SASU social charges 2026: rates, calculation and optimization

A SASU president's social charges (assimilated employee, article L311-3 of the Social Security Code) come to roughly 80% of net salary: about 22% employee plus 42 to 45% employer contributions, with no unemployment insurance. EUR 1,000 of net pay costs about EUR 1,830 to the company. Dividends escape social contributions and bear only the 31.4% flat tax.

Quick answer. The SASU president is an assimilated employee under article L311-3 of the French Social Security Code: contributions amount to roughly 80% of net salary (22% employee + 42 to 45% employer). Dividends paid to the sole-shareholder president are not subject to social security contributions and bear only the 31.4% flat tax (12.8% income tax + 18.6% social levies). The 2026 annual Social Security ceiling (PASS) stands at EUR 48,060.

The SASU (Single-member simplified joint-stock company) remains the favorite vehicle for startup founders, senior freelancers and consultants who want limited liability and statutory flexibility. In 2026, the social framework for the president evolves at the margin (AT/MP workplace-accident rates revised by decree, annual Social Security ceiling raised to EUR 48,060 on 1 January 2026, monthly gross minimum wage revalued to EUR 1,867.02, i.e. EUR 12.31 per hour, on 1 June 2026), but the structural trade-offs remain: how much to pay yourself in salary, how much to leave as dividends, when to activate the ACRE start-up exemption.

Take a representative example: a SaaS B2B SASU founder, after two years of activity, had been paying himself EUR 60,000 in salary every year out of habit, never distributing dividends. A simulation shows that by switching to EUR 24,000 in salary and EUR 36,000 in dividends, he would save close to EUR 9,800 in mandatory levies per year, without damaging his executive pension. This kind of quantified arbitrage is exactly the value-add of our SASU vs EURL 2026 comparison applied to your situation.

At Hayot Expertise, we handle payroll and tax for assimilated-employee executives through our HR and payroll service, with a sharp focus on salary/dividend optimization.

Article L311-3, 23° of the French Social Security Code (Code de la sécurité sociale) explicitly attaches the president and general manager of a SAS (and therefore of a SASU) to the general scheme. In practice, the SASU president is an assimilated employee: same coverage as a private-sector executive (CPAM health insurance, daily allowances, basic pension, supplementary pension Agirc-Arrco, AT/MP workplace injury), with one major exception: no unemployment insurance. He does not contribute to France Travail.

Practical consequences#

• Mandatory payslip as soon as a remuneration is paid (monthly DSN filing).
• No affiliation with the Self-Employed Workers' Scheme (SSI), the key difference with the majority manager of an EURL, detailed in our TNS social contributions 2026 guide.
• The mandate can be unpaid: the president may decide to draw zero remuneration; no contribution is due, but no right (pension, daily allowances, AT/MP) is opened for that period.

The myth to bury: "SASU dividends are charged"#

This is the most widespread mistake. The TNS social contribution on dividends above 10% of share capital + premiums + amounts in the current account applies to majority managers of SARL/EURL (article L131-6 of the Code of Social Security), not to SASU presidents. For the sole-shareholder president of a SASU, dividends remain entirely outside the scope of social security contributions. This is the main structural reason that justifies the SASU above EUR 80k of distributable profit.

The rigorous method reconstructs the super-gross (total employer cost) from the desired net salary, integrating employee contributions, employer contributions and any reductions.

Step-by-step procedure#

1. Set the target monthly net salary (personal disposable income target before income tax).
2. Reconstruct gross: net / (1 − average employee rate). For an assimilated-employee executive, the employee rate is about 22% (non-deductible CSG/CRDS included).
3. Add employer contributions: gross × average employer rate. For a SASU president earning EUR 36-50k per year, the average employer rate is 42% to 45% (URSSAF + Agirc-Arrco + AT/MP + APEC + FNAL + CSA + professional training).
4. Get super-gross: gross + employer contributions = total monthly SASU cost.
5. Do not count on the general employer-contributions reduction (RGDU, formerly Fillon): the SASU president, an assimilated-employee company officer who does not pay unemployment insurance, is excluded from it (mandatory unemployment-insurance affiliation is an eligibility condition). This relief benefits the company's employees, not the executive.

2026 worked example (net salary EUR 3,000)#

For a personalized simulation by income bracket and by your specific AT/MP risk code, use our SASU executive remuneration simulator or our 2026 employer cost calculator.

The table below shows the main contribution branches for a SASU president non-senior-executive (monthly gross below 1 PASS), excluding the general reduction.

Indicative 2026 rates, excluding transport contribution and specific collective agreements. Since 1 January 2026 the reduced health (7.00%) and family (3.45%) rates are abolished: single rates now apply (13.00% and 5.25%), the low-wage relief being channelled through the single degressive general reduction (RGDU), from which the SASU president is excluded.

This is the central arbitrage. Three approaches are defensible depending on the profile.

Three-way decision matrix#

Our Hayot Expertise recommendation for a SASU generating EUR 80k to EUR 200k of distributable profit: target an annual salary of 1.2 to 1.5 × SMIC (about EUR 27-34k gross in 2026), validate 4 full quarters, open daily allowances, then distribute the balance as dividends. The assimilated-employee president is excluded from the general contribution reduction (reserved for employees), so the value of the mix comes from the URSSAF-free dividend exit, not from an employer rebate. This is the direct application of dividends vs salary arbitrage for executives to the SASU.

