“We are rewarded for our work”: towards more tax-free overtime?

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full. This year, an SME with 115 employees is expected to work nearly 10,000 overtime hours in total.

Sabrina Quignot, general accountant, works up to 20 hours of overtime per month: "In a normal month I earn 2,100 euros. When there is overproductivity and I work these overtime hours it can go up to 500 euros more per month. This is not negligible.

“Working more to earn more on a voluntary basis is a win-win for Sandrine Figueiredo, management assistant, hired a little over four years ago. “Those who are there and want to work, they can do so and in return, we are rewarded for our work. So it’s quite a good thing,” she believes.

Towards a ceiling of 10,000 euros to boost consumption? The government is proposing to increase the ceiling for tax-exempt overtime from 7,500 to 10,000 euros per year. In an SME, nearly fifteen employees are currently close to the ceiling.

They could therefore choose to work more overtime. Management would also benefit from this. “It’s a very good solution.

Today, we must be able to put people to work who want to, who also want to earn more. This will allow them, on the employee side, to increase their purchasing power and us, to have a slightly greater exemption", says Nathalie Gomes, EBS Group financial administrative director. Tax-free overtime this year represents 3 billion euros less in the State coffers.

Raising the ceiling will increase the bill, but with the hope of having more consumption and therefore more growth. “If we produce more and therefore growth improves, that can have positive effects on revenues at the end of the year,” indicates Stéphanie Villers, economist, PwC economic advisor. To be able to apply on January 1, 2027, the measure must still be voted on in the state budget.

Machine-translated from French