EURL dividends: what the 10% rule really takes
For a majority manager, one dividend can bear both tax and self-employed contributions; the size of your share capital decides how much.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
EURL dividends: the part that bears contributions
Net dividends in hand
€10,683
| Part above 10 % of capital | €19,500 |
| Contributions on that part | €6,664 |
| Income tax and social levies | €2,653 |
If you run an EURL (entreprise unipersonnelle à responsabilité limitée, a French one-member limited company) that pays corporate tax and you are its majority manager, in 2026 you pay self-employed contributions on the part of your dividends above 10 % of share capital, share premium and money left in your partner current account, on top of tax. With €5,000 of capital, only €500 of dividends escape: on €20,000 paid out alongside €30,000 of manager pay, €19,500 enters the social contribution base and costs €6,664 in extra contributions, according to our engine. The 12.8 % income tax part of the flat tax still applies to the whole dividend; the 18.6 % social levies only hit the part not subject to contributions. You end up with €10,683, against €13,720 for a SASU president receiving the same dividend. The more capital and current-account money you have, the larger the contribution-free share: you would need €200,000 to pay out €20,000 with no contributions at all. That is why EURL managers are mostly paid through manager pay rather than dividends.
The 10 % rule in one sentence
For the majority manager of an EURL or SARL (the multi-member version) paying corporate tax, income subject to contributions includes manager pay and any dividends above 10 % of share capital, share premium and partner current accounts (Urssaf, contribution base reform; service-public, sheet F32963). Below that line, a dividend is ordinary investment income taxed under the flat tax. Above it, the Urssaf, which collects social contributions, treats it as extra pay.
The threshold depends on the balance sheet: €1,000 of capital frees €100 of contribution-free dividends, €50,000 frees €5,000. It is not a cap on what you may pay out, only the point beyond which a dividend changes social treatment.
What €20,000 of dividends costs, by capital
| Capital and current accounts | Part subject to contributions | Extra contributions | Income tax and social levies | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €1,000 | €19,900 | €6,801 | €2,579 | €10,621 |
| €5,000 | €19,500 | €6,664 | €2,653 | €10,683 |
| €20,000 | €18,000 | €6,154 | €2,932 | €10,914 |
| €50,000 | €15,000 | €5,141 | €3,490 | €11,369 |
| €100,000 | €10,000 | €3,475 | €4,420 | €12,105 |
| €200,000 | €0 | €0 | €6,280 | €13,720 |
The gap between the first and last rows, €3,099, comes from capital alone. Extra contributions follow the self-employed scale applied to pay plus the part caught, after the 26 % allowance, so their weight also depends on how much pay you already draw. The mini-calculator at the top lets you vary all three inputs.
Why social levies go down
The 31.4 % flat tax combines 12.8 % income tax and 18.6 % social levies. On the slice already subject to manager contributions, which include CSG-CRDS, the engine does not charge social levies again. The 12.8 % income tax still applies to the whole dividend. So with little capital, the “tax and levies” column looks light, but the “contributions” column more than makes up for it.
Capital is the main lever
Paying out €20,000 with no contributions would take €200,000 of capital, share premium and current accounts. A partner current account (compte courant d’associé), the money a manager lends to the company, counts in that base just like capital. A manager who leaves €45,000 in the current account next to €5,000 of capital brings the part caught down to €15,000 and extra contributions to €5,141.
Over a full year, the engine builds this rule into its search for the best split. On €200,000 of profit:
| Capital | Share as pay | Net pay | Net dividends | Disposable income / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €1,000 | 65 % | €91,843 | €35,583 | €108,706 |
| €20,000 | 65 % | €91,843 | €35,705 | €108,828 |
| €100,000 | 65 % | €91,843 | €36,210 | €109,333 |
At this profit level the engine still pays some dividends, because profit kept in the company benefits from corporate tax at 15 % up to €42,500. More capital improves the result, but the effect stays small next to the weight of manager pay.
EURL or SASU if you want dividends
Many founders arriving in France assume dividends are taxed the same whatever the company. Not here: a SASU president has no 10 % rule, and dividends bear only the flat tax whatever the capital. On €20,000 of dividends the president keeps €13,720, against €10,683 for an EURL manager with €5,000 of capital. That advantage is paid for elsewhere, through a salary that costs more in contributions: the full picture is on EURL or SASU, the flat tax breakdown on the dividend flat tax and the contribution scale on TNS contributions. Run your own figures in the EURL calculator.
These amounts are estimates based on the 2026 scales and are not advice: the Urssaf works out the contributions due and the tax office the tax.