A little boost for the lowest taxed taxpayers. This Monday, October 20, the members of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly adopted an amendment to the 2026 budget raising the entry threshold into the marginal tax bracket by 1% (TMI) at 11%. Tabled by three deputies from the Liot group (Libertés, Indépendants, Overseas and Territories), Charles de Courson (Marne), Jean-Pierre Bataille (North) and Michel Castellani (Haute-Corse), the measure intends to revalue the 11% tax bracket by 1%, i.e. inflation excluding tobacco anticipated by INSEE for 2025. The ceiling would thus be increased from 11,497 euros to 11,611 euros.
As a reminder, the finance bill, examined since Monday in the Finance Committee, provides “a stabilization of the income tax and CSG scale”. A freezing of the different tranches (11%, 30%, 41% and 45%) which would result in a tax increase for around 18 million taxpayers and the entry into the tax scale of some 200,000 tax households.
A total freeze of the scale would bring in 1.3 billion euros
Certainly, and as the explanatory memorandum of the amendment of the Liot deputies points out, “the indexation of the income tax scale, retirement pensions and the replacement CSG scale is not obligatory, even if it is voted on each year by Parliament”. However, during the discussions, Charles de Courson emphasized that“indexing the first tranche is the minimum to prevent 150,000 to 200,000 taxpayers from becoming taxable”.
A justification which did not convince the general rapporteur of the budget, Philippe Juvin (Republican Right) attributing an unfavorable opinion to all the amendments aimed at “unfreezing” the tax scale, while recognizing that the measure proposed by the Liot deputies was the least costly. “The shortfall from partial indexation compared to the total non-indexation proposed by the government is 200 million euros”defended the Liot deputies in their amendment. An amount to be compared to the 1.3 billion euros that a total freezing of the scale would bring in.
If the Liot amendment is voted on again by the National Assembly in session in the Hemicycle, Friday October 24, and the budget is voted on as it stands, the tax schedule 2026 on 2025 income would be as follows:
- 0% up to 11,611 euros,
- 11% from 11,611 to 29,315 euros,
- 30% from 29,315 to 83,823 euros,
- 41% from 83,823 to 180,294 euros,
- 45% above 180,294 euros.
