the per-part quotient. Up to €11 497 at 0 % = €0. From €11 497 to €29 315: (€29 315 - €11 497) × 11 % = €17 818 × 11 % = €1 960. From €29 315 to €36 000: (€36 000 - €29 315) × 30 % = €6 685 × 30 % = €2 005. Tax per part = €0 + €1 960 + €2 005 = €3 965. Total tax (×1 part) = €3 965. Effective rate = €3 965 / €40 000 = 9.9 %. Marginal bracket = 30 %. After-tax income = €36 035. Now consider a couple with 2 children at €60 000. Net = €54 000. Parts = 3 (2 adults + 0.5 + 0.5). Quotient = €18 000. Tax per part: only the 11 % bracket applies, on €18 000 - €11 497 = €6 503 × 11 % = €715. Total tax (×3) = €2 145. Effective rate = 3.6 % — much lower than the single-adult earner with two-thirds the income.
First, confusing marginal rate with effective rate. "I'm in the 30 % bracket" is informationally misleading: the next euro is taxed at 30 %, but the average across all euros earned is 10–14 %. The calculator surfaces both numbers side by side. Second, ignoring the plafonnement du quotient familial — for high earners, the family-parts mechanism is capped (€1 791 of tax savings per half-part above the first 2 in 2025), so very high income with many children does not benefit from the full quotient relief. The calculator does NOT apply this cap; for incomes above €100 000 with three or more children, the result undershoots the actual tax. Third, omitting CSG/CRDS, prélèvements sociaux on capital income, and various deductions (charity, daycare costs, energy retrofits). The tool computes IR alone — for total tax burden, add 17.2 % social contributions on capital gains, dividend taxes (PFU at 30 %), and any housing-tax-on-second-homes (CFE/IFI). Fourth, applying the 2025 schedule to 2026 income. Brackets are revalued each year by 1 to 2 % to track inflation; rates are stable. The calculator's brackets are the 2025 set; for 2026 declarations (on 2025 income), the floor will rise modestly. Fifth, treating the calculator's output as a substitute for the official simulator on impots.gouv.fr. For declaration purposes, always use the official tool.
The French IR sits alongside several other tax rails. Prélèvement à la source (PAS, since 2019) collects the tax monthly via payroll based on a personalised rate computed from the previous year's declaration; the calculator's output is what the rate is calibrated to deliver, but the actual cash flow is monthly. PFU (flat tax) on capital income is 30 % all-in (12.8 % IR + 17.2 % CSG/CRDS) on dividends, interest, and capital gains, distinct from the bracketed IR on salaries; many filers can opt for IR rates instead if they have low marginal brackets. Crédit d'impôt employé à domicile refunds 50 % of childcare/cleaner costs up to a ceiling, materially reducing IR for households using such services. Tax thresholds for retirees carry a separate 10 % deduction with different floor and ceiling; pension income is treated similarly to salary but not identically. International context: France's top marginal IR rate (45 %) is mid-pack in the OECD; combined with social contributions and CSG, the total income tax wedge can reach 60 % at the top, but for the median earner the IR is a smaller share of total tax burden than the social contributions financed via payroll.