Form 2502 — annual French payroll tax return
Form 2502-SD is the annual return that settles and regularises the French payroll tax (taxe sur les salaires), owed by employers not subject to VAT, or subject to it on less than 90 % of their turnover — except, notably, employers whose previous year's turnover does not exceed the VAT franchise thresholds, who are exempt: this is the case of micro-entrepreneurs with staff. It summarises the year's 2501 payment statements and must be e-filed. The calendar depends on the tax paid the previous year: below €4,000, a single 2502 return with its payment no later than 15 January; between €4,000 and €10,000, three quarterly 2501 statements then the 2502 before 31 January; above €10,000, eleven monthly statements then the 2502 before 31 January. Below €1,200 of annual tax, nothing is due and nothing is filed.
Up to date for 2025 — verified on October 3, 2026Official form2502-SDGuide: about 30 min
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Deadlines
- Previous year's tax below €4,000: 15 January
- A single annual return 2502-SD, with its payment, no later than 15 January of the year following the payment of the pay.
- Between €4,000 and €10,000: quarterly, then 31 January
- Three 2501-SD statements before 15 April, 15 July and 15 October; the last quarter's tax is paid with the 2502-SD regularisation before 31 January.
- Above €10,000: monthly, then 31 January
- Eleven 2501-SD statements within 15 days after each month; December's tax is paid with the 2502-SD regularisation before 31 January.
Documents to prepare
- Gross pay paid during the year, by bracket of the scale
- Tax paid the previous year (it sets the annual, quarterly or monthly rhythm)
- Provisional payment statements 2501-SD already filed
- For an employer partly subject to VAT: previous year's receipts giving or not giving rise to deduction
- Professional account credentials for e-filing and e-payment
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What this page gives you
The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.
Who this applies to
- Employers not subject to VAT in the year the pay is paid: medical professions, exempt training bodies, associations
- Employers partly subject to VAT, on less than 90 % of their turnover the previous year — the tax is then computed pro rata using a liability ratio
- Not concerned, because exempt: employers whose previous year's turnover does not exceed the VAT franchise thresholds — which is the case of micro-entrepreneurs with staff
Worked example
Example: Dr Marchand's practice settles its payroll tax
Dr Marchand, a general practitioner, employs a medical secretary. His fees are VAT-exempt: he owes payroll tax on all the pay he pays out. In 2025 he paid €2,800 of tax, below €4,000: for pay paid in 2026, he files no 2501 statement during the year and submits a single 2502-SD return, online from his professional account, with its payment, no later than 15 January 2027. The calculator linked to this page gives him the amount from the progressive scale and the gross pay; if the tax due fell between €1,200 and €2,040, the reduction regularised on the 2502 would cut it by three quarters of the difference with €2,040.
How to fill it in, step by step
- First check that you are not exempt: an employer whose previous year's turnover does not exceed the VAT franchise thresholds does not owe the tax — this is the case of the micro-entrepreneur with staff. Otherwise, check your liability: not subject to VAT in the year of payment, or subject on less than 90 % of the previous year's turnover — in that second case, compute the liability ratio (receipts not giving rise to VAT deduction / total receipts of the previous year).
- Note the tax paid the previous year: it sets your rhythm — annual below €4,000, quarterly between €4,000 and €10,000, monthly above.
- Compute the year's tax on gross pay with the calculator linked to this page: progressive scale, €1,200 threshold, reduction between €1,200 and €2,040, allowance for associations.
- Report on the 2502-SD the summary of the 2501 statements already paid, the final tax and the regularisation balance; the provisional reduction of the statements is regularised here.
- E-file and e-pay from your professional account, or through an EDI provider, at your rhythm's deadline — paper filing no longer exists.
- On transfer or cessation of business, file the annual return with its payment within 60 days, and no later than the following 15 January.
The form, line by line
- Liability ratio
- For an employer partly subject to VAT: (previous year's receipts not giving rise to deduction / total receipts) × 100. The base is the total taxable pay multiplied by this ratio. Its regularisation takes place no later than 15 May (monthly filers) or 15 July (quarterly filers).
