SARL Majority Manager: Tax Box 1GB, 10% Allowance & SSI Contributions — What You Need to Know for Your 2026 Income Tax Return

Updated 25 May 2026 — Reviewed by a chartered accountant (expert-comptable), Hayot Expertise, Paris.

Box 1GB on the French income tax return is not simply another line on form 2042. It represents the specific tax treatment of SARL majority managers, sole shareholders of EURL (single-member LLC, EURL) subject to income tax, and certain other executives covered by Article 62 of the Code général des impôts (CGI). Completed incorrectly, it produces an inaccurate tax assessment, a tax query, or a reassessment of social security contributions.

Direct answer: Box 1GB receives the gross management remuneration paid to the SARL majority manager (Article 62 CGI), after deducting mandatory SSI social contributions. The tax administration then applies a flat 10% allowance for professional expenses, subject to an annual ceiling (check impots.gouv.fr each filing year). This remuneration is not a salary: it goes in box 1GB, never in box 1AJ.

Box 1AJ receives wages and salaries in the strict sense: employees, minority or equal SARL managers, SAS and simplified joint-stock company presidents and chief executives. These incomes are covered by the salary regime.

Box 1GB, by contrast, corresponds to income treated as wages and salaries under Article 62 CGI — but with a distinct social and tax treatment. The legislature created this category for directors who are not bound by a standard employment contract yet receive remuneration for their corporate office.

Specifically, those covered are:

• the SARL majority manager (holding, alone or together with members of their tax household, more than 50% of the company shares);
• the sole shareholder of an EURL subject to income tax who pays themselves remuneration;
• the majority manager of a société en commandite par actions (partnership limited by shares) for the management remuneration component;
• certain members of sociétés de personnes (partnerships) covered by Article 62.

Our view: confusion between box 1AJ and box 1GB is one of the most frequent errors in SARL incorporation files. A manager holding 60% of the shares who reports their remuneration in box 1AJ is making a false salary declaration — which can create an inconsistency with the SSI contributions declared to URSSAF.

Like employees, executives covered by Article 62 CGI benefit from a flat 10% deduction for professional expenses, subject to a floor and ceiling set by the current rules (check impots.gouv.fr each year at filing).

This allowance is automatic on form 2042: you enter the gross amount in box 1GB, and the administration applies the deduction.

It is however possible to opt for actual expenses (frais réels) if your documented professional expenditure exceeds the flat allowance. In that case, you give up the 10% deduction and instead claim your actual costs (travel, professional literature, training, etc.) supported by receipts.

In practice: for the great majority of SARL majority managers, the 10% flat allowance is sufficient and considerably easier to justify. The actual expenses option is only worth considering in very specific circumstances, with professional accounting support.

The majority manager is covered by the self-employed social security scheme (SSI, formerly RSI), integrated into URSSAF since 2020. Mandatory social contributions (health insurance, basic pension, supplementary pension, disability-death cover, family allowances, CSG-CRDS) are calculated on the net management remuneration.

Technical point: these mandatory contributions are deductible from taxable income. To complete box 1GB correctly, you must therefore start from the gross remuneration received and deduct the mandatory SSI contributions before reporting the balance. Optional contributions (Madelin contracts, PER retirement savings plans) are treated differently.

Unlike the SAS president, the SARL majority manager pays SSI contributions on the portion of dividends exceeding 10% of share capital, share premiums, and sums held in associates' current accounts. This rule, set out in Article L. 131-6 of the Code de la sécurité sociale (CSS), is frequently overlooked at the time of first distributions.

Dividends are declared in box 2DC of form 2042. Where the director opts for the progressive income tax scale rather than the PFU flat tax, box 2OP is ticked and a 40% allowance provided under Article 158 CGI applies.

The underestimated risk: a thinly capitalised SARL that distributes large dividends exposes its majority manager to substantial SSI contributions on virtually the entire distribution. This fundamentally changes the arithmetic of the remuneration-versus-dividends trade-off.

