Salaries will drop from September for many French people, this is why

2024-08-25 04:40:16

In a few days, the average wage will not be as high as before for many workers.

September: the month of return to work, back to school and many of your expenses, taxes… But the pay cut! This is an unpleasant surprise that will take many French people by surprise in a few days. If the payment is expected to be stable, it will not be as high as usual. There is no need to complain to your boss, he is not responsible. Your basic salary has not changed a bit. The difference is made on the line at the bottom of the pay slip.

Let us consider the example of Mickaël. This employee has received, since the beginning of the year, 2000 euros per month. But in September, only 1,979 euros will be paid into your bank account. A mistake? Never. This is the result of an income tax return made in the spring. Many French people will find themselves in Mickaël’s position at the end of September.

Since the introduction of deferred tax, every month, part of the tax paid is deducted before the salary arrives in the account. This is a percentage. This is established by the tax authorities from your last tax return. Then you send it directly to your employer. Each time, this is done in September. Therefore, if your 2023 income (declared in 2024) is higher than your 2022 income (declared in 2023), then your withholding tax rate will increase. This will be used from the September payroll, at the end of the month.

In our example, Mickaël was at about 2% until then it increased to 3% from the last tax return. Your salary does not increase between August and September, your net income will decrease so the tax authorities collect more money from you. So the people involved are the ones who get more income in 2023 compared to 2022.

However, it is possible to avoid this situation. By going to your specific site on the impots.gouv.fr site, you must click on “Manage my withholding tax” on the right. A new window opens. Here, by clicking on “Report a change” or “Update following an increase or decrease in your income”, you can cause the rate to decrease. Be careful, however, this means that the balance to be paid in taxes at the end of next year will increase since the tax authorities will not collect as they would collect every year.

Also, it is completely possible not to transmit your tax rate to your employer, by clicking on the box provided for this purpose. This will result in the tax rate being applied only to the salary paid by your employer and not to your entire income. “This option is only useful if you receive a significant income in addition to your salaries and you do not want your employer to use your personal rate,” explains DGFiP.