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Work out a dividend from the profit of the year, from the gross amount voted at the shareholders meeting, or from the net cash you want in hand. The calculator climbs back to the profit before corporate tax, prices the corporate tax, details the 31.4% flat tax (12.8% income tax advance plus 18.6% social levies) and shows the total cost of the payout.
Start from the profit before corporate tax, the gross dividend voted or the net cash you want.
Price the corporate tax at the 15% then 25% scale, then see the flat tax breakdown.
Get the gross amount to vote in the minutes and the total cost of the payout, tax included.
A dividend is not decided at random: the company first pays corporate tax, then allocates the result (legal reserve, retained earnings), votes a gross amount at the meeting and finally applies the shareholder tax. The calculator follows this chain both ways, from the profit down to the net and from the net back up to the profit, and remains indicative: the right setup depends on your status, your cash position and your personal situation.
The profit first bears corporate tax, then follows a set order laid down by the French Commercial Code.
The annual ordinary meeting votes a gross dividend, within the limit of the distributable profit.
On the gross dividend, the company withholds 31.4%: the shareholder receives 68.6% of the gross.
A secure distribution is prepared: the calculator gives the order of magnitude, these points validate the decision.
The real issue with a dividend is not the rate shown by a calculator, but the overall consistency: a genuinely distributable profit, a cash position that follows, compliant minutes and, for a majority manager, the 10% rule anticipated. Corporate tax is the invisible half of it: a gross dividend of EUR 10,000 assumes the company already earned close to EUR 11,800 of profit before tax, and that is settled long before the meeting votes. We also arbitrate the salary/dividend mix, because the best net in hand often combines both.
Distributing more than the distributable profit (a fictitious dividend), forgetting the legal reserve or ignoring the 10% rule exposes you to a reassessment and to the distribution being challenged. The formalities (minutes, 2777 return) secure the operation.
By default a dividend is subject to the 31.4% flat tax (PFU): 12.8% for income tax and 18.6% of social levies (the CSG rose to 10.6% with the 2026 social security act). The shareholder therefore receives 68.6% of the gross dividend voted. You can still opt for the progressive income tax scale, which unlocks a 40% allowance (art. 158-3-2 of the tax code) but keeps the 18.6% of social levies.
You make a reverse calculation (gross-up): the gross dividend to vote equals the net you want divided by 0.686. For example, to receive EUR 6,860 net, you must vote a gross dividend of EUR 10,000 in the minutes of the meeting. The calculator does this automatically in the 'from the net I want' mode, and climbs one step further: those EUR 10,000 gross assume the company earned about EUR 11,765 of profit before corporate tax, at the reduced 15% rate.
The 31.4% flat tax measures only part of the levy: it bears on profit that has already carried corporate income tax. Adding the two layers, the total effective rate comes to 41.7% while the profit stays within the band taxed at 15% (up to EUR 42,500), and 48.6% once it is taxed at 25%. Put differently, out of EUR 100 of profit before tax the shareholder receives about EUR 58 at the reduced rate and EUR 51 at the standard rate. It is this total rate, not the flat tax alone, that should be compared with the cost of a salary.
You climb two steps. The net first converts into a gross dividend (net divided by 0.686), then that gross converts into profit before corporate tax. At the reduced 15% rate you divide by 0.85 as long as the profit stays under EUR 42,500; above that, the excess is taxed at 25%, so you divide by 0.75. To receive EUR 6,860 net you therefore need EUR 10,000 of gross dividend and about EUR 11,765 of profit before corporate tax: the full cost of the operation is EUR 4,905, a total effective rate of 41.7%. The calculator shows this climb in all three modes.
The gross amount is the dividend voted by the meeting, before any levy. It is the figure recorded in the minutes. The 31.4% flat tax is then withheld on payment: the gross is not what the shareholder receives in the bank, but the calculation base.
Yes, until it reaches 10% of the share capital. Each year the company must set aside 5% of the profit (reduced by prior losses) to the legal reserve, up to that 10% ceiling. Once the ceiling is met, the allocation is no longer compulsory and the distributable profit increases accordingly.
Yes, with a caveat: for a majority manager of an SARL, EURL or SEL, the share of dividends above 10% of capital, share premiums and current account is subject to self-employed social contributions (art. L131-6 of the Social Security Code) on top of the flat tax. The calculator flags this excess but does not price the self-employed contribution, which depends on your income and scheme: it is a case-by-case matter.
Updated August 2026. The calculation includes corporate tax at the 15% then 25% scale. Indicative estimate for a shareholder who is a French tax resident; it does not replace a tailored study.
We secure the allocation of the result, the minutes and the 2777 return, and we arbitrate the salary/dividend mix to maximise your net in hand.