The withholding tax system, in place since 2019, will undergo a significant change from 2025, in order to better take into account individual income within couples.
Currently, within the framework of joint taxation, married or civil partnership couples are subject to a common withholding tax rate, calculated on the basis of their total declared income. This rate, applied to both salaries and retirement pensions, is levied directly by the employer or pension fund of each member of the couple.
From September 1, 2025, this common rate will become optional, and the default system will move to an individualized rate, announces Capital. Concretely, each member of the couple will have their own deduction rate calculated according to their specific income, which will better reflect salary inequalities between the spouses.
Reduce gender inequalities
The objective of this reform is to correct economic disparities often observed between the partners of a couple. The current mechanism, where a single tax rate is applied to the couple as a whole, generally favors the higher-earning spouse, often a man, to the detriment of the one who earns less. With this automatic adjustment, the system could penalize women, who often have lower salaries.
The individualized rate will take into account the income of each member of the couple to determine the amount of tax to be withheld. However, the system will still allow couples to choose, if necessary, to continue to be subject to a joint rate. This change should allow for fairer taxation, without penalizing the poorest members of the couple.
