The UK keeps more at every salary, and the gap is widest in the middle: 10.1 points at the equivalent of £50,000, down to 2.5 points at £120,000.
The more revealing number is on the employer side. Of what a French employer spends on a €58,450 salary, 48.2% reaches the employee. The UK figure is 68.1%.
Widest gap
10.1 pts
at the equivalent of £50,000
French employer charges
43%
of gross, above 3x the SMIC
Reaches the employee
48.2%
of total cost, against 68.1% in the UK
Turn a French brut figure into net.
Open the France salary calculatorThe gap is a middle-salary problem
The share of gross kept after income tax and employee social contributions, for a single person with one part. Independent of the exchange rate.
| Equivalent salary | UK keeps | France keeps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | 83.7% | 75.2% | 8.5 pts |
| £50,000 | 79.0% | 69.0% | 10.1 pts |
| £80,000 | 71.2% | 64.8% | 6.4 pts |
| £120,000 | 63.5% | 60.9% | 2.5 pts |
| £200,000 | 58.9% | 55.6% | 3.3 pts |
CSG and CRDS apply to a broad base from low salaries upward, which is why the French line starts well below the UK one rather than catching up later. The convergence at the top is the UK falling, not France improving.
What the employer actually spends
This is the part that never appears in a take-home comparison and explains more about French pay than the tax tables do. Both rows are the equivalent of a £50,000 salary.
| Country | Total employer cost | Employee receives | Share reaching them |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £58,063 | £39,520 | 68.1% |
| France | €83,584 | €40,313 | 48.2% |
French charges patronales reach 43% of gross once salary passes three times the SMIC, and the relief available at lower salaries is fully exhausted by then. A French employer with a fixed budget can therefore fund a noticeably smaller gross salary than a UK one, which is a large part of why French offers look modest next to UK ones for the same role, and why portage salarial and auto-entrepreneur status are so widely used in French tech.
These are single-person figures, the least favourable case
French income tax is assessed on the household using a system of parts, so a married or PACS couple and any children reduce the effective rate considerably. Everything on this page assumes one part. A family moving to France will keep more than shown, sometimes much more, and the UK has no comparable household mechanism.
The same three salaries in cash
Converted at £1 = €1.1635, European Central Bank reference rates, 23 September 2026. Check the live rate; the percentages above do not move with it.
| UK gross | French brut | UK net | French net |
|---|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | €58,174 | £39,520 (£3,293/mo) | €40,153 (€3,346/mo) |
| £80,000 | €93,078 | £56,957 (£4,746/mo) | €60,357 (€5,030/mo) |
| £120,000 | €139,616 | £76,157 (£6,346/mo) | €85,157 (€7,096/mo) |
How these figures were produced
PayMetric Labs' own calculations with our UK and French tax engines at 2026 rates, for a single person with one part and no children. Employer cost uses our French engine's 43% charge band above three times the SMIC and our UK engine's employer National Insurance plus auto-enrolment pension. Mutuelle, tickets restaurant and UK pension salary sacrifice are excluded.
Compare your own two offers
French offers quote brut. Convert to net before comparing, and factor in your household parts.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the UK or France leave you with more of your salary?
The UK, at every level, with the gap widest in the middle. At the equivalent of £50,000 a UK employee keeps 79.0% of gross against 69.0% in France, a gap of 10.1 points. By £120,000 the gap is down to 2.5 points, because the UK's personal allowance taper pulls the UK side down sharply.
What is the real difference between the two systems?
The employer side, which no take-home comparison shows. French charges patronales run to 43% of gross above three times the SMIC. On a salary of €58,450 that means the employer spends €83,584 for an employee who receives €40,313, so just 48.2% of the total cost reaches the person doing the work. In the UK the equivalent figure is 68.1%.
Why does that matter if it is not my money?
Because it shapes what you can be offered. A French employer looking at a fixed budget can fund a much smaller gross salary than a UK employer with the same budget. It also explains why French salaries look low next to UK ones for equivalent roles, and why alternatives such as portage salarial and auto-entrepreneur status are so common in French tech.
What are CSG and CRDS?
Two social levies applied to a very broad base, and they are the reason French deductions start high even at modest salaries. Unlike UK National Insurance they are not a single banded contribution; they sit alongside pension, unemployment, health and the complementary pension schemes, which is why a French payslip has so many lines.
Is French income tax deducted at source now?
Yes. Prélèvement à la source has applied since 2019, so income tax comes out of the payslip as it does in the UK rather than being paid a year in arrears. The rate applied is based on your household situation, so a couple filing jointly can see a very different rate from the single-person figures on this page.
Does the household quotient change the answer?
Substantially. French income tax is assessed on the household with a system of parts, so a married or PACS couple and any children reduce the effective rate considerably. These figures assume a single person with one part, which is the least favourable case. A family will keep more than shown here.
How reliable is the currency conversion here?
Treat it as illustrative and check the live rate. The percentages are the durable part, because the share of gross you keep does not depend on the exchange rate. The rate used is stated and dated beside the cash table above, and comes from the European Central Bank's daily reference rates.
What does this comparison leave out?
The household quotient and any children, both of which favour France. Mutuelle health top-up cover, usually part-funded by the employer. Tickets restaurant and transport reimbursement, which are common French benefits with favourable treatment. UK pension salary sacrifice and student loan repayments. And BSPCE or AGA equity, which has its own French regime.
Figures are PayMetric Labs' own calculations using our UK and French tax and employer cost engines at 2026 rates, for a single person with one part and no children, against a single UK taxpayer with no pension contributions or student loan. Currency conversions use £1 = €1.1635, European Central Bank reference rates, 23 September 2026 and will drift; the percentages do not depend on the rate. General information only, not personal tax advice.