What is the French personal finance news for May 2024?
Here is a list of some French personal finance changes in May 2024:
Increase in gas prices in comparison to April 2024
The reference gas price has increased by 1.4% in comparison to last month. The reference natural gas price, known as the “prix repère de gas naturel”, was introduced at the end of the price controls on the 30th of June 2023 and is used to help show households what the regulated gas price would be if the price controls were maintained. You can read more about it in French here.
Personal education accounts (Compte personnel de formation) – no longer free to use
In France, tax payers receive up to €500 per year into a personal training account that can be used to pay for most recognised qualifications and training courses in France. From the 2nd of May 2024, users must contribute at least €100 to the cost of the training course and this amount will be increased each year along with inflation. The maximum account balance is currently €5,000. There are exceptions to this €100 contribution, such as for those registered as unemployed. You can read more about these accounts here.
Fees for medical appointments to increase
Fees for medical appointments, the part left for the patient to pay which is not covered by public or private health insurance, will increase from €1 to €2 from the 15th of May 2024. Note that higher fees often have to be paid up front, such as €26,50 to see a general doctor (GP or family doctor, “médecin généraliste” in French), most of which is then refunded back to you. There are exceptions to this fee increase, such as pregnant women and minors.
Energy efficient renovation grants to be expanded
Grants for energy-efficient home renovations, known as MaPrimeRenov’ will have more relaxed criteria from the 15th of May to the 31st of December 2024. An energy performance evaluation (diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE), will no longer be mandatory for smaller and simpler renovation works, such as on insulation, replacing windows or replacing boilers. Note that this grant is subject to an income limit. You can read more about it here and here.
Deadlines for income tax declarations are in May and June
As mentioned in our April update, the income tax online declarations opened in April and the deadlines are as follows:
- 21st of May for paper declarations
- 23rd of May for non-residents and those who live in departments 1 to 19
- 30th of May for those who live in departments 20 to 54
- 6 June for those who live in departments 55 to 976.
How can Aisa International help you?
We are regulated investment advisers and can introduce you to tax professionals and loan brokers to help you optimise your personal finances. Feel free to contact us here.
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.
