Internship allowance 2026: threshold, calculation and payroll

Quick answer. In 2026, an intern must be paid an allowance as soon as the internship exceeds two months (more than 308 hours, from the 309th hour of presence) within the same host organisation. The legal minimum is EUR 4.50 per hour of actual presence, i.e. 15% of the hourly social security ceiling (raised to EUR 30 in 2026). As long as the allowance stays at or below EUR 4.50 per hour, it is exempt from social contributions and from the CSG-CRDS levies: only the workplace-accident contribution remains due.

The hourly social security ceiling, which is the basis for the minimum allowance, rose to EUR 30 on 1 January 2026 (up from EUR 29 in 2025). As a result, the minimum allowance increases from EUR 4.35 to EUR 4.50 per hour of presence. For a full-time intern this means a few euros more each month, but the sensitive points lie elsewhere: the trigger threshold and the social treatment of the sum paid.

Every year we see small-business owners take on an intern informally, without a proper agreement or any allowance, believing that a short internship escapes every rule. That is true while the internship stays below the threshold; it becomes a liability as soon as the duration extends. Three questions frame the topic: from when must you pay, how much at a minimum, and how to record it without triggering undue contributions.

The allowance is due once the internship lasts more than two months, i.e. more than 308 hours of actual presence within the same host organisation during the same academic year. The two-month threshold corresponds to 44 days at 7 hours per day: the obligation arises from the 309th hour.

Two points qualify this threshold:

1. Presence may be continuous or not: a split internship that accumulates more than 308 hours in the same academic year triggers the obligation, even if it is interrupted by periods at school.
2. The count is assessed per host organisation: what matters is the time spent in your company, not the total of internships completed elsewhere.

Once the threshold is crossed, the allowance is due from the first hour, not only from the 309th: exceeding the limit makes the whole period payable. The framework is set out in articles L124-1 to L124-20 of the French Education Code, supplemented by articles D124-1 to D124-13.

The calculation rests on a simple principle: 15% of the hourly social security ceiling, multiplied by the number of hours of actual presence. In 2026 this gives EUR 4.50 per hour (15% × EUR 30).

The method has three steps:

1. Count the hours of actual presence for the month (unpaid days of absence do not count).
2. Multiply by EUR 4.50 to obtain the month's minimum allowance.
3. Check consistency with the total set out in the internship agreement.

Worked example. An intern completes a four-month internship at 35 hours per week, around 606 hours in total. The minimum allowance is 606 × EUR 4.50 = EUR 2,727 over the internship. For a month of 22 working days at 7 hours (154 hours), the monthly minimum comes to 154 × EUR 4.50 = EUR 693. The employer may pay more but never less. Many companies smooth the allowance over a stable monthly basis to simplify administration; the reference calculation nonetheless rests on the hours actually worked.

This is the most misunderstood point. As long as the allowance does not exceed the EUR 4.50 per hour threshold (15% of the hourly ceiling × the number of hours in the month), it benefits from a contribution franchise: it is exempt from social security contributions and from CSG-CRDS. Only the workplace-accident (AT-MP) contribution remains payable by the host organisation.

In other words, if you pay EUR 6 per hour, the franchise applies up to EUR 4.50: only the remaining EUR 1.50 per hour enters the contribution base. This franchise logic — rather than an all-or-nothing exemption — protects the employer while staying at the floor and only marginally raises the cost above it.

• Internship under two months. No allowance is legally required. Many employers nevertheless pay a voluntary allowance: it then follows the same franchise rule (exempt up to EUR 4.50/hour).
• Long internship crossing the threshold midway. As soon as the 308-hour mark is exceeded, the allowance is due retroactively over the whole period, including the first hours.
• Ancillary benefits. The intern is entitled to 50% reimbursement of public-transport costs and access to meal vouchers under the same conditions as employees, independently of the allowance.
• Status. The intern is not an employee: no salaried subordination, no minimum wage, no payslip in the strict sense. Their presence nonetheless appears in the DSN payroll declaration and in a dedicated section of the staff register.

• No agreement, no internship. The tripartite internship agreement (school, host organisation, intern) is mandatory. Hosting an intern without one risks reclassification as an employment contract.
• The duration cap. An internship may not exceed six months (924 hours) per academic year within the same organisation.
• The host quota. The number of simultaneous interns is capped according to company headcount; beyond it, the labour inspectorate may impose penalties.
• Forgetting AT-MP. Even below the franchise threshold, the workplace-accident contribution remains due: omitting it distorts the DSN and triggers an adjustment.
• The flat-monthly trap. Paying a fixed monthly amount without recalculating on actual hours can mean paying below the minimum in busy months. We recommend a monthly check of hours, as for managing payroll variables.

A firm of architects recently came to us after hosting an intern for five months with no allowance, convinced that a school internship created no entitlement. At the end of the placement the intern claimed the allowance due: the company had to pay over EUR 3,000 retroactively, with no way of recovering anything. A properly anticipated allowance would have cost the same amount, but spread out and budgeted.

The internship allowance is not a complex payroll topic, but it is one to anticipate from the moment the agreement is signed. The real risk is not the amount — modest — but the absence of a framework: missing agreement, mis-assessed threshold, forgotten AT-MP. For a small business structuring its HR function, it is often the first step towards setting up payroll for a first hire and a good test of declarative rigour. As a French expert-comptable registered with the Ordre and a statutory auditor, we regularly assist Paris-based small businesses with these adjustments; our payroll and HR service in Paris can handle all the declarations relating to interns.

Hayot Expertise tip. Before hosting an intern, cost the allowance on the hours planned in the agreement (hours × EUR 4.50) and budget it from the outset. Write the two-month threshold into your HR process so you never cross it by accident, and declare the allowance in the DSN with the single AT-MP contribution while you stay at the floor. If in doubt about the set-up, have the first allowance payslip validated by your French expert-comptable (chartered accountant).