Tax policy directorate – Bureau a

IX – CORPORATE SOCIAL SOLIDARITY CONTRIBUTION 
Legal entities engaged in an economic activity in the competitive sector that generate turnover 
excluding VAT of at least €19,000,000
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are required to pay a social solidarity contribution (contribution 
sociale de solidarité des sociétés, C3S) intended to finance the social protection of self-employed 
workers.
The rate of contributions is 0.16% (0.13% for the corporate social solidarity contribution and 0.03% for 
the additional contribution) of turnover, minus any deductions. 
The C3S and the additional contribution must be declared and paid to the national fund of the social 
security scheme for the self-employed (RSI). 
The 2016 Supplementary Budget Act
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created a C3S surcharge for companies in existence as of 1 
January of the tax year and whose turnover in the previous tax year was €1 billion or more. This 
surcharge is deducted from the amount of C3S due the following year. It is assessed at a rate of 0.04% 
of turnover for the year the tax is due.
In 2015, the C3S yielded €4.39 billion and the additional contribution €250 million.
 
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Threshold raised by Article 9 of the 2016 Social Security Budget Act no. 2015-1702 of 21 December 2015. 
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Article 112 of the 2016 Supplementary Budget Act no. 2016-1918 of 29 December 2016. 

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CHAPTER 4:
PAYROLL TAXES 
The main payroll taxes are the wage tax, the apprenticeship tax and employers' contributions to the 
development of continuous vocational training and to construction. 
Only the wage tax is considered within the scope of this handbook. 
The wage tax is payable by employers established in France who are not liable to VAT or were not 
liable to VAT on at least 90% of their turnover for the calendar year prior to that when the wages were 
paid. 
The taxpayers are mainly banks and insurance companies, the medical and paramedical sector, 
associations and other non-profit bodies. 
In order to cut red tape for “micro-enterprises”, the wages paid by employers whose annual turnover 
does not exceed the thresholds for dispensation from VAT, are exempt from the wage tax. 
Turnover is determined in light of all receipts and other revenue, including those not liable to VAT 
(particularly dividends and subsidies). 
The wage tax base is in line with that of the CSG applied to salaries and similar sources of income in 
accordance with the rules outlined in Article L.136-2 of the Social Security Code. The wage tax is levied 
on amounts paid as remuneration and expenses, miscellaneous benefits and bonuses including 
benefits in kind or cash benefits paid to employees in return for their work and effectively allocated 
during the calendar year. The wage tax base therefore includes profit sharing and employee incentive 
plans, employers’ contributions to company savings plans and towards funding supplementary pension 
schemes and complementary health insurance plans. The exemptions from CSG specifically provided 
for in section III, Article l.136-2 of the Social Security Code apply to the wage tax. The lump-sum 
deduction of 1.75% for business expenses applicable as part of the CSG is not applicable to determine 
the wage tax base. 
In contrast, remuneration corresponding to social security payments paid by employers, which are 
assessed in accordance with the rules outlined in Article L. 136-2 of the Social Security Code, is not 
included in the wage tax base. 
The benefits mentioned (stock options and free share allocations) are not subject to the tax. 
The tax base is calculated by multiplying the total taxable wages (within the meaning of social security 
regulations) by the ratio between the turnover not liable to VAT and total turnover for the year prior to 
their payment. 
This tax liability ratio is calculated as follows: 
• 
by numerator, the turnover which was not liable to VAT and which covers all receipts 
(particularly, subsidies not liable to VAT, except infrastructure subsidies and “extraordinary 
subsidies”) and other revenue which did not provide entitlement to VAT deductions, thus 
including that relating to transactions not liable to VAT; 
• 
by denominator, the total turnover, which covers all receipts and other revenue collected by the 
employer, regardless of the origin and classification and which also includes receipts and 
revenue relating to transactions not liable to VAT. 
The wage tax is assessed annually by applying a progressive scale by bands to the amount of gross 
wages paid to each employee. The bands are as follows: 

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