Form 2501 — French payroll tax provisional payment statement
Form 2501-SD is the statement that goes with each provisional payment of the French payroll tax (taxe sur les salaires), monthly or quarterly, due before the 15th of the month following the month or quarter of the statement. It only concerns employers not subject to VAT whose tax paid the previous year exceeds €4,000: between €4,000 and €10,000, three quarterly statements before 15 April, 15 July and 15 October; above €10,000, one statement each month within 15 days after the month's end. The last quarter, or December, has no statement: its tax is paid with the regularisation balance of the annual return 2502-SD, before 31 January. Below €4,000 of tax the previous year, no statement is filed: a single 2502-SD, with its payment, no later than 15 January. Statement and payment must be electronic.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official form2501-SDGuide: about 15 min
Deadlines
- Previous year's tax between €4,000 and €10,000: 15 April, 15 July, 15 October
- One 2501-SD statement with its payment for each of the first three quarters; no statement for the last quarter, whose tax is paid with the 2502-SD before 31 January of the following year.
- Previous year's tax above €10,000: within 15 days after each month
- Eleven monthly statements, January to November; December's tax is paid with the regularisation balance of the 2502-SD before 31 January of the following year.
- Regularisation of the liability ratio: 15 May or 15 July of the year following the year of the pay
- When the year's final ratio exceeds the previous year's provisional ratio, the regularisation is made on the next statement, and no later than 15 May for monthly payers or 15 July for quarterly payers, of the year following the year of the pay — the final ratio for year N only being known in N+1.
Documents to prepare
- Payroll tax paid the previous year (it sets the quarterly or monthly rhythm, or exempts from statements)
- Gross pay paid during the month or quarter of the statement
- For an employer partly subject to VAT: the previous year's provisional liability ratio
- Tax amount for the period, computed by the calculator linked to this page, including the statement's reduction
- 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 liable to payroll tax — not subject to VAT in the year the pay is paid, or subject on less than 90 % of the previous year's turnover — whose tax paid the previous year is between €4,000 and €10,000: three quarterly statements
- The same employers whose tax paid the previous year exceeds €10,000: eleven monthly statements
- Employers partly subject to VAT, who settle each statement using the previous year's provisional liability ratio until the final ratio is determined
Worked example
Example: the training body Cap Compétences files its quarterly statements
Cap Compétences, a training body whose services are VAT-exempt, employs four trainers. In 2025 it paid €6,500 of payroll tax, between €4,000 and €10,000: for pay paid in 2026, it files three 2501-SD statements, before 15 April for the first quarter, before 15 July for the second, before 15 October for the third, each e-filed and e-paid from its professional account. The fourth quarter's tax has no statement: it will be paid with the regularisation balance of the annual return 2502-SD, before 31 January 2027. The calculator linked to this page gives it, quarter by quarter, the amount to enter on line A from gross pay; if a quarter's tax fell between €300 and €510, the quarterly reduction of 0.75 × (€510 − tax) would lower it before reporting.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Note the payroll tax paid the previous year: it sets your rhythm — no statement below €4,000, quarterly between €4,000 and €10,000, monthly above.
- Compute the month's or quarter's tax with the calculator linked to this page, from the period's gross pay: progressive scale, and the statement's reduction if the monthly tax is between €100 and €170 or the quarterly tax between €300 and €510.
- For an employer partly subject to VAT, apply the previous year's provisional liability ratio until the final ratio is determined.
- Enter on line A the tax due after the reduction, where applicable.
- E-file and e-pay the statement from your professional account, or through an EDI provider, before the 15th of the month following the month or quarter concerned — paper filing no longer exists.
- File no statement for the last quarter or for December: their tax is paid with the annual return 2502-SD, before 31 January, which also regularises the reduction applied on the statements.
The form, line by line
- Statement period
- The month or quarter in which the pay was paid. The statement goes with the payment, due before the 15th of the month following the period.
- Line A — tax due
- The tax due for the period, after the statement's reduction where applicable. It comes from the progressive scale applied to gross pay — the calculator linked to this page gives it.
- Statement reduction
- If the monthly tax is between €100 and €170, a reduction of 0.75 × (€170 − tax); if the quarterly tax is between €300 and €510, a reduction of 0.75 × (€510 − tax). It is regularised on the annual return 2502-SD.
- Provisional liability ratio
- For an employer partly subject to VAT: the previous year's ratio between receipts not giving rise to VAT deduction and total receipts. The period's taxable pay is multiplied by it before the scale.
Good to know
- The tax is not due when its annual amount does not exceed €1,200 per employer, not per establishment; no statement and no return are then filed.
- A company operating several establishments makes a single, global payment for all its establishments.
- 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.
- Provisional payments and the annual return must be sent and paid electronically, from the professional account or through an EDI provider.
- The edition served by impots.gouv is 2026, with its notice 2501-NOT-SD; the page was read on 11 September 2026 and also serves the 2025 and 2024 editions.
Common mistakes
- Choosing the rhythm from the current year's tax: the tax paid the previous year decides — annual, quarterly or monthly.
- Filing a 2501 statement for the fourth quarter or for December: their tax is paid with the annual return 2502-SD, before 31 January.
- Entering on line A the tax before the reduction when the period qualifies, then forgetting that the statements' reduction is regularised on the 2502.
- Forgetting to regularise the liability ratio by 15 May or 15 July of the year following the year of the pay, when the final ratio exceeds the provisional one.
- Filing or paying on paper: the electronic channel is mandatory for statements as for the annual return.
Frequently asked questions
Who must file 2501-SD statements?
Employers liable to payroll tax whose tax paid the previous year exceeds €4,000: three quarterly statements between €4,000 and €10,000, eleven monthly statements above. Below €4,000, a single annual return 2502-SD, with its payment, no later than 15 January.
When is each statement due?
Before the 15th of the month following the month or quarter of the statement: before 15 April, 15 July and 15 October for quarterly filers; within 15 days after the month's end for monthly filers. The last quarter and December are settled with the 2502-SD, before 31 January.
Does the reduction apply to the statements?
Yes: the reduction also applies monthly (tax between €100 and €170) and quarterly (tax between €300 and €510), and the amount entered on line A is the tax after reduction. It is then regularised on the annual return 2502-SD.
Can the statement 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
Compute the related amounts
Official sources
- impots.gouv.fr — Form 2501-SD, payroll tax provisional payment statement (2026 edition served with notice 2501-NOT-SD, 2025 and 2024 editions also served): the form goes with each monthly or quarterly payment, due before the 15th of the month following the month or quarter of the statement — September 11, 2026
- impots.gouv.fr — How to declare and pay my payroll tax (page updated 16 June 2026): tax not due up to €1,200 per employer, annual return 2502-SD by 15 January below €4,000, quarterly 2501-SD statements between €4,000 and €10,000 (before 15 April, 15 July and 15 October) and monthly above (within 15 days after the month's end), last quarter and December paid with the 2502-SD before 31 January, liability ratio regularisation by 15 May or 15 July of the year following the year of the pay, single payment for several establishments, competent office, mandatory e-filing and e-payment — September 11, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — Payroll tax, sheet F22576 (verified 1 January 2026): monthly reduction of 0.75 × (€170 − tax) between €100 and €170, quarterly reduction of 0.75 × (€510 − tax) between €300 and €510, line A of form 2501 equal to the tax after reduction, reduction regularised on the 2502, filing rhythms set by the tax paid the previous year — 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.