The year 2025 promises to be positive for married or civil partnership women since new measures will benefit them financially (but to the detriment of their husbands).
In 2025, women have every interest in being married or in a civil partnership, because this year will be financially favorable for them! Men will no longer be able to enjoy the same advantage that was granted to them until now. Indeed, new rules will be put in place at the beginning of September, with the aim of putting an end to tax injustice, which penalized, in the majority of cases, married or civil partnership women whose salary was less than their husband.
In fact, these couples are today subject to withholding tax, with a rate of deduction from their tax household, calculated from their personal and joint income. But this calculation is unfair since the person who receives a lower salary is harmed: they must pay more taxes than if they were single. And vice versa: the person who earns more money finds themselves paying less tax since their tax rate decreases. This is the reason why some couples opt for an individualized withholding rate on their personal income, especially when income is unbalanced between the man and the woman.
As part of the finance law for 2024, the new tax rules will soon be fairer. From September 1, 2025, women who earn less than their husbands will no longer be penalized. In fact, their withholding tax rate will be automatically applied with an individualized rate on their personal income, so as not to apply the household tax rate on joint income. Couples who wish to do so will still be able to maintain their household tax rate jointly by making a request.
Concretely, active or retired women who live as a couple with a better-paid spouse or receiving a pension are concerned, and according to the magazine UFC-Que Choisir, this situation should provide a financial boost to women in 8 out of 10 cases. Therefore, married men with a higher salary than their wife should expect to pay more withholding tax this year.
