French investment accounts compared: PEA, Assurance-Vie, PER, CTO and PEE
France gives investors five main accounts, and each one is taxed by its own rules. Here is what each account is for, how it is taxed in 2026, and how to hold several of them as one portfolio.
A French investor rarely holds one account. A typical portfolio sits across a PEA, an assurance-vie, maybe a PER, an ordinary securities account (CTO) and an employee plan (PEE). The same share can be taxed at 0% in one of them and at 31.4% in another. Knowing which account does what is the first step to a portfolio that keeps more of its return.
The five accounts at a glance
| Account | What it holds | Tax while you hold | Tax when you take money out |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEA | European shares and eligible ETFs | None | 18.6% social levies on the gain after 5 years |
| Assurance-Vie | Funds and a euro fund | None | Only on the gain, lighter after 8 years |
| PER | Funds for retirement | None, and payments cut your income tax | Payments at your scale, gain at 31.4% |
| CTO | Anything | 31.4% on dividends and sales each year | Nothing more |
| PEE | Your employer's funds | None | 18.6% social levies on the gain |
PEA: the equity account
The PEA takes up to 150,000 euros of payments. After 5 years, dividends and gains are free of income tax. You pay only the social levies on the gain when you withdraw. It holds European shares and the ETFs that are eligible, including many world and S&P 500 trackers.
Assurance-Vie: the all-purpose account
Nothing is taxed while the money stays in. On a withdrawal, only the gain is taxed. After 8 years, the first 4,600 euros of gain each year is free of income tax (9,200 euros for a couple). It also passes to your heirs on good terms.
PER: the retirement account
Each payment comes off your taxable income, up to a cap. The money is locked until retirement, apart from a few exits such as buying your first home.
CTO: the ordinary account
No ceiling and no limit on what you buy. In exchange, every dividend and every sale is taxed in the year, at the flat tax of 31.4% in 2026.
PEE: the employee plan
Your employer can add a top-up to what you pay in. The money is locked for 5 years, and only social levies are due on the gain.
Track your French accounts with the rest of your portfolio in Cadances
The accounts are separate, but your portfolio is one. Cadances is a portfolio tracker: it puts your PEA, assurance-vie, PER, CTO and PEE in one place, with one total, one allocation and one performance figure.
- Each account priced the way French law prices it. On the Portfolios screen, give each portfolio its account type. A PEA shows no income tax and says what it still owes in social levies; a CTO shows the flat tax.
- The deferred bill, made visible. Tell Cadances when you opened a plan and what you paid in, and the Tax screen shows its age, the time to its 5 or 8-year mark, the gain inside and what a withdrawal today would cost.
- Everything in one view. Import your broker file or add holdings by hand, then compare the whole portfolio with the market on Performance.
Start free. Create your Cadances account: no card, no time limit. The Free plan holds one portfolio of up to 15 holdings, which is enough for one PEA. To track every account side by side, compare the paid plans.
The bottom line
- The PEA is the best home for European shares and eligible ETFs: no income tax after 5 years.
- The assurance-vie holds everything else, with light tax after 8 years.
- The PER cuts your income tax today, in exchange for a lock until retirement.
- The CTO is taxed every year at 31.4% in 2026, but it has no limits.
- The PEE adds your employer's money to yours.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Your own situation and your providers' documents decide what applies to you.
Frequently asked questions
For most investors who buy European shares or ETFs, a PEA, because its gains and dividends are free of income tax after 5 years. An assurance-vie is a good second account for everything a PEA cannot hold.
Yes. Most French investors hold two or three. You can have one PEA per person, but as many assurance-vie contracts and compte-titres as you like.
Sources
- Service-Public, Plan d'épargne en actions (PEA)
- Service-Public, Assurance-vie
- Service-Public, Plan d'épargne retraite (PER)
Written by Cadances Editorial
Clear, unhurried writing on portfolios, ETFs, dividends and tax, from the team building Cadances, the portfolio tracker.
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