As the General Directorate of Public Finance reminds you, you may have received an email from the tax department informing you of your eligibility for the popular savings account (LEP) and it is not a scam. The government is in fact continuing its campaign to raise awareness among low-income households who are eligible to open a LEP.
Still potential openings
The rate of this booklet may be very high, it will go from 4.6% to 6.1% from February 1, less than half (8.5 million) of the 18 million eligible taxpayers have one. The ceilings of resources not to be exceeded to open a LEP have just been revalued by 5.4% to take inflation into account.
Resource ceilings
The LEP is reserved for households that do not exceed certain income ceilings established according to the composition of the household (for example €21,393 for a single person and €32,818 for a couple). According to our calculations, for a single person with no income other than that of his salaried activity or retirement, this corresponds for example to a net income of €1,980 per month, which represents nearly 1. 5 times the minimum wage (€1,353 net). For a couple in the same situation, their income must not exceed €3,038 per month. We have established the monthly net income limit for each level of tax shares in the table below.
It is the reference taxable income of the year preceding that of the request (or the penultimate) which is taken into account. In other words, the reference tax income for 2021 or 2022 (it will be available this summer) for an opening request made in 2023.
| Reference tax income | Net income per month | |
| Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance and Argen&Vous | ||
| 1 share (single) | €21,393 | 1.980 € |
| 1.5 shares (single person with 1 child) | 27.106 € | 2.259 € |
| 2 shares (couple) | 32.818 € | 3.038 € |
| 2.5 shares (couple with 1 child) | 38.530 € | 3.568 € |
| 3 shares (couple with 2 children) | €44,243 | 4.097 € |
| 3.5 slices | 49.955 € | 4.625 € |
| 4 shares (couple with 3 children) | €55,668 | 5.154 € |
| Per additional share | +5.712 € | +529 € |
Banks can now query the tax authorities directly electronically to verify that the eligibility conditions are met when the passbook is opened and remain so each year. If your taxable income exceeds the ceiling for one year but falls below the following year, the LEP can indeed be retained. If it is exceeded two years in a row, the bank will have to close it.
Up to two LEPs per tax household
The LEP is reserved for adults residing in France for tax purposes and there cannot be more than two LEPs in the same tax household. At the opening, you must pay a minimum of €30 into your savings account. Its ceiling is limited to €7,700, which represents a potential remuneration of €469.7 over one year at the rate of 6.1%. For a household with two LEPs filled to the ceiling, this could generate around €940 in annual interest provided it has savings of €15,400.