Until 31 December, employers can pay up to €1,000 towards fuel free of social contributions. How commuting costs are covered in France: what is mandatory, what is optional, and what to check on the fiche de paie

What happened

Decree No. 2026-974 of 20 October was published in the Journal officiel on 21 October 2026. It temporarily raises the cap up to which an employer's contribution to commuting costs carries no social contributions. For sums paid up to 31 December 2026, all the usual caps (€300, €310, €600 and €900) are replaced by a single cap of €1,000. The decree applies to work periods from 1 October 2026. Service-public summed up the rules in a notice of 24 October: employer payments made between 1 October and 31 December 2026 are exempt up to €1,000.

One point first: this is not a payment to everyone. The decree pays nobody anything. It only makes a payment cheaper if the employer chooses to make it. Employers are still under no obligation to pay a prime carburant.

Three ways an employer contributes to commuting costs

This part stays useful after 31 December: the system is permanent, and only the amounts change for now.

1. Public transport pass — mandatory. Under the rules described by service-public, a private-sector employer must reimburse 50% of the cost of a public transport pass (second-class fare, shortest route). This covers every salarié, part-timers and interns included. Only passes count — annual, monthly or weekly — and single tickets do not. Reimbursement is monthly, no later than the end of the month after purchase, and the amount must appear on the fiche de paie. Below half-time, the reimbursement is proportional to hours worked.

2. Prime carburant — at the employer's discretion. This is an allowance for fuel or for charging an electric vehicle. It is set by a company or sector agreement, or by the employer's decision after consulting the CSE, and the same rules must apply to all employees. Under the standard conditions listed by Service Public Entreprendre, it is for employees whose home or workplace is in a commune with no regular public transport or outside an urban area of more than 100,000 people, employees whose hours do not fit public transport (night work, for example), and those who travel between several sites. It normally cannot be combined with the public transport reimbursement. Service-public says these fuel conditions are relaxed until 31 December, but its notice gives no details.

3. Forfait mobilités durables — also optional. It covers greener ways to commute: cycling, car-sharing, shared bikes and scooters and the like. Under the decree, its usual cap, combined with the prime carburant, is €600 a year, of which no more than €300 for fuel.

What the €1,000 cap changes

The usual cap is €600 a year for the prime carburant and the forfait mobilités durables together, with no more than €300 for fuel. When the forfait is combined with the public transport reimbursement, it is €900, or more if the pass itself costs more. When a commune, an EPCI or France Travail pays towards the commute, it is €310. Until the end of the year, all of these become €1,000.

Income tax is a separate matter. The decree only covers social contributions. Service Public Entreprendre presents the rise of the income-tax cap for fuel to €1,000 in the conditional, so on tax the rule is not settled yet. The two exemptions should not be confused.

What to check

• Fiche de paie. The transport pass reimbursement, and any prime carburant, must appear on it.
• Transport pass. A typical newcomer mistake is buying a pass and never giving the employer proof of it. The reimbursement is a legal right, but it is paid against proof.
• What the employer has decided. The higher cap changes nothing until the employer decides to pay a prime carburant. HR or the CSE can tell you whether that decision exists.

Not the same as the State's €100 aid

Since 27 October, new applicants can claim the State's 'grands rouleurs' aid: €100 for October to December. This is a separate measure, paid by the State and not the employer. According to service-public, the commute must be at least 15 km each way (or at least 8,000 km a year of work-related driving), and the 2024 reference tax income must not exceed €22,770 per household share. Applications are made online in the Espace Finances publiques on impots.gouv.fr. People who already received the aid between April and September need do nothing: the October–December payment arrives automatically.

Sources: Decree No. 2026-974 on Legifrance (JO of 21.10.2026), service-public notice of 24.10.2026, Service Public Entreprendre fact sheet (checked 22.10.2026) and the service-public sheet on commuting reimbursement (checked 25.02.2026).