Taxes 2026: Work-Related Expenses for Apprentices and Work-Study Students, Finally Explained

"I received a tax assessment for €340 even though I earn €900 a month on a work-study contract. Nobody told me my contract wasn't exempt." Every spring, the same bewilderment resurfaces — and it almost always stems from confusing apprenticeship with professionalisation.

In short: an apprentice benefits, under article 81 bis of the French General Tax Code, from an income tax exemption up to the annual minimum wage (Smic) (roughly €21,600 for 2025 income declared in 2026): above that, only the excess portion is taxable. A work-study student on a professionalisation contract, by contrast, is entitled to no specific exemption: their salary is taxable from the first euro, just like that of any other employee. In both cases, the taxpayer then chooses between the flat-rate 10% deduction (automatic, with a €504 floor for 2025 income) and actual expenses — home-to-work travel via the tax authority's mileage allowance scale, dual residence, meals, equipment. For a work-study student covering 40 km a day between their training centre (CFA), their company and their home, actual expenses very often exceed the flat rate. Finally, attachment to the parents' tax household remains possible up to the age of 25 if the student is still in education: that is a calculation to be made together, not a foregone conclusion.

Apprenticeship or professionalisation contract: why is the tax treatment different?

This is the first dividing line, and every year it takes thousands of young people by surprise.

Article 81 bis of the French General Tax Code states that "wages paid to apprentices holding a contract meeting the conditions laid down by the Labour Code are exempt from income tax up to the annual amount of the minimum growth wage". The wording is unambiguous: it targets apprentices, meaning holders of an apprenticeship contract within the meaning of articles L. 6221-1 et seq. of the Labour Code. Full stop.

The professionalisation contract, governed by articles L. 6325-1 et seq., falls under continuing vocational training. Legally, it is not an apprenticeship contract. No exemption attaches to it. The salary of a student on a professionalisation contract is therefore fully taxable, exactly like that of a standard employee.

In practice, for two 21-year-olds in the second year of a BTS, paid the same amount, in the same company, the tax bill can be radically different:

The apprentice's exemption is assessed on the amounts received during the calendar year, not the academic year. A contract starting in September therefore generates only four months of salary on the first tax return — almost always below the ceiling.

Another frequently overlooked point: the article 81 bis exemption is individual, not family-based. If the apprentice is attached to their parents' tax household, it is indeed the exempt portion that remains outside the household's overall income.

Do you have to declare apprentice wages even if they are exempt?

Yes — and this is the second classic pitfall.

Since withholding tax (prélèvement à la source) became widespread, the tax return is pre-filled by the Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP) using data transmitted by the employer through the DSN. In most cases, the administration has already deducted the exempt portion: box 1AJ shows only the excess. But errors do occur, particularly when the student changed employer during the year or combined an apprenticeship with a summer job.

The verification method comes down to three steps:

1. Retrieve the cumulative taxable net amount shown on the December payslip (not the net amount paid).
2. Subtract the applicable exemption ceiling — the gross annual Smic for the year concerned.
3. Compare the result with the pre-filled amount in box 1AJ, and correct it online if the gap is significant.

Keeping all twelve payslips is far from trivial: in the event of an audit, they are the only documents proving the nature of the contract. A document binder with dividers on the shelf settles the paper-filing question once and for all, and costs less than an hour of panicked searching in May.

Also beware of combining income streams: a student job held alongside the contract does not fall under the apprentice exemption. However, people under 26 benefit from a separate exemption, provided for in article 81, 36° of the General Tax Code, for wages earned during their studies or school holidays, up to three times the monthly Smic. The two schemes can be combined, each within its own scope.

The 10% deduction or actual expenses: which to choose on a work-study contract?

By default, the administration applies a flat-rate 10% allowance to wages, intended to cover work-related expenses. For 2025 income, it cannot be less than €504 or more than €14,426. This floor is decisive: a work-study student declaring €3,000 in taxable income will automatically see €504 deducted, close to 17%.

But work-study students have a very particular spending profile. They do not work at a single site: they alternate between the company, the training centre — sometimes 60 km away — and home. The kilometres add up fast.

The taxpayer can therefore opt for actual expenses (box 1AK of the return), provided they waive the 10% and justify every expense. The option is annual and individual: within a couple, each person chooses their own regime.

Which expenses can a work-study student actually deduct?

• Home-to-work travel, up to 40 km one way (beyond that, particular circumstances must be justified: spouse's job, health, lack of available housing).
• Travel to the training centre, provided it is required by the contract.
• Meal expenses: when the student cannot go home for lunch, the difference between the price of the meal and the flat-rate value of a meal taken at home (€5.45 for 2025) is deductible.
• Dual residence, if the company and the training centre require a second home.
• Documentation and professional equipment costs: computer, technical books, tools, depreciated above €500.
• Training costs not covered by the employer or the OPCO.

The mileage allowance scale published each year by the administration remains the central tool. It incorporates vehicle depreciation, maintenance, tyres, fuel and insurance. Order of magnitude for a 4 CV (fiscal horsepower) vehicle:

A taxable student on a professionalisation contract who drives 12,000 km a year to reach their company therefore deducts around €5,410 in actual expenses — no comparison with the flat 10% applied to a €14,000 salary. The scale is increased by 20% for electric vehicles.

