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

Remuneration in a SELARL does not reduce to a monthly figure entered as a company expense. It engages, simultaneously, the social security rules for the self-employed, the tax treatment of the liberal professions, the dividend regime in a company subject to corporate tax (IS), and — since 2024 — the new classification of technical remuneration as non-commercial profits (BNC). This layering of regimes makes the SELARL one of the structures where piloting errors are most costly, and the least visible until an audit.

The essential point to hold from the outset: the manager's position in the share capital determines which social security regime applies, but that alone does not resolve the arbitrage between remuneration, dividends and company-level costs. A properly constructed file integrates projected cash flow, expected profit, the level of social protection sought, and the household tax position — before a single figure is fixed.

The SELARL (société d'exercice libéral à responsabilité limitée) is a company structure used exclusively by regulated liberal professions: doctors, dental surgeons, pharmacists, lawyers, notaries, vets, chartered accountants. It combines the legal form of a SARL with the specific constraints of regulated liberal practice. This dual nature requires a multi-level reading for any remuneration decision.

A manager is treated as majority where he or she holds, alone or together with a spouse and minor children, more than half of the shares of the SELARL. In this configuration, the manager falls under the travailleur non salarié (TNS — self-employed worker) regime managed by URSSAF for the management mandate — not under the general salaried regime.

This status changes the mechanics of contributions in concrete ways. There is no payslip in the traditional sense and no employer/employee split of contributions calculated on gross salary. Contributions are called on the basis of declared net professional income, through provisional instalment payments regularised the following year after the income return. For 2026, the 2025 income return will be subject to the new contribution base resulting from the social base reform (loi de financement de la sécurité sociale), which replaces the previous mechanism with a net fiscal income base and removes the requirement to reintegrate social contributions into the CSG-CRDS base.

The minority or equal manager — one holding 50% or less of the capital — falls under the general regime. Remuneration is processed on a payslip, with salaried and employer contributions calculated monthly. The employer cost is immediate and transparent, but the contribution burden on gross income is structurally different from that of the TNS regime.

The PASS 2026 (plafond annuel de la Sécurité sociale — annual social security ceiling) is set at 48,060 euros (PMSS: 4,005 euros per month, decree of 22 December 2025). This is the reference for calculating the ceilings and brackets of TNS contributions.

The principal rates applicable to a majority manager of a SELARL under the TNS regime for regulated or non-regulated liberal professions (depending on the case) include:

These rates are indicative. The social base reform, applicable to the 2025 income return (2026 campaign), changes the method for calculating the base by removing the reintegration of social contributions into the CSG-CRDS base. Final rates and instalment rules are to be verified at urssaf.fr or through your self-employed income simulator.

This is the point that generates the most misunderstandings. In a SELARL where the manager is majority, dividends are not automatically exempt from social contributions.

The rule, derived from Article L131-6 of the Code de la sécurité sociale, is as follows: the portion of distributed dividends exceeding 10% of the combined total of share capital (capital social), share premiums (primes d'émission) and sums placed in the associate current account (compte courant d'associé) is included in the TNS social contribution base of the majority manager.

Worked example:

In this example, 35,000 euros of dividends join the TNS base and attract social contributions as though they were remuneration. Only 5,000 euros remain subject to the flat-rate withholding tax (prélèvement forfaitaire unique — PFU) of 31.4% alone. Many managers discover this rule too late, after having distributed dividends in the belief they were "taking money out at lower social cost".

Technical remuneration is what the SELARL pays to the associate in exchange for the actual exercise of the liberal professional activity — medical consultations, procedures, fees, professional services of the practice. It is distinct from the mandate remuneration (rémunération de mandat social), which remunerates the management function.

Since the tax doctrine published by the administration in April 2024 (BOFiP, BOI-RES-BNC-000136), applicable from the taxation of 2024 income, this technical remuneration is classified in the category of non-commercial profits (bénéfices non commerciaux — BNC), and no longer as employment income (traitements et salaires), provided no subordination relationship is established. The individual associate therefore declares liberal income as BNC, potentially under the contrôlée declaration regime or under micro-BNC below the threshold (to be verified case by case).

This change has material practical consequences:

1. Deductible expenses are those allowed under BNC rules (not the standard employment expense rules).
2. TNS social contributions apply to the BNC base.
3. The management mandate retains its own regime (TNS or general regime depending on the capital position).
4. The SELARL's accounts must correctly reflect the separation between the two flows.

The choice between remuneration and dividends in a SELARL cannot be reduced to a tax equation alone. It depends on several variables simultaneously.

The baseline logic: mandate remuneration, well calibrated, preserves social cover and generates rights. Dividends complement where cash allows and where the 10% threshold leaves a genuine margin of social exemption. Choosing dividends to avoid contributions without checking the 10% rule is taking the risk of an audit adjustment.

In the SELARL files we handle, the difficulties rarely stem from complete ignorance of the rules. They come from approximations on three specific points.

The first is the confusion between technical remuneration and mandate remuneration. Many manager-associates receive a single payment and make no distinction between the two. Yet the two flows do not carry the same tax regime or the same social base — and since 2024, the confusion can be costly in terms of a BNC audit adjustment.

The second is the calculation of the 10% threshold for dividends. Managers who know the rule often apply it only to share capital, forgetting to include the current account balances. Yet it is precisely those balances that, in SELARLs with substantial current accounts, most reduce the fraction exempt from contributions.

The third is the absence of an annual simulation. Remuneration is set in January on the basis of the expected result, without accounting for provisional TNS contribution instalments or the company's cash requirements. By mid-year, the cash position is too tight to sustain the originally planned level.

A structured approach involves four steps.

1. Confirm the exact status precisely: majority manager (TNS) or minority/equal (general regime), and check whether shares are held by family members.
2. Separate the flows: mandate remuneration, technical remuneration (BNC), dividends — each flow has its own regime.
3. Simulate the total cost: TNS contributions on remuneration + any contributions on the dividend fraction exceeding 10%, IS on the result before distribution, PFU on the fraction not subject to contributions. Reasoning only from "net received" without seeing the total cost for the structure is the principal source of error.
4. Formalise the decision: the general meeting approves the accounts and decides the distribution. Mandate remuneration must be decided according to the procedures set out in the articles of association or a management resolution. These formalities are not administrative details — they determine enforceability in the event of an audit.

For further reading on social management and executive remuneration, see Payroll, social management and remuneration and Payroll outsourcing. On the question of choosing between legal forms, see SASU vs EURL and Dividends vs salary.

The SELARL is a useful structure, but it is not neutral in terms of remuneration complexity. Liberal professionals moving from sole practice to a SELARL often carry over the reflexes of an independent practitioner without integrating the IS dimension and the dividend rule.

What we recommend systematically: an annual remuneration simulation before the start of the financial year, revised mid-year on the basis of actual receipts. This simulation must integrate provisional TNS contribution instalments, expected IS, distribution capacity, and the manager's personal tax position. Without it, the SELARL file is managed without a clear picture.

Up to date as of 2026-05-26. This article is for information purposes only and does not substitute for personalised advice. TNS contribution rates are indicative and must be verified at urssaf.fr for your situation. The dividend base rule derives from Article L131-6 CSS — its application depends on the structure of the capital and current accounts. For your specific situation, consult a chartered accountant (expert-comptable) registered with the Ordre des experts-comptables.