MACRON BONUS 2022. The amount of the exceptional purchasing power bonus should triple this year to reach 6,000 euros. Do I have to declare it for taxes? Who touches it? We take stock.
[Mis à jour le 24 juin 2022 à 10h50] Established in 2018 after the Yellow Vests crisis, the Macron bonus will be renewed in 2022! And good news, this year, it will be greatly upgraded. Its amount could well triple, going from 1,000 euros (current ceiling) to 3,000 euros. And even from 2,000 euros to 6,000 euros when the company has signed aprofit-sharing, when the number of company employees is less than 50 or for certain second-line workers if revaluation measures are undertaken. But then, a question persists at the end of the declarative period. Is the Macron bonus, or exceptional purchasing power bonus, taxable? The answer is no ! You won’t have to fill it in on your next tax return. It is completely exempt from tax for the employee, and from contributions for the employer who pays the “PEPA” premium.
This “employee dividend” as the Head of State Emmanuel Macron likes to call this bonus is awarded on a voluntary basis by any employer. The only condition for claiming it on the employee side? Compensation. An employee must pocket a salary less than 3x the amount of the minimum wage. In other words, you must earn less than 4,768 euros. . In 2021, 4 million PEPA bonuses were paid, for an average amount of 506 euros. Interesting, certainly, but still far from the authorized ceiling.
Since 2019, employees have been able to receive an exceptional bonus, exempt from taxes and social security contributions called the “Macron bonus”. This exceptional purchasing power bonus (is paid by any employer who wishes it to employees, under certain conditions. In particular if the employee in question does not exceed a certain income limit. This tax and social security exemption scheme aims to encourage employers to pay bonuses to their employees in order to enhance their purchasing power. It is not a state bonus, but a company bonus which remains optional and voluntary.
To be exempt from employee contributions, the Macron bonus cannot exceed the amount of €1,000. Companies that have a profit-sharing agreement can pay the Macron bonus up to €2,000. This amount, doubled, is also valid for companies with fewer than 50 employees, and second-line workers (if revaluation measures are taken). This bonus could now triple in the event of re-election of the LREM candidate on April 24, going from 1,000 euros to 3,000 euros. And up to 6,000 euros without charges or taxes for companies benefiting from a profit-sharing agreement.
The exceptional purchasing power bonus is exempt from income tax and from any social security contributions or contributions. But then, who is eligible for the Macron bonus? Employees earning less than 3 times the Smic (over the 12 months preceding the payment). This Macron bonus does not replace any element of remuneration. Already extended in 2021, the premium PEPA is renewed for the year 2022. Note that the employer is not obliged to pay the Macron bonus. If he wishes to pay it, he has the option of doing so atall of its employeesor only to employees whose remuneration is less than 3 times the Smic.
In 2022, the Macron bonus benefits both employees and apprentices, as well as temporary workers and public officials. The employer can completely modulate the amount of the payment of the PEPA bonus according to the beneficiary according to certain criteria such as the employee’s remuneration, the employee’s classification level, his working conditions during the Covid crisis, or still his working time over a year.
The amount of the Macron bonus exempt from contributions is capped at €1,000. However, this amount may triple and reach €3,000 in the event of a majority obtained by the LREM group in the National Assembly following the legislative elections on June 12 and 19. A major campaign promise from the Head of State, it could come into force this year, at the beginning of the summer with the promulgation of the purchasing power bill by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
This exceptional purchasing power premium could also go from €2,000 at €6,000 net of tax if the paying company has signed a profit-sharing agreement, has less than 50 employees and for second-line workers (if revaluation measures are taken).
The Macron bonus is paid within a period provided for by law. In this case, between the June 1, 2021 and the March 31, 2022. Whether you are a civil servant, an employee, or an industrialist, you have the possibility of benefiting from it. With the purchasing power bill, the reform of the Macron bonus should be announced in the coming weeks, after the legislative elections according to the last words of government spokesperson Olivia Grégoire.