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Practical guide
No statute in France requires a thirteenth month, yet it is owed as soon as a contract, agreement or custom provides for it. Who is entitled, when it is paid, what is left net and why December's tax deduction can come as a surprise: examples worked out by the site.
The thirteenth month is one of the most common bonuses in France, and one of the least understood. People sometimes think it is compulsory, forget that it can depend on their leaving date, and December's tax withholding catches out every year those who have no personal rate. This guide says where the right comes from, how the amount is worked out, what is left net and what to look for in a job offer.
French employment law does not require any employer to pay a thirteenth month. A bonus nevertheless becomes compulsory as soon as it is provided for by one of these four sources:
The text that provides for the thirteenth month also sets its conditions, and that is where the surprises hide: a minimum length of service, being employed on a given date (often the payment date), a pro rata share for joining or leaving mid-year, and sometimes a cut for certain absences. With a pro rata based on time present, someone who joins mid-year and is present for 6 months out of twelve receives, on a monthly €3,000 gross, a thirteenth month of €1,500 gross in the first year. Without a pro rata clause and with a presence condition, they would receive nothing by leaving the day before the payment.
Most often at the end of the year, with December's salary, on a separate payslip line. Some texts split it into two payments during the year, others smooth it out: one twelfth every month. In that case it is no longer really a bonus but a slightly higher monthly salary, and nothing special happens in December. If the employer wants to scrap a thirteenth month that comes from a custom, it must inform staff representatives and each employee in writing, early enough to allow discussion.
Non-cadre employee, €3,000 gross paid every month and a thirteenth month of the same amount, standard company health cover. Amounts worked out by the site's engine:
| Line | Gross | Net before tax |
|---|---|---|
| An ordinary month | €3,000 | €2,353 |
| The thirteenth month alone | €3,000 | €2,375 |
| The year with thirteen months | €39,000 | €30,609 |
| The year with twelve months of the same amount | €36,000 | €28,234 |
The thirteenth month brings in slightly more net than an ordinary month: it bears the same proportional contributions, but not a second round of the employee's health-cover share, which stays a monthly amount. To go from a gross annual figure to a monthly one over twelve or thirteen months without mistakes, the guide to gross annual, monthly and hourly pay sets out the rules; the gross-to-net converter accepts thirteen months paid in its options.
The thirteenth month is taxable in the year it is paid. With tax withheld at source, everything depends on the rate your employer applies. With your personal rate, nothing changes: the same rate applies to a bigger base. At the default rate (no rate passed on, or you opted not to share it), the grid applies to the month's taxable pay: in our example, the base goes from €2,459 to €4,919 in December, and the rate from 5.3% to 15.8% for that month alone. The extra withheld is not lost: it is taken into account in the final tax calculation the following year. The guide to tax withheld at source explains how to choose and change your rate.
An ad quoting a gross annual figure “over thirteen months” already includes the thirteenth month: each monthly payment is smaller than the annual figure divided by twelve. An ad quoting a monthly figure “over thirteen months” is worth thirteen times that amount. Always compare gross annual figures, and ask about the conditions: a thirteenth month that requires you to be employed on the payment date is not quite guaranteed pay in your first year. The job offer comparison tool takes the number of months paid in each offer into account.
If the company does not provide one, a thirteenth month can be written into your contract, but the employer thinks in annual cost: thirteen months of €3,000 or twelve months of €3,250 is the same gross annual pay (€39,000) and, according to the site's engine, the same cost for it. What you really negotiate is the annual total and the clause: ask for a pro rata share if you leave, and get the thirteenth month written into the contract rather than relying on a custom. For other bonuses and variable pay, read the guide to bonuses and variable pay, and for the method, negotiating your starting salary.
Default-rate grid in force since 1 May 2026 in mainland France; amounts to the nearest euro, read from the site's engine.
No, no statute requires it. It becomes compulsory as soon as a text provides for it: your employment contract, your company's collective agreement, a company agreement, a custom or an employer commitment. In that case the employer must pay it on the terms that text sets.
It all depends on the text that provides for it. Many collective agreements pay a pro rata share based on time present; others require you to be employed on the payment date. Read the clause in your contract or agreement before setting your leaving date: a few weeks can change the amount.
Yes, just like salary. For a thirteenth month of €3,000 gross, the site's engine works out €2,375 net before tax and €2,460 of taxable pay, added to the income of the year in which it is paid.
If it is in your contract, not without your agreement. If it comes from the collective agreement, not while that agreement applies. If it comes from a custom, the employer can withdraw it, but only by following a procedure: informing staff representatives and each employee individually, in writing, with sufficient notice.
This guide gives you a method, not legal advice: the official rules and amounts are those of the sources above, as at their date.
The site's tools and features that go with this guide: the figures there are calculated by the code, never by the AI.