Child support in France in 2026: how much, indexation and tax, what has changed and what has not

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French law. Article up to date as of 25 September 2026.

Search for "pension alimentaire 2026" (child support 2026) and you come across headlines announcing a "new law", a "new table" or a tax exemption. We reread the official sources, one by one, to separate what has really changed from what has only been discussed.

How much is child support in France: the reference table in 2026

The French Ministry of Justice reference table, consulted on 25 September 2026, still displays an update date of 2 April 2024. The page does not present it as a new table specifically for 2026.

The table combines three elements: the income of the parent who pays, the number of children and the extent of the contact and accommodation rights (droit de visite et d'hébergement). It distinguishes three cases, which the page itself defines:

  • reduced: contact rights more limited than every other weekend;
  • classic: generally every other weekend and half of the school holidays;
  • alternating: the child lives equally with each parent.

The table first deducts a "subsistence minimum" (€652 in the online table) from the paying parent's income, then applies a percentage to the remainder. For one child, this percentage is 18% with reduced contact rights, 13.5% with classic rights and 9% with alternating residence.

This table is a reference. It binds neither parents who reach an agreement, nor the family court judge (juge aux affaires familiales), who sets the amount according to each parent's resources and the child's needs. Our guide Child maintenance explains how the amount is set.

Indexation on 1 January 2026

This is the real change of the year, and it is a quiet one. The official page Annual revaluation of child support (checked on 1 April 2026) gives the indices to use for a revaluation on 1 January 2026 with the latest known index:

"99.87 for the consumer price index, all households, France, all items excluding tobacco, base 2025, or 100.03 for the consumer price index, urban households whose head is a manual or clerical worker, France, all items excluding tobacco, base 2025"

The calculation terms in your judgment or agreement take precedence over this general formula.

The calculation follows the formula given on the Insee page Revising child support, which also offers a calculation tool: "Revalued amount of the payment = Initial amount of the payment x Latest index published on the revaluation date / Latest index published on the date of the order". The "order" (titre) is the judgment or the agreement; the index to use is the one it specifies.

Both indices in the ratio must belong to the same series and use the same base. Do not divide an index with base 2025 by an old index with base 2015. When the base changes, use the Insee tool to obtain comparable values.

Three points on the same page are often overlooked:

  • It is up to the paying parent to apply the revaluation, "spontaneously, without waiting for the parent who receives the child support to claim it".
  • The date is the one in your decision: "most often on 1 January, on 1 July or on the anniversary date of the judgment".
  • If the Caf (family allowance fund) pays the child support through financial intermediation (intermédiation financière), "the Caf carries out the annual revaluation itself".

Revaluing is not revising. Revaluation applies the index provided for by the decision; revision changes the amount because the situation has changed, and it requires an agreement or a decision of the judge.

Child support and tax in 2026: the tax exemption is not in force

During the examination of the 2026 budget, amendment I-CF802 proposed ending taxation of child support received for a minor child. A proposal does not establish an exemption in force: the applicable rules must be checked.

Two checks, carried out on 25 September 2026:

  • The text has not changed. Article 80 septies of the General Tax Code (Code général des impôts), which deals with maintenance paid for children, is shown on Légifrance as "in force since 01 January 2003". It only exempts child support paid for a child in alternating residence who is taken into account in the family quotient (quotient familial) of each parent.
  • The official page, updated after the 2026 Finance Act, still describes the deduction. The page Child support paid for children (deduction), checked on 15 April 2026, states that the paying parent may deduct child support paid for a minor child whose main care they do not provide, and that in alternating residence the deduction is not possible because each parent receives additional tax shares.

In other words, in 2026: child support remains deductible for the parent who pays it, under the conditions of that page, and taxable for the parent who receives it, except in the alternating residence case provided for by Article 80 septies. If a reform is passed later, it will go through a text published in the Journal officiel: that is what will need to be read, not a headline.

What if child support is not paid or not revalued?

Two official routes exist:

  • arrears of revaluation can be claimed; page F2010 refers to Article 2224 of the Civil Code for the time limit;
  • unpaid child support falls under the recovery agency (ARIPA) and the routes described in our guide Child maintenance.

In both cases, what matters is being able to show what was paid and when. A month-by-month record, with the payments received and the exchanges that went with them, is worth more than a reconstruction from memory a year later.

Keeping track of payments

This is what Aridelle is for: recording each payment, delay or exchange as a dated fact, attaching the statement or the screenshot, and finding everything in order on the day you need to show it. Opening a case file, recording dated facts in it and attaching documents is free. The assistant that works on the case file is part of the subscription.

Aridelle does not give legal advice. Aridelle does not calculate the amount you are owed and does not say what a judge will decide. For your situation, contact a lawyer, a point-justice (free consultations) or your Caf for financial intermediation. If your resources are modest, legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) may cover all or part of the costs.

Sources

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