Aid of several hundred euros or more will be paid to several million families in August. Enough to help them cope more calmly with the many expenses of the new school year.
Summer and the Paris Olympics are in full swing, allowing the French to take a well-deserved rest after a particularly chaotic start to 2024. But the carefree summer should not make us forget the obligations that will surely rear their heads in just a few weeks. And one of them particularly concerns parents: the start of the school year.
A pivotal moment for children and a source of stress for parents, the start of the school year is often prepared as early as August and unfortunately generates significant expenses for families. Between supplies, clothing and the various equipment necessary for learning in good conditions, the bill quickly mounts up and can catch some households off guard.
Fortunately, there is financial assistance specifically dedicated to this situation: the Back-to-School Allowance (ARS). Intended for low-income families who have at least one child in school aged between 6 and 18, it is traditionally paid during the month of August by the Family Allowance Fund (CAF) or by the Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA), depending on the organization on which the family depends.
Concerning more than three million people each year, its amount is far from negligible, since it is paid for each child in school according to their age: €416.40 between 6 and 10 years old, €439.38 between 11 and 14 years old and finally €454.60 between 15 and 18 years old. For the start of the school year in September 2024, the child’s age on December 31, 2023 is taken into account.
To benefit from it, the annual financial resources of the household must not exceed certain ceilings, namely €27,141 for one dependent child, €33,404 for two children, €39,687 for three children, €45,930 for four children, then €6,263 additional ceiling for each child beyond the fourth.
Please note that it is the household’s taxable income from two years ago that is taken into account for the assessment of the resource ceiling. Thus, for the ARS 2024, it is the amount of income from 2022 that will be considered, which may be penalizing for families who have experienced a drop in resources during the last two years.
For eligible families, the amounts will be paid directly into their bank account on August 6 for the departments of Mayotte and Réunion, and on August 20 for all others (mainland France, Guadeloupe, Guyana and Martinique). Households already receiving CAF or MSA benefits do not need to take any action and will automatically receive this aid.
The only special feature is that for children under 6 years old who are about to enter CP, they will need to provide a school certificate provided by the school, and for those between 16 and 18 years old, they will need to declare that they are still in school or in training from the personal space on the CAF or MSA website.
Finally, for families newly eligible for the Back-to-School Allowance, it is imperative to create a personal space on the website of the organization concerned and fill out the appropriate form. And the good news is that this process can still be done until mid-August, so if you are eligible for the ARS and have not yet done so, go for it so as not to deprive yourself of this valuable assistance to finish the summer well and start the school year more serenely!