PER: is the tax deduction worth the lock? Your cap, calculated
Every euro you pay into a PER comes off your taxable income, up to a cap. Here is how the 2026 cap is calculated, what the deduction is worth at your tax rate, and what you give up in exchange.
The PER (plan d'épargne retraite) has one strong argument: each payment comes off your taxable income. The price is that the money is locked until you retire. Whether the trade is worth it depends on two numbers: your cap and your marginal tax rate.
How the deduction works
You pay into the plan during the year. When you file your return, you report the payment (box 6NS for the first person of the household), and it is deducted from your taxable income. At a 30% marginal rate, a payment of 6,000 euros saves 1,800 euros of income tax. At 41%, it saves 2,460 euros.
At an 11% rate, the same payment saves only 660 euros. The PER is most useful when your rate today is higher than the rate you expect in retirement.
Your cap for 2026
For a payment made in 2026, the cap is 10% of your 2025 professional income, after the usual 10% allowance for expenses. Two limits apply:
- a floor of 4,710 euros (10% of the 2025 social security ceiling, PASS), which everyone gets, even with no earned income;
- a ceiling of 37,680 euros (10% of eight times the PASS).
Unused cap from the three previous years is added. Your last tax notice shows the total you can still deduct.
Track your PER with the rest of your portfolio in Cadances
A PER is one account among several. Cadances is a portfolio tracker: it keeps your PER next to your PEA, assurance-vie and CTO, with one total and one allocation.
- The deduction, priced. Tell Cadances what you earn from work, and the Tax screen shows how much a PER payment this year would take off your taxable income, floor and cap included.
- The account type that fits. On Portfolios, the PER individuel and the PER d'entreprise are account types of their own. Gains inside show as untaxed, with the exit rules stated.
- One allocation. Set allocation rules across your accounts and see when the mix drifts from your target.
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 PER. To track your PER next to your other accounts, compare the paid plans.
The bottom line
- A PER payment comes off your taxable income: 1,800 euros saved on 6,000 euros at a 30% rate.
- The 2026 cap is 10% of your 2025 earned income, from 4,710 to 37,680 euros, plus unused cap from 3 years.
- The money is locked until retirement, except for a home purchase and the accidents of life.
- At the exit, deducted payments are taxed at your scale and the gain at 31.4%.
- Pay before 31 December to deduct it this year.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Your own situation and your plan's documents decide what applies to you.
Frequently asked questions
10% of your 2025 professional income, with a floor of 4,710 euros and a ceiling of 37,680 euros. Your tax notice also shows the unused cap from earlier years that you can still use.
The payment must reach the plan by 31 December. Many providers ask you to pay a few days earlier so the money arrives in time.
Sources
- Service-Public, Plan d'épargne retraite (PER)
- impots.gouv.fr, Plafond de déduction épargne retraite
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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