The New Structure of the Value-Sharing Bonus
Starting January 1, 2025, 65,000 small and medium-sized businesses will be required to offer their employees at least one profit-sharing plan. This change is already being factored into year-end salary negotiations, and business leaders are considering how they will implement it.
The law on value sharing within companies, which was definitively adopted on November 22, was officially published this Thursday in the Official Journal. This legislation implements the provisions of an agreement reached between the social partners last February. It introduces several changes to existing employee savings plans, such as profit-sharing, incentive schemes, employee savings plans, free shares, and so on. In addition, it creates new “value-sharing” mechanisms aimed, in particular, at encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt this approach.
Stemming from the former “Macron bonus” designed to support purchasing power, the current value-sharing bonus (PPV) retains its fundamental principle. It remains exempt from social security contributions, with a limit of €3,000 or €6,000 depending on the circumstances. The exemption from the CSG-CRDS and income tax (IR) remains in effect through December 31, 2026, and continues to apply to employees whose compensation does not exceed 3 times the minimum wage (SMIC), but only when the bonus is paid by a company with fewer than 50 employees.
However, regardless of salary level or company size, the PPV may also be exempt from income tax when it is allocated to an employee savings plan or retirement savings plan, in accordance with terms and conditions to be specified by decree. In this context, the PPV may be supplemented by an employer contribution, which is also tax-exempt.
