The LEP in France: income limits, cap and rate of the popular savings account in 2026

• 2.5% net, kept on August 1, 2026 even though the official formula gave 2.2%. The rate holds until at least January 31, 2027.
• The 2026 income ceiling in mainland France: €23,028 of reference tax income for one share, €35,326 for two shares, €47,624 for three, then €6,149 more per extra half-share.
• €10,000 of deposits at most, interest on top. Full, it earns €250 over a whole year, €80 more than the same sum in a Livret A.
• One year of income above the ceiling does not cost you the LEP: it must only be closed after two years in a row above the limit.

The LEP has never been so widespread. At the end of 2025, the Banque de France counted 12.1 million of them, a record, against fewer than 7 million in 2021. Automatic income checks by banks and letters from the tax authority to eligible households did much of the work. The Banque de France says so itself, though: part of the households who qualify and have savings to put aside still do not have one.

This guide goes through the income conditions one by one, with the official 2026 ceiling table and how to read your French tax notice, then the rate and its formula, the deposit cap, what a full LEP really earns, and what happens when your income rises. The rules are those in force in November 2026, with their sources.

The LEP, a savings account for modest incomes

The livret d'épargne populaire was created in 1982 to let modest households protect the purchasing power of their savings. Like the Livret A, it is a regulated savings account: the French state sets its rate, cap and tax treatment, and every bank that offers it applies the same rules. It differs on two points: it pays more, and it is only open to households whose income stays below a ceiling.

That ceiling is wider than many people think. The LEP targets modest and middle incomes: according to the Banque de France, ownership is highest among households between the second and fourth tenths of the income scale. Because eligibility is judged on reference tax income, the extra tax shares for children also open it to larger families on average incomes.

The conditions for opening an LEP

There are three conditions, according to service-public.fr, the French government's official guide: being tax resident in France, having a reference tax income (revenu fiscal de référence) no higher than the ceiling for your number of tax shares, and not being claimed as a dependant on your parents' tax return. There is no nationality requirement.

Each person can hold only one LEP. A tax household can have two, one for each spouse or civil partner (PACS) filing jointly. An adult or minor child still claimed on their parents' return cannot open one until they file their own.

The LEP income ceiling in 2026

The ceiling depends on the number of tax shares (parts) in your household and on where you live. Here are the reference tax income amounts not to exceed in 2026, as published by service-public.fr.

Quarter shares also exist, for children in shared custody: €3,075 more in mainland France, €3,254 in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion, €3,921 in French Guiana and Mayotte.

Which tax notice counts in 2026?

In 2026, the bank looks either at your 2024 reference tax income, shown on the tax notice received in 2025, or at your 2025 figure, shown on the notice received in 2026, depending on when you apply. It can query the tax authority directly, an option opened by the 2020 ASAP law, or ask for your tax notice. If you have never filed a return yet, it can accept a sworn statement.

Where to find your reference tax income

The reference tax income appears on the first page of the French income tax notice (avis d'impôt), in the box with your references, next to the number of shares. It is not your salary: for an employee with no other income, it roughly equals the year's net taxable salary minus the standard 10% deduction for work expenses. As a rough guide, the €23,028 ceiling for one share therefore corresponds to about €25,600 of net taxable salary over the year, a little over €2,100 a month.

Three examples

• A single person with no children: one share, a €23,028 ceiling in mainland France.
• A parent raising one child alone: two shares, one for the parent, a half-share for the child and a half-share for single parents, a €35,326 ceiling.
• A married or civil-partnered couple with two children: three shares, a €47,624 ceiling. Each parent can open an LEP, €20,000 of deposits for the household.

The LEP rate in 2026: 2.5%

The LEP rate has been 2.5% since February 1, 2026, and it was kept at that level on August 1, 2026, for the period running to January 31, 2027. It is net of income tax and social charges, and the same at every bank.

Keeping it there was a choice. The legal formula puts the LEP at least half a point above the Livret A, and it gave 2.2% on August 1, 2026, with the Livret A back up to 1.7%. The Banque de France proposed keeping 2.5% to soften the drop, and the government followed: the LEP therefore pays 0.8 points more than the Livret A, instead of the formula's 0.5 points.

The LEP rate since 2020

The 6% of 2023 came from the inflation of the time, to which the LEP rate was then indexed. The decline since 2024 has followed falling prices. The next rate will apply from February 1, 2027. With inflation back at 3.4% year on year in October 2026, according to INSEE's provisional estimate, nobody can say today whether it will rise, stay or fall: the decision comes in January.

