SELARL manager remuneration in 2026: TNS status, BNC and dividends

Remuneration in a SELARL — the French company structure used by regulated liberal professions such as doctors, dentists, pharmacists, lawyers and accountants — involves at least three separate income streams, each with its own tax and social contribution regime. Getting this wrong does not just produce an incorrect payslip; it can trigger a social security audit adjustment covering several years of contributions.

The starting point that determines everything else: the manager's position in the shareholding. A majority manager (holding more than 50% of shares, alone or jointly with spouse and minor children) is a self-employed worker (TNS — travailleur non salarié) for social security purposes. A minority or equal manager falls under the general salaried regime. This distinction governs the entire remuneration architecture.

Under the TNS regime, there is no monthly payslip in the traditional sense and no employer/employee split of contributions. Social contributions are calculated on declared professional income and called through provisional instalment payments, with a regularisation in the year following the income declaration.

For 2026, the PASS (plafond annuel de la Sécurité sociale — annual social security ceiling) stands at 48,060 euros, with a monthly ceiling (PMSS) of 4,005 euros (set by decree of 22 December 2025). This ceiling anchors the brackets used to calculate TNS contribution rates.

A structural reform of the TNS contribution base is being applied to 2025 income declared in 2026. The new base substitutes a net fiscal income approach for the previous method, which required reintegrating social contributions into the CSG-CRDS base. The practical effect: the effective contribution rate changes for many managers, and the old rules of thumb no longer hold reliably.

Most managers refer loosely to their "salary" in a SELARL. This is the root of most errors.

Each stream has different deductibility from IS, different social contribution treatment, and different income tax classification. Managing them as a single amount creates errors that compound over time.

For a majority manager of a SELARL, dividends are not fully exempt from social contributions. Under Article L131-6 of the Code de la sécurité sociale, the portion of distributed dividends exceeding 10% of the sum of capital social, primes d'émission and associate current account balances is included in the TNS social contribution base — treated as professional income for contribution purposes.

Worked example:

In this example, 35,000 euros of dividends are treated as professional income and attract full TNS social contributions — not the flat 30% PFU. The error is common: managers choose to "pay themselves in dividends" believing it avoids social contributions, without checking whether the 10% threshold provides any meaningful shelter given the actual capital and current account structure.

Since the tax administration's doctrine published in April 2024 (BOFiP BOI-RES-BNC-000136), the remuneration paid by a SEL to its associate for the actual performance of the liberal professional activity is classified as non-commercial profits (BNC) under Article 92 of the CGI, provided there is no subordination relationship between the associate and the SEL.

This shift matters for several reasons. Deductible expenses are those admissible under BNC rules, not standard employment expense rules. The associate declares liberal income on a BNC return (contrôlée regime or micro-BNC below the threshold). The SELARL's accounting must clearly separate this flow from the mandate remuneration. And the TNS contribution base for the associate now includes BNC income — alongside the mandate remuneration.

The exception: if a genuine subordination relationship is demonstrated, the income remains in the RSA (salaries and wages) category. In practice, most associates in SELs who exercise their professional activity autonomously within the structure will fall under BNC from the 2024 tax year.

The arbitrage between remuneration and dividends depends on several variables simultaneously.

The logic: mandate remuneration is deductible and builds social rights. Dividends are taxed at PFU after IS, but only the fraction above the 10% threshold attracts social contributions. Where the threshold provides real shelter — small capital, minimal current account balances — dividends remain efficient. Where the threshold is largely eaten up by a large current account, dividends become significantly more costly than expected.

Three errors appear with regularity in the files we review.

The first is conflating technical remuneration with mandate remuneration. Since 2024, this confusion has fiscal consequences: BNC rules apply to technical remuneration, RSA rules or TNS mandate rules to management remuneration. A single undifferentiated payment recorded without distinction produces incorrect tax returns and social contribution bases.

The second is applying the 10% rule only to share capital, ignoring the current account balance. When a manager has made a substantial advance to the company through a current account, the reference base expands — but many managers and some advisers still calculate the threshold on capital alone, overestimating the exempt portion of dividends.

The third is the absence of an annual simulation before setting the remuneration level. Contribution calls are provisional and regularised the following year. Without a model that integrates expected result, provisional TNS instalments, IS, and dividend distribution capacity, the manager discovers mid-year that cash is too tight to sustain the target income level.

1. Confirm the manager's exact status: majority (TNS) or minority/equal (general regime), accounting for shares held by family members.
2. Separate the three income streams and document each in the company accounts with clear labels.
3. Run a full annual simulation: TNS contributions on mandate remuneration + contributions on the dividend excess, IS on the result before distribution, PFU on the exempt dividend portion, and income tax at the household level. Do not assess only the net take-home figure.
4. Formalise decisions properly: the general meeting approves accounts and decides distribution. Mandate remuneration must be decided according to the procedure defined in the articles or management resolution. These formalities are not administrative decoration — they determine enforceability in an audit.

For broader context on payroll and social management, see Payroll, social management and remuneration. On the choice between legal structures, see SASU vs EURL and Dividends vs salary.

Up to date as of 2026-05-26. This article is for information only and does not substitute for personalised advice. TNS contribution rates are indicative and should be verified at urssaf.fr for your specific situation. The 10% dividend rule derives from Article L131-6 CSS — its application depends on the exact capital and current account structure of your SELARL. Consult a registered expert-comptable for your personal situation.