Remission of late-payment surcharges — the right to error first
Where a business pays its social security contributions late, it must pay LATE-PAYMENT SURCHARGES, due from the 1st DAY past the deadline. They come in two tiers: an initial surcharge equal to 5 % of the amount not paid on time, and an ADDITIONAL surcharge of 0.2 % of the amount due per month or part-month elapsed, counted from the due date for as long as the default is not put right — its final calculation only comes AFTER the contributions have been paid in full. If the business is in financial difficulty, it may request remission. But before requesting anything, it is worth knowing there are cases where surcharges DO NOT APPLY at all: this is the RIGHT TO ERROR, open to a business that pays within 30 days of the deadline, has had no late payment over the last 24 months, has met its filing obligations, and whose surcharges would be below €4,005. Beyond 30 days, remission must be requested through a DISCRETIONARY APPEAL to the DIRECTOR of the collection agency, giving the reasons for the delay.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 12, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 25 min
Deadlines
- From the 1st day past the deadline
- Late-payment surcharges are due from the first day after the due date, whether payment is absent or partial.
- 30 days — the line that changes everything
- Paying WITHIN 30 days of the deadline opens the right to error, subject to conditions: surcharges then do not apply. Paying AFTER 30 days closes that route and requires REQUESTING remission through a discretionary appeal.
- 24 months without delay
- The right to error requires having had no late payment of social security contributions over the last 24 months.
- The final calculation comes after payment
- The final calculation of additional surcharges is made AFTER the contributions due have been paid in full — the amount is therefore not settled while the debt runs.
- 30 days after formal notice, following an audit
- Following an audit, the additional surcharge rate is reduced from 0.2 % to 0.1 % if the business pays the adjustment within 30 days of the formal notice.
Documents to prepare
- The amount of contributions not paid by the due date
- The payment deadline and the actual payment date, to place the 30-day period
- Your payment history over the last 24 months
- Evidence that your filing obligations have been met
- An estimate of the surcharges, to compare with the €4,005 threshold
- A discretionary appeal addressed to the DIRECTOR of the collection agency, if you pay after 30 days
- The justification for the delay: the reasons you did not pay on time
- In case of assessment by default: evidence of payment in full and the missing return
- Following an audit: the formal notice, whose date starts the 30-day period that cuts the rate to 0.1 %
No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.
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
- The business that does not pay its social security contributions, or pays only part of them by the due date: surcharges run from the 1st day past the deadline
- The business that pays within 30 DAYS of the deadline and meets the three right-to-error conditions: no late payment over the last 24 months, filing obligations met, surcharges below €4,005
- The business that pays AFTER 30 days and is in financial difficulty: it may request full or partial remission through a discretionary appeal
- The business that has taken out a payment-terms plan with the collection agency WITHIN 30 DAYS of the deadline: surcharges are not applied if it meets the same three conditions
- The business subject to an ASSESSMENT BY DEFAULT, which must additionally have paid it in full and supplied the missing return
- The audited business, for which initial surcharges are not applied where the adjustment is below €4,005
- CANNOT benefit from the right to error: businesses that have been subject to a surcharge or penalty for abuse of rights, failure to bring matters into compliance, undeclared work or obstruction of an audit
Worked example
Example: €20,000 of contributions paid late, and two outcomes depending on the day of payment
A business owes €20,000 of social security contributions on a deadline it misses. Surcharges run from the 1st day past the deadline: the initial surcharge is 5 % of the amount not paid on time, i.e. €1,000 on €20,000. To that is added an additional surcharge of 0.2 % of the amount due per month or part-month elapsed, counted from the due date while the situation is not put right — i.e. €40 per month started on that same amount. FIRST OUTCOME: it pays within 30 days of the deadline. If it has had no late payment of contributions over the last 24 months, has met its filing obligations, and the surcharges that would apply are below €4,005 — which is the case here — the surcharges DO NOT APPLY: this is the right to error, and there is nothing to request. It would lose that if it had been subject to a surcharge or penalty for abuse of rights, failure to bring matters into compliance, undeclared work or obstruction of an audit. SECOND OUTCOME: it pays after three months. The right to error is closed, and remission must be REQUESTED: it sends a discretionary appeal to the DIRECTOR of the collection agency and justifies the request by giving the reasons it did not pay on time — the source itself gives the example of the most important customer not yet having paid their invoices. Remission may be full or partial. A third case, often overlooked: had it taken out a payment-terms plan with the agency WITHIN 30 days of the deadline, surcharges would likewise not have been applied, on the same three conditions. Asking for terms early is therefore better than paying late.
