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Recruiting a foreign employee: cost for the employer

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Visa, staying, working Employees Residence-permit

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Employer hiring a foreign national o hosting a seconded worker must pay a tax to the “Direction Générale des Finances Publiques” (DGFiP) upon the foreign worker comes to France for the first time or upon his/her admission to stay as an employee. The employer must be able to provide a summary document of the recruitment of foreign employees.   

The tax must be declared and paid annually: 

Employees hired in 2023: The first steps will be required in February 2024. A declaration will only be required in 2023 for companies that cease to operate. 

Employees hired in 2024: The tax is payable at the end of the month in which the first day of work in France takes place. 

For example: the first day of employment is November 11th (current year). The tax will be payable on November 30th (current year), regardless of the duration of the employment contract.   

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Fees

The amount varies depending on the duration of the employment contract: 

  • for a period of 12 months or more: 55% of the salary paid to the foreign worker, up to a limit of 2.5 times the monthly amount of the SMIC (i.e., €4,417.00 as of January 1, 2024). If the gross monthly salary is greater than €4,417.00, the tax is limited to €2,426.75 as of January 1, 2024. 
  • for a period of more than 3 months and less than 12 months: the amount of the tax ranges from €50 to €300 depending on the gross monthly salary of the relevant employee. 
  • for seasonal employment: the amount of the tax is €50 per full or incomplete month of salaried activity. 
  • for a young professional recruited under a bilateral agreement for the exchange of young professionals: the amount of the tax is between €50 and €300 depending on the gross monthly salary of the person concerned. 

Exemption

The following structures are exempt from this tax: 

  • Public research bodies and foundations recognized as being in the public interest; 
  • Higher education establishments; 
  • Public scientific cooperation foundations and institutions. 

The employer is also exempt from this tax if he recruits:  

  • Citizens of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, Monaco, Andorra and Saint-Martin, as well as third-country nationals holding a “family member of EU/EEA/Swiss citizens” residence permit; 
  • Foreign nationals holding a “talent”, “talent passport”, “resident”, “private and family life”, “ICT seconded employee”, “student” residence permit…) 
  • employees coming to work in France for a period of less than 3 months. 
  • Employees employed by individuals in their private homes to carry out family or household work. 
  • Employees in a private non-profit home to satisfy needs about personal life. 

How to declare and pay ?

The tax is payable at the end of the month in which the first day of work in France takes place. 

Good to know: the payment of the tax due by employers in the case of recruitment of foreign nationals must be made at the same time as the payment of VAT (value-added tax) and other taxes shown on the annex to the VAT declaration.  

To help with the calculation of the amount of employer’s tax to be reported on the VAT form, a calculation assistance sheet is made available by the “Direction Générale des Finances publiques »

Find more information

 

The procedures for declaring and paying this tax follow the VAT taxation rules businesses : 

  • Companies subject to the simplified VAT tax regime (i.e. those declaring less than 15,000 euros of VAT per year) must declare this tax online in the year of recruitment by filling in the form n°3517-S-SD 
  • Companies subject to the normal real tax regime (notably those declaring more than 15,000 euros of VAT per year) must declare this tax in the first month, or quarter, following the year of recruitment by completing the form n°3310-A-SD 
  • Employers not liable for VAT must declare this tax online in the year following the recruitment of the talent by completing the form n°3310-A-SD 

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Source : URSSAF