Pay-As-You-Earn (Prélèvement à la source) in France.

Start with JARI.

Withholding tax (prélèvement à la source, PAS) often confuses newcomers: why is my net salary already reduced by tax? Which rate should I choose? What about income earned in Korea or as a freelancer? JARI's Professional Services explain your situation, help you choose and adjust your rate, and manage your instalments. You pay the right amount — no more, no less.

What is withholding tax?

Since 2019, income tax is deducted directly from your income as you earn it, not the following year. For an employee, the employer withholds the tax from the salary and pays it to the tax authority. You'll see a "prélèvement à la source" line on your payslip.

The rate: three options.

• Personalized rate: calculated from your last return, shared across the whole household. This is the reference rate.
• Individualized rate: since September 2025, this is the default rate applied to married or civil-partnered couples. The household's total tax doesn't change; it's simply split between partners according to each one's income. Couples with similar incomes may prefer to switch back to the shared personalized rate.
• Neutral rate: based only on the salary amount, ignoring your family situation. Useful if you don't want your employer to know your real rate — but it can be less favorable.

Instalments: self-employed, rental, pension income.

If you have income with no "collector" (self-employment, rental income, foreign pensions…), the tax authority takes monthly or quarterly instalments directly from your bank account. They're based on your last return and reconciled later.

How to manage and change your rate.

Everything is done on impots.gouv.fr, under "Gérer mon prélèvement à la source":

• Choose between the personalized, individualized, or neutral rate.
• Adjust your rate up or down when things change (marriage, birth, income rise or fall, retirement). The change takes effect in one to two months.
• Report a change in family situation within 60 days.

It's a useful habit: an up-to-date rate avoids overpaying or facing a big reconciliation.

Newcomers: what to know.

When you arrive, until you've filed a return, the employer often applies the neutral rate by default. After your first return, your personalized rate applies. Also check, via the France-Korea treaty, how any Korean income is treated.

The annual reconciliation.

The PAS is only an advance. After your return, the authority calculates the tax actually due: if you overpaid, you're refunded (often in summer); if a balance is missing, it's collected in the autumn, possibly in instalments.

Get support.

Rate choice, instalments, foreign income: the wrong option can weigh on your cash flow all year. Review your situation with JARI's Professional Services to pick the right rate and adjust your instalments with peace of mind.

Going further.

Put the PAS in context with Understanding taxes in France, learn how to file your income, and if it's your first year, see First return & tax residency.

Useful links.

• Prélèvement à la source — impots.gouv.fr
• service-public.fr