How to fill it in, step by step
- First place your delay relative to the 30 DAYS following the payment deadline: that line determines whether you have anything to do at all.
- If you pay within 30 days, check the three right-to-error conditions: no late payment of contributions over the last 24 months, filing obligations met, and surcharges below €4,005. If all are met, surcharges do not apply and there is nothing to request.
- Check you are not excluded from the right to error: it does not apply where there has been a surcharge or penalty for abuse of rights, failure to bring matters into compliance, undeclared work or obstruction of an audit.
- If you cannot pay straight away, consider taking out a payment-terms plan with the collection agency WITHIN 30 days of the deadline: surcharges are then not applied, on the same three conditions.
- If you pay after 30 days, prepare a DISCRETIONARY APPEAL addressed to the DIRECTOR of the collection agency: that is the required form for a remission request.
- Justify your request by giving the reasons you did not pay your contributions on time — for example a major customer who has not settled their invoices.
- If you have been subject to an assessment by default, first meet the two additional conditions: having paid that assessment in full, and having supplied your missing return.
- Send the request through the channel of your choice: online on the business's account, by telephone or by post.
- If your delay follows an audit, pay the adjustment within 30 days of the formal notice: the additional surcharge rate is then reduced from 0.2 % to 0.1 %.
- Wait for the contributions to be paid in full to know the final amount of the additional surcharges: their final calculation is made only then.
The form, line by line
- Initial 5 % surcharge
- Equal to 5 % of the social security contributions not paid on time.
- Additional 0.2 % surcharge
- 0.2 % of the contributions due, PER MONTH OR PART-MONTH elapsed, counted from the due date where the business has not put its default right. A part-month counts as a whole month.
- The €4,005 threshold
- The right to error requires that the surcharges that would apply be below €4,005. Following an audit, initial surcharges are not applied where the ADJUSTMENT is below that same threshold.
- The last 24 months
- The business must have had no late payment of social security contributions over the last 24 months.
- Discretionary appeal to the director
- The remission request must be made through a discretionary appeal to the DIRECTOR of the collection agency — not a simple request to the department.
- Assessment by default
- Two additional conditions: having paid that assessment in full, it being a flat amount, and having supplied the missing return.
- 0.1 % after an audit
- Following an audit, the additional surcharge rate is reduced from 0.2 % to 0.1 % if the business pays the adjustment within 30 days of the formal notice.
Good to know
- Surcharges have TWO tiers that are often confused: 5 % once, then 0.2 % per month or part-month for as long as the debt runs.
- A PART-month counts as a whole month for the additional surcharge: paying on the 2nd costs as much as paying on the 30th.
- The final amount of additional surcharges is known only AFTER the contributions are paid in full — there is no point waiting for a settled figure before acting.
- The right to error is not a remission: it is NON-APPLICATION. There is nothing to request when its three conditions are met.
- Taking out a payment-terms plan WITHIN 30 days has the same effect as paying within 30 days: surcharges are not applied, on the same conditions. Asking for terms early beats paying late.
- Four behaviours close the right to error for good: abuse of rights, failure to bring matters into compliance, undeclared work, obstruction of an audit.
- Remission after 30 days is not automatic: it must be requested, and JUSTIFIED. The source gives the example of the most important customer not yet having paid their invoices.
- Remission may be FULL OR PARTIAL: a partial answer is still a gain.
- Following an audit, paying quickly halves the additional surcharge rate, from 0.2 % to 0.1 %.
- Requesting remission and requesting payment terms are two separate steps, but the source treats them together: a business in difficulty often needs both.
Common mistakes
- Believing surcharges only run after a grace period: they are due from the 1st day past the deadline.
- Remembering only the 5 % and forgetting the additional 0.2 % per month or part-month elapsed.
- Counting the additional surcharge in days: a part-month counts as a whole month.
- Requesting remission while meeting the right-to-error conditions: in that case surcharges do not apply and there is nothing to request.
- Relying on the right to error despite a delay in the last 24 months, unmet filing obligations, or surcharges of €4,005 or more.
- Not knowing that a payment-terms plan taken out within 30 days avoids surcharges: many prefer to pay late, which costs more.
- Sending the remission request to the department instead of a discretionary appeal to the DIRECTOR of the collection agency.
