The French PEA in 2026: ceiling, tax, eligible ETFs and how to open one

• €150,000 ceiling on payments per person, €225,000 with a PEA-PME-ETI, and gains do not count.
• After five years: no more income tax on gains, only 18.6% social charges in 2026.
• World ETFs can qualify: through synthetic replication, an ETF on the MSCI World or the S&P 500 can go into a PEA.
• Before five years, a withdrawal closes the plan and gains pay 31.4%, except for redundancy, disability or starting a business.

Created in 1992 to steer savings toward European companies, the PEA has become the go-to wrapper for long-term stock market investing in France. Its principle is simple: as long as the money stays in the plan, neither dividends nor capital gains are taxed, and after five years income tax disappears on the way out too. Together with life insurance, it is the most widely used tool in France for holding ETFs and shares over ten or twenty years.

This guide explains what a PEA is, its ceiling, what it can hold, its tax in 2026 with a worked example, the withdrawal rules, the youth PEA and the PEA-PME, how to open one and what it costs, then compares it with life insurance and an ordinary brokerage account. The rules quoted are those published by service-public.fr (in French), with their dates.

What is a PEA?

A PEA is an account in two parts: a securities account, which holds the shares and fund units, and a cash account, which receives payments, sale proceeds and dividends. It can only be funded with cash: you cannot transfer in securities held elsewhere. As long as the money stays inside, you can buy, sell and reinvest without paying tax on each transaction.

Any adult who is tax resident in France can open one, whatever their nationality, but only one: the PEA is personal and cannot be held jointly. In a couple, each partner can have their own. The opening date, that of the first payment, starts the five-year clock that drives all of its tax treatment.

PEA ceiling: €150,000, and beyond

Payments into a standard PEA are capped at €150,000 per person, or €300,000 for a couple. The ceiling only applies to money paid in: gains can take the plan far above it, with no limit. A PEA funded with €150,000 that is worth €400,000 twenty years later is perfectly compliant.

Once the ceiling is reached, you can no longer pay in, but you can still buy and sell inside with the plan's money. Further savings usually go to life insurance or a brokerage account, which have no ceiling.

What a PEA can hold

A PEA accepts shares of companies headquartered in the European Union or the European Economic Area, and funds invested at least 75% in such shares, ETFs included. It does not accept US or Asian shares held directly, bonds, cryptocurrencies or derivatives.

PEA ETFs: how a world ETF gets into a PEA

An ETF tracking the MSCI World or the S&P 500 invests mostly outside Europe, so it should not qualify. Many do anyway, through synthetic replication: the fund buys a basket of European shares, which makes it eligible, and signs an exchange contract, a swap, with a bank that pays it the performance of the tracked index. The saver gets world performance inside their PEA. The extra risk is that of the counterparty bank, framed by EU rules that require collateral. An ETF's eligibility is stated in its documentation: not all are eligible.

The guide what is an ETF explains how they work, their fees and their risks, and the one on how to start investing in stocks shows how to use them.

PEA tax in 2026

Inside the plan, nothing is taxed: dividends and capital gains are reinvested free of tax and social charges. Tax only applies on withdrawal, and only to the share of gains in the withdrawal. The amount depends on the plan's age:

Social charges rose from 17.2% to 18.6% on 1 January 2026 for most investment income, the PEA included, while life insurance, the PEL and the CEL stayed at 17.2%, according to service-public.fr (in French). Plans opened before 2018 can keep older rates on part of their gains: the bank's statement does the calculation.

Worked example

You paid €10,000 into a PEA that is worth €18,000 eight years later: it holds €8,000 of gains. If you withdraw everything, you pay 18.6% on those €8,000: €1,488. If you only withdraw €9,000, half the plan, only half the gains are concerned: €4,000, or €744 of charges, and the plan stays open. The same gain made in a brokerage account would have paid 31.4%, or €2,512.

On the holder's death, the plan is closed and only social charges are due, even before five years. The securities pass to the heirs through the estate, unlike life insurance.

Withdrawals: what changes before and after 5 years

Before five years, any withdrawal, even partial, closes the plan in principle. There are exceptions that allow a withdrawal without closing the PEA: redundancy, disability or early retirement of the holder, their spouse or civil partner, and a withdrawal to start or take over a business, if the money is invested in it within three months. In that last case, the plan stays open but no more payments are allowed.

After five years, the PEA becomes flexible: you can withdraw part of the money without closing it, and keep paying in afterwards, within the ceiling. Only a full withdrawal closes the plan. That is why it is often worth opening a PEA early, even with a small payment: the opening date starts the five-year clock.

The youth PEA

A young adult still attached to their parents' tax household, usually a student under 25, can open a PEA capped at €20,000 of payments. When the attachment ends, it becomes a standard PEA, with the €150,000 ceiling and, above all, its age: a PEA opened at 18 already has its five years at 23.

A minor cannot open a PEA. To invest in the stock market in a child's name, the options are life insurance or a brokerage account in their name.

The PEA-PME-ETI

The PEA-PME-ETI is a second plan, which can be held alongside the standard PEA, reserved for shares of small and mid-sized companies, listed or not. It has the same tax treatment. Its €225,000 ceiling includes the standard PEA: with a full standard PEA at €150,000, €75,000 of payments remain possible on the PEA-PME. Attached adults cannot open one.

Opening a PEA: where, and what it costs

A PEA is opened at a bank, an online broker or, more rarely, an insurer, in the form of a capitalisation contract. Fees vary widely between providers, but they have been capped since 2020 by a decree (in French): custody fees cannot exceed 0.4% a year of the plan's value, online orders 0.5% of their amount (1.2% otherwise), and opening and transfer fees are limited to fixed amounts, revalued every three years.

Over twenty years, the difference between an online broker and a bank charging the maximum runs into thousands of euros: the compound interest calculator shows the effect of fees over time. A PEA can be moved to another provider without losing its age.

PEA, life insurance or brokerage account?

On the example's €8,000 of gains, withdrawn after eight years by a single person, the PEA takes €1,488, life insurance €1,631 and the brokerage account €2,512. The PEA is therefore the cheapest wrapper for shares held for a long time, within its ceiling and its eligible investments. Life insurance keeps the advantage of the euro fund, no ceiling and inheritance, covered in the guides to French life insurance tax and life insurance and inheritance.

Making good use of a PEA

1. Open it early, even with a small payment: its opening date starts the five-year clock.
2. Compare fees before choosing a provider: custody and trading fees weigh heavily over twenty years.
3. Check an ETF's eligibility in its documentation before buying it.
4. Do not put in money you will need within five years: a withdrawal would close the plan.

The guide on where to put your money in France places the PEA among the other wrappers, according to each sum's time horizon. Tradoshi's portfolio tracking accepts your PEA as a declared holding, alongside your other accounts, with your cost basis.

This guide is educational and is neither tax advice nor personal investment advice. Investing in shares carries a risk of capital loss. The rules quoted are those in force in November 2026.

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