PER, life insurance, stock market investments... How to reduce your taxes for the year 2026?

Challenges. The end of the year is approaching. What can we do to reduce our taxes?

Grégory Guermonprez, director of Fortuneo. First of all, and without delay, you must draw up an asset assessment, yourself or with the help of an advisor. There are several tax envelopes in France. This is the time to check that you are investing for the best benefit, according to your means, your situation, your age, your challenges and objectives.

Is it possible to open a life insurance contract in a few weeks?

Yes. Life insurance is the saver’s Swiss army knife. And, it is possible to hold several contracts. In this case, it is better to distribute them between several insurers, comparing entry, management and arbitration costs, as well as historical performance, without considering these as a guarantee of future results. The fees charged at entry are calculated as a percentage of the amount invested: from 0% to 4%. Online players generally do not apply them.

Opening a contract now does not provide an immediate reduction in income tax, but allows you to set a date for triggering tax seniority in a long-term perspective, at least eight years. On existing contracts, this is also an opportunity to check whether the beneficiary clause still corresponds to your wishes.

What is the tax effect for a PEA or an ordinary securities account?

An opening or a payment at the end of the year does not reduce the income tax for 2026, but is part of an investment logic for five years or more. On the other hand, unlike life insurance, it is not possible to hold several. The main lever for reducing taxable income for the year lies in the retirement savings plan (PER).

To open a PER, it is better to do so before December 15 because financial organizations face an influx of requests at the end of the year. The entry ticket can be low, €100, and you have to compare the fees, the ratio of which can range from one to two, or even more, depending on the establishment. Recurring costs weigh on performance. To determine the amount of the payment, you must consult your last tax notice to find out the ceiling available for deductibility.

This is interesting since we are subject to the 30% tax bracket, plus 41% or 45%. At 30%, if you pay €10,000, you have €3,000 tax deduction. It is possible to open several PERs. On the other hand, the tax deduction ceiling is unique.

Furthermore, the transfer of a PER (free after 5 years of holding) is possible, without the need to do so before December 31 since this does not change the tax advantage for the year. Finally, for insurance PERs, i.e. 95% of plans on the market, there is a beneficiary clause to be validated for inheritance purposes.

Machine-translated from French