Assumptions:

• Gross management remuneration: €60,000
• Estimated mandatory SSI contributions: €18,000 (approximate overall rate ~31.4% on this bracket — calculate precisely according to your own situation)
• No actual expenses option

Simplified calculation:

This net income of €37,800 is incorporated into the progressive income tax scale alongside all other household income. As a guide, for a single person with no other significant income, the applicable marginal rate would be 31.4% in 2026 (check the current scale on impots.gouv.fr).

What this calculation does not show: the corporate tax saving generated by the deductibility of the remuneration (15% or 25% depending on the company's situation). The true all-in cost of the remuneration to the manager must always be assessed in net global terms: net remuneration received / (gross remuneration + employer contributions where applicable) × corporate tax saving.

A consultant sets up an EURL subject to income tax. For two financial years, they declare their income as BNC (non-commercial profits). They then bring in a new partner and convert the structure to a SARL subject to corporation tax (IS). As the majority manager, they now draw management remuneration.

Common error observed: at the first filing after conversion, the director continues by habit to report income in box 5HQ (BNC) or in box 1AJ. The SSI contributions already paid are not deducted. Box 1GB is left empty.

Consequence: an apparent double taxation on the same income, a reassessment on audit, and a correction of SSI contributions calculated on an incorrect base.

Best practice: at every change of social status or corporate form, plan the switch of boxes with your chartered accountant before filing the return.

• The consistency between the amount declared in box 1GB and the annual SSI contribution notices received from URSSAF.
• The absence of double-counting between Madelin/PER contributions and mandatory contributions already deducted before box 1GB.
• The correct split between box 1GB (management remuneration) and box 2DC (dividends) when both exist.
• Verification of the 10% of capital threshold for SSI liability on dividends.
• Identification of situations where the actual expenses option would be more favourable than the flat allowance.

• The maximum deductible interest rate on associates' current accounts (compte courant d'associé) is set annually by the administration: check bofip.impots.gouv.fr before each filing.
• The floors and ceilings of the 10% allowance are reassessed each year: do not use the previous year's figures without verification.
• The ongoing reform of SELARL structures may modify the applicable regime for certain liberal profession partners: see our analysis on the SELARL and BNC reform.
• For directors who contributed to a PER (plan d'épargne retraite) in 2025, the deductions are made in separate boxes but directly reduce the overall tax pressure on box 1GB income: see our guide PER for directors 2026.

For dividends declared in box 2DC, the director chooses each year between:

• PFU flat tax at 31.4%: 12.8% income tax + 18.6% social levies. Simple, predictable, no allowance.
• Progressive scale option (box 2OP): dividends are added to other income with a 40% allowance. Advantageous if the household's effective marginal rate is below 31.4% or if categorical deficits can be used to offset income.

The right reflex: simulate both options using the full household income picture before ticking box 2OP. The option is irrevocable for the year in question and applies to all capital income (dividends, interest, capital gains).

For structures involving an associate's current account, see our dedicated analysis on the tax treatment of the compte courant d'associé.

• Box 1GB is not box 1AJ: do not confuse management remuneration under Article 62 CGI with salaries.
• Deduct mandatory SSI contributions before reporting in box 1GB.
• The 10% allowance is automatic; the actual expenses option is available but must be documented.
• Dividends go in box 2DC, not box 1GB — but note the SSI liability for majority managers.
• Every change of status or shareholding percentage alters the applicable box.

Your situation deserves an individual review before filing. The firm supports you in reading your URSSAF SSI contribution notices, ensuring the consistency of your form 2042, and producing a costed remuneration-versus-dividends analysis.

This article is provided for information purposes only. It does not constitute personalised tax advice and does not replace an analysis of your situation by a qualified professional in the light of the rules currently in force. The rates, thresholds, and ceilings mentioned are indicative and must be verified on impots.gouv.fr and bofip.impots.gouv.fr before filing.