The LEP cap: €10,000

The deposit cap has been €10,000 since 2023, when it rose from €7,700. As with the other accounts, interest can take the balance above that amount, but once the balance reaches €10,000, no more deposits are possible.

Service-public.fr gives a telling example: with €9,850 of deposits and €180 of interest added on December 31, the balance reaches €10,030, and you can no longer deposit anything. Without that interest, you could still have added €150. A couple holding two LEPs can save €20,000 in total.

How much does a full LEP earn?

At 2.5% over a whole year, a full LEP of €10,000 earns €250 of interest. Over 2026, the same account kept full from January 1 to December 31 will have earned €251.67: January was still paid at 2.7%, then eleven months at 2.5%. The same €10,000 in a Livret A at 1.7% would earn €170: the LEP brings €80 more a year, with no risk and no tax.

It is the savings account that protects best against inflation, without fully managing it right now. With prices up 3.4% year on year in October 2026, €10,000 loses about €340 of purchasing power over the year, against €250 of interest. The loss is smaller than on any other regulated savings account.

Interest is calculated by half-month

As on the Livret A, interest runs by whole half-months, from the 1st to the 15th and from the 16th to the end of the month. A deposit made between the 1st and the 15th earns from the 16th; made on or after the 16th, it earns from the 1st of the following month. A withdrawal made between the 1st and the 15th stops earning at the end of the previous month; from the 16th, it stops earning on the 15th. Interest is added to the capital on December 31 and can be withdrawn from January 1.

To see what several years of deposits at 2.5% produce, inflation included, the compound interest calculator runs the numbers for your own case, year by year.

Deposits, withdrawals, transfers: how it works

The first deposit must be at least €30, later ones at least €10, with no obligation to pay in regularly. You fund an LEP by transfer from an account in your name, including one at another bank since July 1, 2023, by cheque, or in cash at the branch that holds it. Withdrawals are free and possible at any time without closing the account; the balance can never go negative.

Opening, holding and closing the account are free. The LEP can be moved to another bank that offers it, with no loss of interest: the transfer takes effect the month after the request.

LEP tax: none at all

LEP interest is exempt from income tax and social charges, and does not have to be declared. In 2026, interest on an ordinary bank savings account is taxed at 31.4%: to match an LEP at 2.5% after tax, it would need to pay about 3.64% gross.

Two lesser-known points appear on service-public.fr: the LEP can be seized by the administration for unpaid debts, and any breach of the holding conditions, such as two LEPs in the same name or a false income statement, can cost you the interest earned.

If your income rises: keeping or losing your LEP

Going over the ceiling for one year does not cost you the LEP. You can keep it if your reference tax income for the following year drops back below the ceiling. Two years in a row above it, however, mean the account must be closed, and it is up to you to request it. If you cannot prove your income, or in the case of a false statement, the bank closes the account and pays the balance into another account in your name.

Checks are concentrated in spring, when tax returns are filed. The Banque de France noted many LEP closures in spring 2025 among holders who had become ineligible. The money is not lost: it moves to another account and can go back into a Livret A or an LDDS.

Opening an LEP: the steps

You open an LEP at your own bank or at another one that offers it, in a branch or online. The bank checks your eligibility, usually directly with the tax authority, otherwise from your tax notice. It must also check that you do not already hold an LEP elsewhere. The first €30 deposit is enough to open it.

The simplest way to know whether you qualify is to take your latest tax notice, read the reference tax income and the number of shares on the first page, and compare them with the table above. If you are just above the ceiling, the following year's notice may open the door again.

LEP, Livret A, LDDS: in which order?

For an eligible household, the order is clear: the LEP first, because it pays 2.5% against 1.7% for the other two, with the same security and the same tax treatment. Then come the Livret A, capped at €22,950, and the LDDS, capped at €12,000. An eligible single person can thus hold €44,950 across three tax-free accounts, and a couple €89,900.

Beyond an emergency fund of three to six months of spending, the next euros are placed according to when you will need them. The guide to where to put your money in France in 2026 walks through the method: the euro fund for two to eight years, shares through index funds beyond that.

Tradoshi's portfolio tracking accepts your savings accounts as declared entries, alongside your synced accounts: you see how much your emergency fund weighs in your net worth, and the gap between the allocation you aim for and the one you actually have.

This guide is educational and is not personalized investment advice. The rates, caps and conditions quoted are those in force in November 2026; the LEP rate will be reviewed on February 1, 2027, and the income ceilings are updated every year.

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