Nine changes in France in April 2025

April sees several new measures coming into force in France. 

It is also the start of income tax declaration season, as well as when certain benefit levels are revaluated.

The benchmark gas price is set to rise by 2.27% for gas heated households (1.76% if used only for cooking) . 

Whilst energy suppliers are not bound to the benchmark price it is often used to set costs, so is likely to see bills increase for many who use gas.

The cost of notaire fees (droits de mutation à titre onéreux or DMTO) will increase in several departments from April 1, rising from 4.5% to 5%. 

This corresponds to an extra €500 in taxes per €100,000 spent on a property. 

The taxes – which fund local authorities – are expected to be increased in all French departments. 

Read more: Several departments in France increase property purchase fees

The UK’s new border security measure, the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), comes into force on April 2 for EU citizens. 

It is required for all non-British/Irish citizens or those without the right to live in the UK. 

On April 9, the price to obtain an ETA will increase from £10 to £16.

Read more: Americans and non-Irish EU citizens travelling to UK from France must pay a higher fee

Preventative care dental appointments will be available annually to those aged 3 - 24, as opposed to every 3 years currently. 

Part of the ‘M'T dents’ programme changes also allow for certain procedures being carried out within a specific timeframe not requiring up-front payment. 

Tax declarations for 2024 income open on April 10, and will be open for roughly six to nine weeks.

Declarations are made online through your personal space on the French tax site, unless this is your first time doing so, or if you have dispensation from your local tax office to complete a

paper version.

Read more: April date announced for opening of 2025 income tax declarations in France

Some changes to how the declaration is made are included this year, although there are fewer than usual due to the exceptional nature of the late 2025 budget.

Boxes for declaring personal services (services à la personne) have been provided, with declarants needing to specify the type of help offered and the company responsible.

Read more: French income tax declarations: some good news this year

The maximum amount of sick-leave paid to employees in the private sector will reduce to 1.4 times the minimum wage (Smic) from April 1. This takes into account both payouts from Assurance

Maladie and employer top-ups.

Currently, the limit is 1.8 times the minimum wage. It corresponds to a drop in maximum payment from €53 per day down to €41 per day.

For civil servants and those in the public sector, the first three months of sick leave will be indexed to 90% of a person’s salary from March 1, 2025. 

Zero-interest loans (prêt à taux zéro) will be available for more home purchases. 

From April 1, those buying new-build detached houses may also be eligible for these loans – currently only flats in certain urban areas qualify. 

Introduced as part of the 2025 budget, the measure runs until December 2027. 

They are however means-tested with approved loans for a home covering between 10% to 30% of the price of the property, compared to 30% to 50% for flats.

Disability benefits (Allocation aux adultes handicapés) and low-income top-up (Revenu de solidarité active) increase by 1.7% from April 1.

At the same time however, jobseekers (who must be signed up to the France Travail service) will see benefits paid on a 30-day basis, regardless of the month in question.

This means in months with 31 days, jobseekers will lose a day of benefits (although gain one or two days in February).

Older jobseekers have also seen reductions in the time they can claim these benefits. 

Those aged 53 and 54 will only be able to receive the benefits for 18 months (the standard timeframe) down from 22.5 months currently.

A 27-month timeframe, in place for claimants closer to retirement, will be available to those aged 57 and above, as opposed to 55 currently. 

Children who were conceived from a sperm or egg donation will be able to learn information about the donor if they so wish, under changes to French bioethics laws. 

From the age of 18, they will be able to access information about the donor's name, age, country of birth reasons for donation, and health status at the time of donating.