Internship allowance in France: minimum, monthly and total

How it is calculated

Everything starts from hours of attendance: weekly hours multiplied by the length of the internship (a month counts as 52 ÷ 12 weeks). The site compares that total with the legal threshold of 309 h to say whether an allowance is compulsory, then applies the hourly minimum of €4.50, i.e. 15.0% of the hourly social security ceiling (€30.00 in 2026), to the hours of an average month and to the whole internship. Source: service-public.gouv.fr.

If the internship agreement provides more than the minimum, the excess is subject to contributions. The site then asks the modele-social engine, the one behind URSSAF's simulator, for the rate it applies to the part of an internship contract it deems subject, and carries it over to the part calculated in hours, because the engine itself works from a monthly minimum. Both references, the official hourly minimum and the engine's monthly reading, remain visible in the detail.

What the result includes

So that two people get the same figure from the same gross pay, the site always calculates from the same baseline situation. Each line can be changed in the calculator's options where it matters.

• General social security scheme (régime général), rates as of 26 October 2026 (rules from modele-social, the engine behind URSSAF's simulator).
• Permanent full-time contract (CDI), 35 hours a week, i.e. 151.67 h a month, paid over 12 months.
• Non-cadre by default (cadre status is one button away), collective agreement set to the general rules (“droit commun”).
• Company health cover (mutuelle) of €40 a month, of which €20 is deducted from pay, URSSAF's default setting; zero is possible in the options.
• Outside Alsace-Moselle (option available), without meal vouchers or benefits in kind.
• Before income tax: tax withheld at source depends on your household and comes on top (see the “net after tax” tool).
• Minimum wage (SMIC) since 1 June 2026: €12.31 gross per hour (service-public.gouv.fr).
• Internship agreement: an allowance is not a salary; the lines above on the contract, status and health cover only matter for the part above the minimum.

Limits

A correct calculation for a typical situation is not your payslip. Here is what the tool does not know, so that you read the result as a reliable order of magnitude, not a promise.

• Collective agreement: sector minimums, seniority bonuses, compulsory thirteenth month and specific provident schemes are not taken into account (general rules only).
• Bonuses, variable pay, overtime, benefits in kind: left out, except in the tools that ask for them.
• Health cover and provident scheme: your actual contribution may be different; change it in the options.
• Alsace-Moselle: the option adds the local scheme's health contribution, without its other specifics.
• Public sector not covered: civil servants' pay scales and contributions follow other rules.
• Simplified tax: no tax reductions or credits, no exceptional income; the engine's “tax” module is flagged as experimental by URSSAF.
• Actual days of attendance: the official threshold is checked on the hours actually spent in the organisation, leave and absences deducted; the tool multiplies a theoretical timetable.
• Benefits in kind, transport, meals: owed or offered depending on the case, they are not quantified here.
• Public sector and internships abroad: other rules or no obligation; check the agreement.

Compulsory or not, depending on length

At 35 h a week and at the legal minimum: hours of attendance, obligation and amounts for a few lengths.

Above the minimum: part subject and net

Many companies pay above the minimum, especially at the end of studies. The exempt part stays pegged to the hourly minimum; the rest bears contributions, at the rate the engine applies to an internship contract. For a 3-month internship at 35 h a week:

Internship, apprenticeship or first job?

An allowance at the minimum is still a long way from a salary: an apprentice's pay clearly exceeds the internship minimum from the first year, with social rights, and the SMIC applies to any first job, even a fixed-term one. If your internship is extended or looks like a real position, that is an argument for a higher allowance or a job offer; prepare that discussion with the guide to negotiating a job offer and, for a first salary, with the estimate of what your CV is worth.