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Share savings plan in:
Verified 04 March 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Do you want to grow your savings over the long term, by benefiting from a tax exemption? You can open a stock savings plan (PEA). It is a regulated savings product that allows you to invest in a portfolio of European company shares. There are 2 types of plans: the banking PEA or the insurance PEA and the PEA-SME-ETI. We present the applicable rules.
What applies to you ?
Banking Classic PEA
The banking PEA allows the acquisition of a portfolio of shares in European companies while benefiting, under conditions, from a tax exemption. The payment ceiling is €150,000.
Tax domicile
You can open a PEA as long as you resident for tax purposes in France.
Age
You have to be of age to open an AEP.
Signature of a contract
When opening the PEA, you sign a contract with the bank.
The opening date is the date of 1er payment.
The opening date of the plan is 1er payment, and not that of the signature of the contract.
It is prohibited to hold several bank PEAs at the same time.
Indeed, the number of bank PEAs is limited to one per person, and to two per tax shelter.
But it is possible to combine a bank PEA and a PEA-SME-mid-cap. In this case, the cumulative payments on the 2 types of plan must not exceed the maximum authorized ceiling for the SME-EAP-mid-cap.
The bank that receives your request to open a bank PEA should inform you of the prohibition on holding more than one bank PEA, and ask you whether you already hold this type of product in another institution or not.
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You represent that you do not hold bank-issued PEAs at another institution
If you declare that you do not hold a bank PEA in another institution, the bank must inform you of the need to ask the tax administration about this.
In this case, you must tell the bank whether or not you agree that the tax authority should provide it with information about the existence of a bank PEA opened on your behalf in another institution.
But you cannot object to the administration informing the bank of the existence of other bank PEAs opened in your name.
The bank cannot open the plan until it has received a response from the tax administration, which must intervene within a maximum of 2 working days.
You agree that the tax authority will disclose the information to the bank
The situation varies depending on the response of the tax administration.
You do not hold a bank PEA at another institution
If the tax authority confirms that you do not hold a bank PEA in another institution, the bank must open the bank PEA to you.
You hold a bank PEA at another institution
If the tax authority informs the bank that you already hold a bank PEA in another institution, the bank must provide you with the information, offering to choose one of the following 3 solutions:
- Close the existing bank PEA yourself
- Allow the bank to complete the closure formalities of the existing bank PEA and transfer the funds to the new bank PEA
- Waive the request to open the new banking PEA
You refuse to allow the tax authority to disclose the information to the bank
The situation varies depending on the response of the tax administration.
You do not hold a bank PEA in another institution
If the tax authority confirms that you do not hold a bank PEA in another institution, the bank must open the bank PEA to you.
You hold a bank PEA at another institution
If the tax authority notifies the bank that you already have a bank PEA in another institution, the bank must refuse to open a new one.
You state that you already hold a bank PEA at another institution
If you declare that you already hold a bank PEA at another institution, the bank must not open a new one for you.
Only the cash payments are allowed.
Cash payments are paid into a cash account, and the cash account is used to finance the purchase of securities that are registered in a securities account.
Not all securities can be recorded in the EAP securities account.
The list of securities that may be included in the PEA is established by law.
Titles that can be directly purchased by the cash account and registered on the bank's PEA are:
- Shares (except preferred shares), business investment certificates, cooperative investment certificates, mutual benefit certificates and joint certificates of mutual benefit societies
- Shares of SARL: titleContent or businesses with equivalent status, and cooperative businesses' equity securities
- Preferential subscription rights issued in the context of a capital increase, allocated to the plan holder and relating to listed securities already held on the PEA.