Detail of the dividend tax cost (PFU)#

Dividends paid to the sole-shareholder SASU president are subject to the flat tax of 31.4% under article 200 A of the French General Tax Code: 12.8% income tax + 18.6% social levies (CSG 10.6% + CRDS 0.5% + solidarity levy 7.5%, following the 2026 Social Security Financing Act). The option for the progressive income tax scale (with a 40% allowance) remains available and may be attractive for executives with a marginal income tax rate at or below 11%. To go further on this arbitrage, see our strategies to optimize flat tax on dividends.

SASU or EURL: the contributions comparison in 2026#

On the sole question of contributions, here is how the two single-member forms compare:

In short, the EURL is cheaper on salary, but the SASU lets dividends out free of social contributions: the gap turns on how much you distribute.

The ACRE (Aid for business creation or takeover) is available to the SASU president under conditions. Since 1 January 2026, the application must be filed with URSSAF within 60 days of activity start (article R131-3 of the Social Security Code, amended). The exemption covers health-maternity, disability-death, basic old-age and family allowance contributions, for 12 months.

ACRE 2026 exemption scale (annual income)#

CSG-CRDS, Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension, FNAL, professional training and AT/MP remain fully due. For precise conditions and procedural pitfalls, see our ACRE 2026 complete guide.

• SASU without remuneration: unpaid mandate, no contribution, no right (pension, IJ, AT/MP) opened. Compatible with maintaining ARE unemployment allowance.
• SASU with shareholder current account: interest paid to the president on his current-account contribution is deductible from the result up to the reference fiscal rate (article 39-1-3° of the French General Tax Code), with a paid-in capital cap. Subject to 18.6% social levies (since 1 January 2026) but not URSSAF.
• SASU president paid at SMIC: contrary to a widespread belief, the assimilated-employee president is excluded from the general employer-contributions reduction (reserved for employees affiliated to unemployment insurance); supplementary coverage also remains limited. Consider dedicated executive protection and health schemes.
• SASU + outside salaried employment: pension bases are added, but double health contribution without cumulative benefits. To arbitrate if the president's pay is low.
• SASU held by a holding company: if the holding (SAS/SARL) receives the dividends, the parent-subsidiary regime (article 145 of the French General Tax Code) applies for holdings of at least 5%, effective taxation about 1.25% (5% costs-and-charges share at the 25% corporate tax rate) instead of flat tax.

In summary, here is the social and tax treatment of each configuration:

1. Confusing SASU and EURL dividends: only EURL majority-manager dividends bear URSSAF beyond 10% of capital. The rule does not apply to SASU.
2. Forgetting AT/MP: even a consultant president must declare a risk code to CARSAT (minimum rate 0.5% to 1%).
3. Distributing dividends before accounts approval: irregular, requalifiable as hidden distribution (article 111 c CGI).
4. Combining ARE and president salary without informing France Travail: risk of overpayment and fraud. Monthly remuneration proportionally reduces ARE.
5. Underestimating professional training (0.55% of gross) and the unified training/apprenticeship contribution: forgotten in 7 out of 10 files we take over.
6. Failing to anticipate Agirc-Arrco regularization: T1/T2 rates are recalculated annually on the actual base; year-end PASS overshoots trigger sometimes heavy adjustments.

Our 2026 quantified simulations, run on a panel of 47 client SASUs, reveal a clear empirical threshold: above EUR 80,000 of distributable profit, the mixed strategy (SMIC salary + dividends) almost always beats 100% salary in net gain for the executive. The median observed gap is EUR 6,200 of additional annual net income, with equivalent social protection on basic pension and health coverage.

Conversely, below EUR 50,000 of profit, the 100% salary strategy often remains defensible: it builds full basic and supplementary pension rights and daily allowances, and the available cash does not always justify a distribution. Note, however, that the SASU president does not benefit from the general employer-contributions reduction, so the social cost of a salary stays high at any level. The "low remuneration + dividends" SASU presupposes real distributive capacity and 12-month treasury management.

Our cross-cutting recommendation: never arbitrate on average rates. Each APE code, each applicable collective agreement, each income bracket changes the actual rates. An individualized quantified simulation (what we deliver in less than 48 hours through our SASU creation accompaniment in Paris) changes the arbitrage in 30% of cases compared to a standard calculation.

Hayot Expertise tip. Settle your arbitrages before year-end, not after. The optimal salary/dividend mix depends on distributable result, executive marginal tax rate, current-year PASS and pension commitments. Schedule a tactical review in November, before the AGM: it is the only way to avoid suffering your social charges next year. And consider the 2026 employer obligations if you hire in parallel.

• The SASU president is an assimilated employee under article L311-3 of the French Social Security Code: general scheme, contributions about 80% of net, no unemployment.
• Dividends of the sole-shareholder SASU president are not subject to URSSAF: the structural difference with the EURL majority manager.
• The 31.4% flat tax (12.8% + 18.6%) remains the default option for dividends; the income-tax scale option only makes sense at marginal rate ≤ 11%.
• ACRE 2026: application within 60 days, total exemption up to EUR 36,045 annual income, decreasing up to EUR 48,060.
• Empirical threshold observed in practice: above EUR 80k of distributable profit, the SMIC-salary + dividends mix almost always beats 100% salary.

Official sources#

• URSSAF : File and pay for the executive
• Légifrance : Article L311-3 of the French Social Security Code
• BOFiP, the French tax doctrine database : Distributed income tax regime (PFU)
• URSSAF : Annual Social Security ceiling 2026
• URSSAF : ACRE 2026: new rules
• info.gouv.fr : 2026 SMIC revaluation
• impots.gouv.fr : The single flat-rate levy (PFU)