Can France’s prime d’activité benefit boost income of self-employed?

Reader Question: I am self-employed but do not earn a lot of money from my craft. Are there any benefits I can obtain? 

A key aid likely to help in this situation is the prime d’activité, an income top-up for people who are employed or self-employed and who have a modest level of income.

Around four million people in France benefit from the payment, which is used to encourage people to enter work even if the pay is low.

It is paid out by the caisses d’allocations familiales (Caf) on a monthly basis. 

To benefit, you must fulfil the general following conditions: 

• Be at least 18 years old

• Live in France at least nine-months of the year (i.e France is your main place of residency)

• Have French, EU, EEA, or Swiss nationality, or another nationality on certain conditions. In most cases ‘third country’ nationals must have been living in France with a residency permit that allowed them to work, for at least five years (this limit does not apply to Brexit Withdrawal Agreement card holders) or they should hold a 10-year carte de résident

• Be in employment (either salaried or self-employed), or be on chômage partiel/technique (furlough)

Students and people on apprenticeships can also receive the benefit, if they are earning more than €1,104.25/month (the figure to check is listed as montant net social on payslips). 

Read also: Benefits in France: revenu de solidarité active (RSA) for work seekers

Applications are made through caf.fr (if you do not have one, you will need to create an account). However, before doing so it is recommended you use the official online simulator to check you are eligible and how much you will receive. 

If you already have an account with the Caf, you apply after logging on to your space, otherwise you can create an account. 

If the simulator shows you could benefit from this, self-employed people need to apply supplying documents including a copy of their registration on a professional register and information relating to their business accounts.

How much can payments reach?

The amount you receive can vary from a few tens of euros to hundreds depending on your income from all sources and whether you have dependents. It is increased for single parents/guardians.

Until March 2025, maximum possible payments from the benefit (which would correspond to a very low level of money coming in) are: 

€622.63 for a single person

€933.95 for a single person with one child

€1,120.73 for a single person with two children

Rules for self-employed people 

Workers submit the details of their payslips – their gross salary from the previous three months, prior to all deductions including social charges. This has to be repeated on a three-monthly basis. 

For self employed-people, however, the authorities can simply refer to your income declaration for the last-known tax year. 

Alternatively, if this is not applicable (eg. because it is a new business) or, if you prefer to do this, there is an option for micro-entrepreneurs to make three-monthly declarations. In which case it is turnover minus micro-entreprise allowances (eg. 71% for sales) that are declared.

Further information for self-employed workers can be found on the Finance Ministry website and from the Caf. 

Read more: 9 ways France plans to simplify bureaucracy for residents

You may like to know that if you are struggling, there is a new service called Help, run in combination between the Caf, Assurance Maladie, retirement pension service and Urssaf, to which self-employed people can turn for assistance. 

You need to fill in a form at this link, and they will try to find suitable solutions for your situation.