Amounts paid to the bank or insurance PEA may be invested in indirect manner in the following headings:
- Shares of open-ended investment businesses, businesses of open partnership or specialized financing businesses, which invest more than 75% of their assets in shares, certificates or shares in commercial businesses or mutual or provident societies
- Shares of mutual funds or specialized funds that invest more than 75% of their assets in shares, certificates or shares in commercial businesses or mutual or provident societies
- Shares in collective investment undertakings (UCITS: titleContent, Sicav: titleContent, etc.) established in other EU Member StatesEuropean Union or in a State of theEuropean Economic Area linked to France by a tax treaty, which benefit from the mutual recognition of authorizations and which invest more than 75% of their assets in shares, certificates or shares in commercial businesses or mutual or provident societies
- Shares of risk-bearing mutual funds that commit to constitute, at the latest by the close of the 4th at least the financial year of the fund 75% of their assets into financial assets eligible for the European quota
- Shares or units of collective investment funds which undertake to constitute, at the latest by the close of the 4th at least the financial year of the fund 75% of their assets in financial instruments eligible for the European quota and issued by businesses with their head office in an EU countryEuropean Union or in an EU countryEuropean Economic Area
- Securities of AIF approved and authorized to use the name "ELTIFon condition that they undertake to invest directly or indirectly the European quota in businesses having their seat in an EU countryEuropean Union or in an EU countryEuropean Economic Areaand that they do not directly or indirectly hold physical assets.
To find out if a title can be included in your PEA, you can consult its description on a stock exchange website or in a specialized journal.
The title description indicates whether it is eligible for the EAP.
As of December 6, 2016, amounts paid into the AAP cannot be used to acquire securities held outside of the AAP by:
- Plan holder
- Person he/she lives with as a couple
- Ascending or descendant
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Before 5 years
Partial withdrawals before age 5 result in plan closure, except in the following cases:
- Recovery or company creation
- Dismissal, invalidity or early retirement of the holder or of the holder's Civil partnership or partner
- Withdrawal from the plan of securities of businesses in liquidation
After 5 years
Partial withdrawals after 5 years shall not result in the closure of the plan.
The plan continues to work and new payments can be made.
The remuneration of the PEA is uncertain, as it depends on the stock market return of the investment vehicles chosen (shares or shares inOPC).
In the case of a good return on the investment vehicles, the remuneration of the PEA may come from dividends and interest generated by the investments or from the capital gains realized on the occasion of the sales.
FYI
The EAP does not offer a guarantee of capital conservation. It is therefore possible that you will lose some of the money invested in case of poor performance of the investment media.
The ceiling for payments to the Bank AEP is €150,000. Its calculation does not take into account the gains made since the opening of the plan.
The EAP income tax depends in particular on the date of withdrawal.
The revenues of the PEA are subject to the social security contributions regardless of the date of withdrawals.
The following operations result in the closure of the EAP:
- Any withdrawal before 5 years (except in authorized cases of withdrawal)
- Non-compliance with one of the operating conditions (e.g. exceeding the ceiling on payments)
- Death of the holder
- Withdrawal after 5 years of all sums or values and conversion of capital into life annuity
Classic PEA Insurance
The PEA insurance is purchased from an insurance company. It takes the form of a capitalisation contract in units of account. The sums paid are invested in securities which may be shown on a bank PEA.
Tax domicile
You can open a PEA as long as you resident for tax purposes in France.
Age
You have to be of age to open an AEP.
Signature of a contract
When you open the PEA, you sign a contract with the insurance company.
The opening date is the date of 1er payment.
It is forbidden to hold several PEAs at the same time.
Indeed, the number of PEA insurance is limited to one per person, and to two per tax household.
But it is possible to combine an insurance PEA and an SME-PEA.
The bank that receives your application to open PEA insurance must inform you of the prohibition on holding more than one PEA insurance, and ask you whether you already hold this type of product in another institution or not.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
You state that you do not hold PEA insurance at another institution
If you declare that you do not hold PEA insurance in another institution, the bank must inform you of the need to ask the tax administration about this.
In this case, you must tell the bank whether or not you agree that the tax authority should provide it with information about the existence of an insurance PEA opened on your behalf in another institution.
But you cannot object to the administration informing the bank of the existence of another PEA insurance open in your name.
The bank cannot open the booklet until it has the response of the tax authorities, which must intervene within a maximum of 2 working days.
You agree that the tax authority will disclose the information to the bank
The situation varies depending on the response of the tax administration.
You do not have PEA insurance at another institution
If the tax authority confirms that you do not have PEA insurance in another institution, the bank must open PEA insurance to you.
You have an AIP insurance at another institution
If the tax authority informs the bank that you already have an AIP insurance in another institution, the bank must send you the information, offering to choose one of the following 3 solutions:
- Close the already existing insurance PEA yourself
- Allow the bank to complete the formalities for closing the already existing PEA insurance and transfer the funds to the new PEA insurance
- Waive the request to open the new PEA insurance
You refuse to allow the tax authority to disclose the information to the bank
The situation varies depending on the response of the tax administration.
