French personal finance changes in February 2024
Here is a summary of some of the main French personal finance changes in February 2024.
Motorway road toll charges increase by an average of 3%
Motorway road tolls (péages d’autoroute) charges are reviewed annually and from the 1st of February, the prices of these road tolls have increased by an average of 3%. Last year, the increase was 4.75%.
Reduction in the interest rate for the Livret d’épargne populaire (LEP)
As of the first of February 2024, the interest rate for these accounts will be 5%, rather than 6% for the previous year. You can read more about the Livret d’épargne populaire here.
Electricity price increases
Regulated electricity prices in France, known as the tarif réglementé de vente de l’électricité, have increased as of the first of February. The increase is 8.6% for those with standard electricity charging and 9.8% for those who have different charges for peak (heures pleines) and off-peak hours (heures creuses).
A second chance for those refused a French mortgage
Those who have been refused a French mortgage will gain the right to a second review of the file, or at the very least, an explanation for the refusal. You can read more about this new measure in our recent article here.
A reduction in ecological grants for electric vehicles for the top 50% of earners
On the 12th of February 2024, the French government announced that the subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles by individuals who earn at least 24,470 euros will reduce from 5,000 euros to 4,000 euros. The bonus is for vehicles with a price of less than 47,000 euros and a weight of less than 2.4 tonnes.
For individuals who earn less than 15 400 euros as their “revenu fiscal de référence”, the subsidy limit is unchanged at 7,000 euros.
For businesses, the ecological subsidies for vans is reduced by 1,000 euros and the grant for the purchase of new green regular vehicles has been ended. You can read about other electric vehicle subsidy changes here (in French).
Useful links
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/cedef/bonus-automobile
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/N19803
The views expressed in this article are not to be construed as personal advice. Therefore, you should contact a qualified, and ideally, regulated adviser in order to obtain up-to-date personal advice with regard to your own personal circumstances. Consequently, if you do not, then you are acting under your own authority and deemed “execution only”. Additionally, the author does not accept any liability for people acting without personalised advice, who base a decision on views expressed in this generic article. Importantly, this article is dated and is based on legislation as of the date. It should be noted that legislation changes, but articles are rarely updated. Sometimes a new article is written; so, please check for later articles. Additionally, check for changes in legislation on official government websites. Finally, this article should not be relied on in isolation.
