Daily allowances for the self-employed professionals

Until now, only a few so-called “regulated” self-employed professionals (doctors, dentists, midwives, etc.) were given daily allowances in the event of illness. Allowances paid by their autonomous pension fund and only from the 91st day of stoppage. To fill this gap and provide all self-employed professionals with social protection worthy of the name, the public authorities have introduced a single system allowing all self-employed professionals to receive, starting from July 1st, 2021, daily allowances in the event of incapacity for work.

Clarification: This reform applies only to self-employed professionals covered by the National Old-Age Insurance Fund for self-employed professionals. It therefore does not concern self-employed professionals affiliated to the General Social Security Scheme for their pension insurance (CARSAT- caisse d’Assurance Retraite et de Santé au Travail), whose daily allowances’ right, in the event of a stoppage of work, already exists, or lawyers affiliated to the National Fund of French Bars ( Caisse Nationale des Barreaux Français).

Daily allowances

From now on, after a waiting period of 3 days, self-employed professionals on leave from work can be granted a daily allowance for a maximum of 87 days.

The amount of this allowance is calculated based on their annual professional income, considered within the limit of 3 times the annual ceiling of the Social Security (PASS - Plafond Annuel de la Sécurité Sociale), i.e., €123,408 in 2021. And its minimum amount is calculated based on an income corresponding to 40% of the PASS, i.e., € 16,454.40 in 2021.

In practice: For 2021, the minimum amount of this allowance is €22 per day and its maximum amount is €169 per day.

A compulsory social contribution

In return for these daily allowances, a new contribution is imposed on the self-employed professionals. The rate of this contribution, based on annual professional income, is 0.30%. However, since the right to daily allowances for these professionals does not enter into force until this month of July, the rate of the corresponding contribution is reduced to 0.15% for the year 2021.

As for the calculation of daily allowances, the contribution applies only to the share of income from employment not exceeding three times of the PASS. The minimum amount of this contribution is calculated based on an income corresponding to 40% of the PASS.

In practice: For 2021, the minimum amount of this contribution is €25, and its maximum amount is €185.