PFU vs Barème: Choosing in France

Once your crypto gain is computed under 150 VH bis and entered on the 2086, one decision remains, and it is the subject of this article: do you let the default PFU flat tax apply (31.4% from 2026), or do you opt for the progressive income-tax scale (barème)? This is purely the rate question — not the calculation, not the form. The catch is that the barème option is global, so it pulls in the rest of your income, and it only pays off in specific situations. Below is the decision framework with the 2026 numbers; the France crypto tax guide is the pillar.

Key points

• Default: PFU, 31.4% in 2026 (12.8% income tax + 18.6% prélèvements sociaux), up from 30%.
• Option: barème progressif (since 2023), applying your marginal income-tax bracket to the gain plus prélèvements sociaux.
• The barème wins mainly at low marginal brackets (0% or 11%); high brackets pay more under it, so keep the PFU.
• The option is global: it covers all income within scope for the year, not crypto alone.
• Model both across all affected income before electing.

The default: PFU at 31.4% (2026)

Crypto capital gains for occasional investors are taxed by default at the prélèvement forfaitaire unique:

The 2026 figure is 31.4%, not 30%: the CSG on capital income rose from 9.2% to 10.6%, lifting prélèvements sociaux from 17.2% to 18.6%. Using 30% for 2026 is a stale-figure error (the same correction applies across French crypto content — see Cerfa 2086 explained).

If you do nothing, the PFU applies. The barème is only reached by explicit option.

The option: barème progressif

Since 2023, an occasional crypto investor may opt for the progressive income-tax scale instead of the PFU. Under the option:

• The income-tax part becomes the taxpayer's marginal bracket applied to the gain (instead of the flat 12.8%).
• Prélèvements sociaux still apply (18.6% in 2026) — the option does not remove social charges.

So the comparison is really just the income-tax component: 12.8% (PFU) vs your marginal bracket (barème), with 18.6% social charges on both sides.

When the barème beats the PFU

The decision rule follows directly:

The barème is advantageous mainly for low-bracket taxpayers (0% or 11%) — students, low-income years, retirees with modest income. For anyone in the 30% bracket or above, the PFU's 12.8% is far cheaper than the marginal rate, so keep the PFU. This is the entire practical heuristic.

Why "global" matters

The option is not per-crypto-disposal or per-asset. It applies to all the taxpayer's income within the option's scope for that year — crypto gains alongside other covered capital income (e.g. certain dividends, interest). You cannot flat-tax your crypto and barème your dividends. So a person considering the barème because their crypto sits in a low bracket must check the effect on all their covered income — the option could worsen the tax on dividends/interest even while helping crypto.

This is why the rule is "model the total under both," not "pick per the crypto number alone."

Practical workflow

1. Identify your marginal income-tax bracket for the year.
2. If 30%+ bracket → keep the PFU (31.4%); the barème will cost more. Stop.
3. If 0% / 11% bracket → model the barème, but across all covered income, not crypto only.
4. Compute total tax under PFU vs barème for all affected income; elect the lower.
5. Exercise the option on the return for that year; reconcile crypto against DAC8-reported data (see DAC8 impact on individuals).

Using a tool for the PFU-versus-barème comparison

A crypto-tax tool can produce the crypto gain and often a PFU-versus-barème indication, but it has a structural blind spot: it sees your crypto, not your full income, and the barème option turns on all covered income. Treat the tool's output as one input, and check that it:

• applies the 2026 PFU at 31.4%, not a stale 30%, so the flat-tax side of the comparison is current;
• presents the income-tax component (12.8% under PFU) against your marginal bracket, rather than asserting a winner from crypto alone;
• lets you carry the crypto figure into a full-income comparison that also covers dividends, interest, and any other income the global option would sweep in.

Waltio is French-specialised and Koinly supports the French regime; both give a useful starting figure. The actual election should be modelled across all affected income with a French adviser.

How Wag3s fits in

Wag3s Folio computes the 150 VH bis crypto gain and applies the 2026 PFU at 31.4%, producing the accurate crypto figure that feeds the global PFU-versus-barème decision. Because that decision depends on income Folio does not see, it is built to hand a defensible crypto number to a qualified French expert-comptable who models the full-income election, not to make the election for you.