- Sending a request without justifying it: the reasons for not paying on time must be given.
- Requesting remission after an assessment by default without having paid it in full or supplied the missing return.
- After an audit, letting the 30 days following formal notice lapse: paying within that period reduces the additional surcharge from 0.2 % to 0.1 %.
- Waiting for the final calculation of surcharges before acting, when it is made only after the contributions are paid in full.
Frequently asked questions
How are late-payment surcharges calculated?
The initial surcharge equals 5 % of the social security contributions not paid on time. To that is added an additional surcharge of 0.2 % of the amount due, per month or part-month elapsed, counted from the due date for as long as the default is not put right. The final calculation of the additional surcharges is made after the contributions have been paid in full.
From when are they due?
From the 1st day past the deadline, whether the business has not paid at all or has paid only in part by the due date.
What is the right to error?
Surcharges do not apply if the business paid its contributions within 30 days of the payment deadline, has had no late payment over the last 24 months, has met its filing obligations, and if the surcharges that would apply are below €4,005.
Who is excluded from it?
A business that has been subject to a surcharge or penalty for abuse of rights, failure to bring matters into compliance, undeclared work or obstruction of an audit.
How do I request remission if I pay after 30 days?
Through a discretionary appeal to the director of the collection agency, justifying the request by giving the reasons you did not pay your contributions on time — for example because your most important customer has not yet paid their invoices. Remission may be full or partial.
Does a payment-terms plan avoid surcharges?
Yes, if it is taken out within 30 days of the contributions' payment deadline, and on the same three conditions: no delay over the last 24 months, filing obligations met, and surcharges below €4,005.
What about an assessment by default?
The business must additionally have paid that assessment in full, it being a flat amount, and have supplied its missing return.
What happens after an audit?
Initial late-payment surcharges are not applied where the adjustment is below €4,005. And the additional surcharge rate is reduced from 0.2 % to 0.1 % if the business pays the adjustment within 30 days of the formal notice.
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Understand this form: the related course
Related forms
- Obtaining payment terms from the collection agency — 48 hours online, 12 months at most
- Requesting a tax remission or reduction — when paying has become impossible
- Monthly payroll declaration (DSN) — the French employer's monthly filing
- Applying to the CCSF — one file to spread both tax and social debts
Official sources
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — "Demander une remise des majorations de retard auprès de l'Urssaf", fact sheet F38145 (verified 1 January 2026, Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative), read line by line on 2026-09-12: surcharges due from the 1st day past the deadline in case of non-payment or partial payment; initial surcharge equal to 5 % of the amount not paid on time and additional surcharge of 0.2 % of the amount due per month or part-month elapsed, counted from the due date where no remedy is made, the final calculation being made after payment in full; right-to-error conditions where payment is made within 30 days (no late payment of contributions over the last 24 months, filing obligations met, surcharges below €4,005) and exclusions (abuse of rights, failure to bring matters into compliance, undeclared work, obstruction of an audit); rules applying following an audit — non-application of initial surcharges where the adjustment is below €4,005, and reduction of the additional surcharge rate from 0.2 % to 0.1 % where the adjustment is paid within 30 days of formal notice; full or partial remission request after 30 days, by discretionary appeal to the director of the collection agency, with an obligation to justify the reasons for the default (example given of the most important customer not yet having paid their invoices); additional conditions in case of assessment by default (payment in full of the flat assessment and supply of the missing return); non-application of surcharges where a payment-terms plan has been taken out with the agency within 30 days of the deadline, on the same three conditions; request channels (online on the business's account, by telephone or by post) — September 12, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — "Obtenir des délais de paiement auprès de l'Urssaf en tant qu'employeur", fact sheet F38100 (verified 15 July 2026, Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative), read on 2026-09-12 for the step that fact sheet F38145 designates as an alternative avoiding surcharges: access conditions (having filed one's social declarations, i.e. having transmitted the nominative social declaration, and having paid the whole employee share of contributions); information to be given in the request (context, other debts, existence of an ongoing clearance plan, origin and nature of the difficulties, action taken, estimated time needed and desired duration of the schedule); reply times of 48 hours online and 15 days by telephone or post; automatic grant where all the criteria for automated payment terms are met; ability to renegotiate the proposed schedule; cap of 12 months on the payment terms granted; references: French social security code, articles R243-11 (remission of late-payment surcharges) and R243-21 (payment terms) — September 12, 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.