France has a new prime minister (again), actually – no we don’t – another one gone! However, time is of the essence to ensure that the Finance Law is approved and passed into law by the end of the year. Prior to the government reshuffle, there was a plan to freeze the tax rates at their current level and not adjust them in line with inflation as has been done in the past few years.
Financial update France October 2025
By Katriona Murray-Platon
This article is published on: 6th October 2025
There was also a plan to set the 10% abatement on pensions at a maximum of €2000 per pensioner rather than the current maximum of €4399. Whether these measures will be adopted into law by the end of year, only time will tell.
According to a study published by the French National Statistics Body (INSEE, Focus 354), in 2024, 78% of French residents have a Livret A Savings account, compared with 42% who have an assurance vie and 27% that have a property savings plan (PEL/CEL). Only 19% of French residents have a retirement account (PER) and only 16.5% are part of an employer’s savings plan. Clearly the French prefer to keep their investments in assurance vies rather than in share accounts since only 9.8% of French residents have PEAs and only 9.6% have ordinary share accounts (compte titres). With the interest rate for the Livret A now at only 1.7%, this means that a large amount of French savings is not protected from inflation. Since money in an ordinary share account is subject to both tax and social charges, it is more tax efficient to invest in either an assurance vie or a PEA.
After another hot and dry summer, which has affected ground conditions in many areas, a decree has been published on 6th September 2025, which grants a subsidy to property owners in 11 departments to diagnose and remedy the potential damage of clay soil shrinkage and expansion.
This financial assistance could cover up to 90% of the costs up to a maximum amount of €2 000 for a “vulnerability diagnosis” of the property and up to 80% of the work costs up to a maximum amount of €15,000. Both will be means tested.
This autumn child care benefits (“complement de libre choix du mode de garde” or CMG) are changing. The CMG is a family benefit which covers part of the costs of a child being looked after by a carer (assistante maternelle) or at home by a nanny employed directly by the parents. This benefit is being amended in order to better assist families in certain situations. From 1st September 2025, the amount of this benefit will also change. In particular, single parents can now receive CMG until their child is 12 years old instead of 6 years old previously. From 1st December 2025, for parents with shared custody of their child, each parent can receive CMG under certain conditions. The calculation of the amount of benefits will be done automatically by Urssaf on the Pajemploi website and families will be informed of the new amount of benefits they will receive in the September 2025 declaration.
The Taxe Foncière statements are now available on your online account on the impots.gouv.fr website. You have until 15th October to pay the tax or20th October if you pay online. If you are already paying your taxe foncière monthly and the amount is higher than last year, then you will pay your regular amount on 15th October and the excess on 15th November.
Most people will have noticed an increase in their tax foncière of 1.7% due to the annual revaluation of the rental value which is the basis on which this tax is calculated.
There may also be an additional increase if your local council has voted for one. Other subsidiary taxes such as the tax to manage aquatic areas and the prevention of flooding may also have increased in certain areas. As for the tax for the refuse collection, a table produced by the Environmental and Energy efficiency (Agence de l’environnement et de la mâitrise de l’energy) published in Le Monde newspaper on 25th August showed that more than half of local authorities charge more than what it actually costs them to collect and treat the rubbish. If your tax foncière seems excessively high this year, it may be worth raising this issue with your local council.
If you have any questions on your financial situation in France, or know someone who does, please do get in touch and I would be happy to arrange a free, no obligation, phone or video call.