Worked example: PFU vs barème at different income levels

The same €20,000 crypto gain produces different tax outcomes depending on the taxpayer's overall situation. The examples below illustrate the comparison at three income levels. Prélèvements sociaux are 18.6% in 2026 on both paths.

Taxpayer A — Low income (0% marginal bracket)

Total earned income: €9,000 (below the 11% bracket threshold). The 0% marginal bracket applies.

Under PFU:

• Income-tax component: 12.8% × €20,000 = €2,560
• Prélèvements sociaux: 18.6% × €20,000 = €3,720
• Total: €6,280

Under barème:

• Income-tax component: 0% × €20,000 = €0
• Prélèvements sociaux: 18.6% × €20,000 = €3,720
• Total: €3,720

Barème saving: €2,560. For a low-income taxpayer, the barème is unambiguously better — the income-tax component is eliminated.

Taxpayer B — Middle income (30% marginal bracket)

Total earned income: €55,000. The 30% marginal bracket applies.

Under PFU:

• Income-tax component: 12.8% × €20,000 = €2,560
• Prélèvements sociaux: 18.6% × €20,000 = €3,720
• Total: €6,280

Under barème:

• Income-tax component: 30% × €20,000 = €6,000
• Prélèvements sociaux: 18.6% × €20,000 = €3,720
• Total: €9,720

PFU saving: €3,440. The barème would cost Taxpayer B €3,440 more. Keep the PFU.

Taxpayer C — 11% bracket with other capital income

Total earned income: €22,000 (in the 11% bracket). Other capital income (dividends): €15,000.

Under PFU (crypto gain):

• Income-tax: 12.8% × €20,000 = €2,560
• Prélèvements sociaux: 18.6% × €20,000 = €3,720
• PFU on dividends: assumed 12.8% × €15,000 = €1,920
• Total PFU tax on capital income: €8,200

Under barème (option applies globally):

• Marginal bracket on crypto gain: 11% × €20,000 = €2,200 (saving vs PFU income-tax component: €360)
• Prélèvements sociaux on crypto: €3,720 (unchanged)
• Marginal bracket on dividends: 11% × €15,000 = €1,650 (vs PFU €1,920 — saving €270)
• Total barème tax on capital income: €7,570

Barème saving: €630. This illustrates two things: (1) the saving is smaller when the bracket is 11% rather than 0%; (2) the global option helped because both crypto gains and dividends are in a bracket below 12.8%.

Critical note on the global option. If Taxpayer C had large dividends that had already exceeded the personal dividend allowance or triggered a higher effective tax under barème, the global option could turn negative. Each taxpayer must model all affected income streams together, not just crypto.

Common filing errors on the PFU vs barème choice

Using 30% instead of 31.4% for the PFU in 2026. The rate change from 30% (prélèvements sociaux at 17.2%) to 31.4% (prélèvements sociaux at 18.6%) took effect 1 January 2026 following the increase in the CSG rate on capital income. Tools and guides that have not been updated for this change will understate the 2026 tax under the PFU, which may incorrectly shift the comparison toward the PFU appearing cheaper than it is.

Treating the barème option as per-asset. Some taxpayers attempt to elect the barème for crypto gains while applying the PFU to dividends in the same year, believing the choice can be made instrument by instrument. The option is global for the year. A tax return that applies barème to crypto and PFU to dividends is incorrect; the filing will be rejected or corrected.

Not checking whether the option affects a prior deficit carryforward. Taxpayers with capital-income deficits carried forward from prior years may find that the barème option interacts with those deficits. Confirm the interaction with a French expert-comptable before electing.

Further reading

• France Crypto Tax Guide 2026
• Cerfa 2086 Explained
• Crypto Capital Gains Calculation France (150 VH bis)
• The France €305 Exemption
• How to Do Crypto Taxes
• DAC8 Impact on Individuals

Sources

• Légifrance — Article 200 C CGI: the flat 12.8% income-tax rate on 150 VH bis gains and the express, global option to include them in income taxed under the progressive scale.
• Légifrance — Article 150 VH bis CGI: the occasional-investor regime to which the rate applies.
• impots.gouv.fr — Comment déclarer les plus ou moins-values sur cessions d'actifs numériques: confirms the 31.4% PFU (12.8% + 18.6%).
• Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) — EUR-Lex.