PRIME MACRON 2022. The amount of the PEPA premium should triple this year. The measure should be formalized this summer with the presentation of the purchasing power bill.
[Mis à jour le 8 juin 2022 à 08h46] The purchasing power bill grouping together several measures intended to fight galloping inflation and boost the purchasing power of the French should be presented after the legislative elections on 12 and 19 June next, in the event of a majority obtained by the group Together! in the National Assembly. And one measure particularly attracts attention: the tripling of the Macron bonus. Indeed, the amount of this bonus also called “PEPA” could go from 1,000 to 3,000 euros net of tax! And even from 2,000 euros to 6,000 euros for companies that have signed aprofit-sharing during the 2021 financial year. But in reality, this sum paid by voluntary companies could be much lower. In reality, last year, the exceptional purchasing power bonus benefited 4 million French people for an average amount of… 506 euros only. This is the whole challenge of the executive. So, will a minimum amount be imposed by Bercy? Answer in a few weeks.
As a reminder, any employee whose salary is less than 3x the amount of the Smic can claim it! Also, this PEPA bonus is totally exempt from income tax, employee and employer contributions and social contribution. It is therefore not necessary to enter it on your tax return. An exceptional aid intended to reward the investment of employees during two complicated years marked by the Covid-19 crisis which is similar to a “employee dividend“as Emmanuel Macron likes to remind us.
Since 2019, employees have been able to receive an exceptional bonus, exempt from taxes and social security contributions called “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 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.
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.