Your salary may decrease from January 2025 for these reasons

© Unsplash/Lukasz Radziejewski

The start of the year is looking difficult for French employees. Between persistent inflation and new regulatory changes, workers' purchasing power will be put to the test from January 2025. These changes will not be insignificant since they will directly affect the French people's wallets. Millions of employees will see their net salary decrease due to three major changes in their pay slips.

The increase in mutual contributions weighs on salaries

The first bad news concerns mandatory supplementary health insurance. Mutual insurance companies have announced an average increase in their rates of 6% for 2025. This significant increase will have a direct impact on the net salary of private sector employees. Indeed, the law requires companies to cover at least 50% of the cost of mutual insurance, with the remainder being directly deducted from employees' gross salary.

In concrete terms, the line “Mandatory supplementary health insurance” on pay slips will display a higher amount in the “Employee share/contribution” column. This increase will automatically result in a decrease in net salary. The date of application of this increase will depend on the renewal of each company's mutual insurance contract. If the employer already covers more than 50% of the contribution, its share will also increase, but without any additional impact on employees' salaries.

Public transport users particularly affected

The second major change concerns the reimbursement of transport costs. As of January 1, 2025, employers will no longer be able to reimburse more than 50% of their employees' public transport tickets. This legislative change puts an end to the possibility that some companies had of covering up to 75% of these costs.

This new restriction comes in an already tense context, with the recent increase in the price of transport subscriptions. The Navigo pass is now set at 88.80 euros. Employees who previously benefited from a reimbursement of 75% will therefore see their personal contribution increase significantly. For a monthly subscription, the difference can represent several hundred euros per year. This measure will particularly affect workers in large cities, where the use of public transport is more widespread.

The withholding tax rate in question

The third element that could negatively impact salaries concerns the withholding tax. Employees who have changed their withholding tax rate in 2024 must be particularly vigilant. Indeed, these personalized modifications only apply until December 31 of the current year.

As of January 1, 2025, the rate automatically calculated by the tax administration will take over. This rate may be higher or lower than the one applied in December 2024, depending on the taxpayer's tax situation. The employees concerned will therefore have to carefully check their first pay slip of the year to assess the impact of this change on their net salary.

• Health insurance is increasing by an average of 6%, mechanically reducing net salary
• Reimbursement of public transport is capped at 50% instead of 75%
• The withholding tax rate automatically reverts to the rate calculated by the tax authorities, which is potentially higher

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