- Summary of 2501 payments
- The 2502 takes over all the items reported during the year on the monthly or quarterly statements; the difference with the final tax forms the regularisation balance.
- Reduction
- If the annual tax is between €1,200 and €2,040, it is reduced by 0.75 × (€2,040 − tax). Also applied monthly (between €100 and €170) or quarterly (between €300 and €510) on the statements, it is regularised on the 2502.
- Allowance for associations
- For tax paid in 2025, associations and similar bodies benefit from a €24,041 allowance on the tax due. It is the annual tax still owed that governs filing: below €1,200, nothing is due and nothing is filed.
Good to know
- The tax is not due when its annual amount does not exceed €1,200 per employer — not per establishment — and no return is then filed.
- Provisional payments and the annual return must be sent and paid electronically, from the professional account or through an EDI provider.
- The competent office is the business tax office of the registered office, main establishment or home of an individual employer; companies under the large-business directorate e-pay there for all their establishments.
- A private individual employing staff in their own name may be liable from two full-time employees: they then need an employer SIRET, obtained from the one-stop business portal.
- The edition served by impots.gouv is 2025 (form and notice 2502-NOT-SD); the page was read on 11 September 2026 and serves no more recent edition.
Common mistakes
- Believing payroll tax only concerns associations: a doctor or a VAT-exempt training body are liable. Conversely, a micro-entrepreneur with staff whose turnover stays under the VAT franchise threshold is exempt.
- Picking the wrong rhythm by looking at the current year's tax instead of the tax paid the previous year.
- Mixing up 15 January (single annual return below €4,000) and 31 January (regularisation after quarterly or monthly statements).
- Forgetting to regularise the liability ratio when the year's final ratio exceeds the provisional one.
- Filing or paying on paper: the electronic route is mandatory, and non-compliance is penalised.
Frequently asked questions
Who must file form 2502-SD?
Any employer liable for payroll tax whose annual amount exceeds €1,200: an employer not subject to VAT, or subject on less than 90 % of the previous year's turnover — unless exempt, which is the case of an employer whose previous year's turnover does not exceed the VAT franchise thresholds, micro-entrepreneurs with staff included. Below €1,200, the tax is not due and no return is filed.
When is it filed?
No later than 15 January if the previous year's tax was below €4,000 (single return with payment); before 31 January, with the regularisation balance, if you file quarterly (€4,000 to €10,000) or monthly (above €10,000) 2501 statements.
How is the tax computed when I am partly subject to VAT?
Through a liability ratio: previous year's receipts not giving rise to VAT deduction, over total receipts. The year's taxable pay is multiplied by this ratio, then the progressive scale applies — the calculator linked to this page does that computation.
Can form 2502-SD still be filed on paper?
No: the official page states that provisional payments and annual returns must be sent and paid electronically, from the professional account or through an EDI provider.
Go further
Official sources
- impots.gouv.fr — Form 2502-SD, annual return settling and regularising the payroll tax (2025 edition, the latest the page serves, with notice 2502-NOT-SD): summarises all items reported on the monthly or quarterly payment statements — September 11, 2026
- impots.gouv.fr — How to file and pay my payroll tax (page updated 16 June 2026): tax not due up to €1,200 per employer, annual return 2502-SD no later than 15 January below €4,000, quarterly 2501-SD statements between €4,000 and €10,000 and monthly above with regularisation on the 2502-SD before 31 January, transfer or cessation within 60 days, liability-ratio regularisation on 15 May or 15 July, competent business tax office, mandatory e-filing and e-payment, private employer from two full-time employees — September 11, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Payroll tax, sheet F22576 (checked 1 January 2026): employers not subject to VAT or subject on less than 90 % of turnover, liability ratio (receipts not giving rise to deduction / total receipts), tax not due below €1,200, reduction of 0.75 × (€2,040 − tax) between €1,200 and €2,040, €24,041 allowance for associations on tax paid in 2025, annual, quarterly and monthly rhythms depending on the previous year's tax, 2502-SD mandatorily sent electronically — September 11, 2026
Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.