For two-wheelers, a specific scale exists. And if the journey is made by bike, no mileage scale applies, but the employer can pay the sustainable mobility allowance (up to €600 a year tax-free in 2026, combinable with reimbursement of transport passes). A certified U-lock and a waterproof pannier then fall under common-sense spending rather than tax deduction — but they do far more to keep the commute regular than one might imagine.

How to document expenses without spending every evening on it?

The rule is simple: the administration requires no supporting documents attached to the return, but can request them for three years. The burden of proof lies with the taxpayer.

The method that holds up over time:

1. Record the kilometres, don't estimate them. A monthly odometer reading, with the dates spent at the company and at the training centre, is enough. A simple vehicle logbook in the glove box avoids the rough reconstruction in April.
2. Keep the vehicle registration document: fiscal horsepower determines the scale.
3. Archive toll and parking receipts, deductible on top of the mileage allowance.
4. Scan equipment invoices (computer, tools, professional books) with the purchase date visible.
5. Ask the training centre for a certificate of the work-study schedule: this is the document that proves the number of trips to the training centre.

The mileage allowance scale covers wear and tear, fuel and insurance. It covers neither tolls, nor parking fees, nor loan interest related to the vehicle purchase: these three items are deducted in addition, with supporting documents.

For work-study students who buy their own equipment — IT gear, tools, protective equipment — it is best to anticipate the issue as soon as the contract is signed: our article on the 2026 apprenticeship reform sets out what the employer must provide and what remains at the student's expense. A reinforced laptop backpack carried three days a week on train journeys, meanwhile, is about daily comfort rather than taxation.

Attachment to the parents' tax household: good or bad idea?

This is the most profitable trade-off — and the most poorly handled.

Article 196 B of the General Tax Code allows the attachment of a child under 21, or under 25 if still in education. A work-study student meets this second condition: an apprenticeship does count as initial training. Attachment is annual and revocable.

Two logics compete:

• Attached, the student brings the parental household an additional half-share (a full share from the third child onwards), reducing the parents' tax through the family quotient — subject to the cap (€1,791 per half-share for 2025 income). But their taxable income is added to the household's. For an exempt apprentice, this contribution is nil or marginal: attachment is almost always the winning option.
• Detached, the young person files their own return. They may then become eligible for the activity bonus (prime d'activité) and certain housing benefits calculated on their income alone, and they become an autonomous tax household. The parents lose the half-share but may, under certain conditions, deduct maintenance support (pension alimentaire) (ceiling of around €6,794 for 2025).

Three checks before deciding:

• The actual amount the parents gain from the half-share (the tax administration's official simulator).
• The impact on CAF housing benefits, which do not follow the same logic as the tax office.
• The effect on the housing tax on second homes and on grants, where they still exist.

On the income side, our pay simulator makes it possible to project net earnings over twelve months, an essential basis for the calculation. And if the question of available support remains open, the financial aid page lists the schemes that can be combined with a work-study salary.

The mistakes that cost work-study students the most

After several filing seasons, the same errors keep coming back:

• Declaring the net amount paid instead of the taxable net. The gap can reach several hundred euros — non-deductible CSG and the employer's share of health insurance are added back into the taxable base.
• Believing the professionalisation contract is exempt. It is not, and the reassessment arrives a year later.
• Forgetting to tick actual expenses when they exceed the flat rate. The administration never optimises on the taxpayer's behalf: it applies the 10% by default.
• Combining actual expenses and the apprentice exemption on the same portion. Actual expenses can only be deducted from the taxable portion of the salary. A fully exempt apprentice has no interest in opting for actual expenses.
• Not filing at all. Even with zero tax to pay, the non-taxation notice conditions access to many forms of support (social housing, Crous rates, grants). It is the most requested document of the year.
• Ignoring the withholding tax rate. A student starting a contract can request an individualised rate or an adjustment from the very first month, rather than waiting for a refund the following year.

One last useful habit: tax rules change every year in the finance act. The only authoritative texts are those published in the Bulletin officiel des finances publiques (BOFiP) and on the tax administration's website. The amounts cited here correspond to 2025 income declared in spring 2026; they are revalued every January.

For those preparing their back-to-school budget alongside all this, an individual tax guide updated each year remains the most economical tool for checking a ceiling in thirty seconds — and it pays for itself with the first correctly applied deduction.

Key takeaways

• The apprentice is exempt up to the annual Smic; the student on a professionalisation contract is not.
• Filing a return remains mandatory, even with no tax to pay.
• Actual expenses only concern the taxable portion, but very quickly become the winning option as soon as there is driving between home, the company and the training centre.
• Attachment to the parental household is a trade-off to be calculated, never an automatic choice.
• Three years of keeping supporting documents: payslips, vehicle registration, mileage records, invoices.

Before validating your return, take thirty minutes to compare the two options using the official simulator. It is the best hourly rate of your year. And if your situation changes — new contract, move, change of employer — take a look at our work-study offers: the tax rhythm always follows the rhythm of the contract.