France Mileage

Employees can claim a mileage allowance for expenses they have incurred while travelling within a professional capacity. To claim an allowance, the date and place of the business trip, purpose of the trip, name of the client or business partner, kilometres travelled, etc. must be provided. The employer must also obtain a copy of the employee’s car registration document. The refund can be paid directly through the company’s accounting to the employee, or through monthly payroll. In either case, the number of kilometres, the rate and the total amount of the mileage allowance have to be mentioned on the French payslip.

If an employee needs to use their vehicle (vehicles that they own, co-own, or lease) for professional purposes, they are entitled to a flat-rate kilometric allowance from their employer. This allowance is free from tax (within the limits of the scales published annually by the tax administration). These scales take into account the vehicles’ power in conjunction with the number of kilometres driven:

Kilometric allowance for cars

For electric vehicles, the mileage scale ‘3 CV or less’ applies.

Kilometric allowance for two-wheelers

Kilometric allowance for mopeds

Mandatory coverage

In France, all employers are obligated to compensate their employees for travel expenses to and from work when they have paid for a public transport subscription (such as a season pass) for their commute.

The types of public transport covered include either a card/subscription issued by the SNCF or another public transport authority for a limited or unlimited number of rides or a subscription to a public bicycle rental. Individually purchased tickets that are not part of a subscription service do not need to be compensated. If the employee is already receiving compensation for their transport which covers at least 50% of their subscription, the employer is not required to contribute, otherwise, up to 50% must be covered.

If an employee works half-time or more, they are reimbursed under the same conditions as full-time employees. If they work for less than half-time, the employee receives compensation in proportion to the number of hours worked compared to half-time.

This compensation is based on the employee travelling on a second-class fare which travels the shortest distance between their home and their place of work. If this requires multiple types of public transport (such as both a train and a bus) then all subscriptions must be covered. For these travel costs to be covered, employees must be able to show their employer a ticket, at which point the employer must compensate them as soon as possible, at the latest this must be done at the end of the following month (the month following the validity of the ticket). For annual subscriptions/tickets support is split monthly.

Optional coverage

Certain means of transport can give rise to optional compensation by an employer. While an employer is under no obligation to cover individual transport costs, they may agree to do so (in whole or part) through a unilateral decision or company agreement. This optional support can be granted through transport bonuses, which cover the cost of fuel/electricity either partially or wholly.

Employers can also choose to compensate them using a mileage allowance calculated according to the scale of professional expenses. Employers can choose to compensate those who travel to work through carpooling (either as a passenger or a driver), cycling, public transport (other than that which is mandatory for them to cover), and other shared mobility services. The payment of these costs takes the form of a flat-rate allowance (as showcased in the Mileage for business travel tables above), exempt from tax, up to a limit of €500 per year and per employee.