You do not have PEA insurance in another institution
If the tax authority confirms that you do not have PEA insurance in another institution, the bank must open PEA insurance to you.
You have an AIP insurance at another institution
If the tax authority notifies the bank that you already have PEA insurance in another institution, the bank must refuse to open a new one.
You state that you already hold an AIP insurance at another institution
If you declare that you already hold an AIP insurance at another institution, the bank must not open a new one for you.
The PEA insurance shall consist of a capitalisation contract in units of account.
The insurance company records the amount of cash payments and invests in funds and collective investment undertakings.
Amounts paid to the bank or insurance PEA may be invested in indirect manner in the following headings:
- Shares of open-ended investment businesses, businesses of open partnership or specialized financing businesses, which invest more than 75% of their assets in shares, certificates or shares in commercial businesses or mutual or provident societies
- Shares of mutual funds or specialized funds that invest more than 75% of their assets in shares, certificates or shares in commercial businesses or mutual or provident societies
- Shares in collective investment undertakings (UCITS: titleContent, Sicav: titleContent, etc.) established in other EU Member StatesEuropean Union or in a State of theEuropean Economic Area linked to France by a tax treaty, which benefit from the mutual recognition of authorizations and which invest more than 75% of their assets in shares, certificates or shares in commercial businesses or mutual or provident societies
- Shares of risk-bearing mutual funds that commit to constitute, at the latest by the close of the 4th at least the financial year of the fund 75% of their assets into financial assets eligible for the European quota
- Shares or units of collective investment funds which undertake to constitute, at the latest by the close of the 4th at least the financial year of the fund 75% of their assets in financial instruments eligible for the European quota and issued by businesses with their head office in an EU countryEuropean Union or in an EU countryEuropean Economic Area
- Securities of AIF approved and authorized to use the name "ELTIFon condition that they undertake to invest directly or indirectly the European quota in businesses having their seat in an EU countryEuropean Union or in an EU countryEuropean Economic Areaand that they do not directly or indirectly hold physical assets.
As of December 6, 2016, amounts paid into the AAP cannot be used to acquire securities held outside of the AAP by:
- Plan holder
- Person he/she lives with as a couple
- Ascending or descendant.
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Before 5 years
Redemptions before 5 years shall result in the closure of the plan, except in the following cases:
- Recovery or company creation
- Dismissal, invalidity or early retirement of the holder or of the holder's Civil partnership or partner
- Withdrawal from the plan of businesses in liquidation.
After 5 years
Buybacks after 5 years do not result in the closure of the plan.
The plan continues to work and new payments can be made.
The remuneration of the PEA is uncertain, as it depends on the stock market return of the investment vehicles chosen (shares or shares inOPC).
In the case of a good return on the investment vehicles, the remuneration of the PEA may come from dividends and interest generated by the investments or from the capital gains realized on the occasion of the sales.
FYI
The EAP does not offer a guarantee of capital conservation. It is therefore possible that you will lose some of the money invested in case of poor performance of the investment media.
The ceiling of the PEA insurance is €150,000. Its calculation does not take into account the gains made since the opening of the plan.
Please note
The classic insurance AAP and the SME AAP can be combined. However, the total amount paid on these two plans by the same holder cannot exceed €225,000.
The EAP income tax depends in particular on the date of withdrawal.
The revenues of the PEA are subject to the social security contributions regardless of the date of withdrawals.
The following operations result in the closure of the PEA assurance:
- Any redemption made on the capitalization contract before 5 years (except in the cases of authorized redemption)
- Non-compliance with one of the operating conditions (e.g. exceeding the ceiling on payments)
- Death of the holder
- Total redemption after 5 years of the capitalization contract
PEA-SME-MID
The EAP-SME-mid-cap is intended to finance small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and mid-cap companies (MID-cap companies). It operates like a bank PEA, except for the ceiling on payments (€225,000) and the securities which may be invested in it.
Tax domicile
You can open a PEA as long as you resident for tax purposes in France.
Signature of a contract
When opening the PEA, you sign a contract with the bank.
The opening date is the date of 1er payment.
It is forbidden to hold several PEA-SME-mid-caps at the same time.
Indeed, the number of PEA-SME-mid-caps is limited to one per person, and two per tax household.
However, it is possible to combine an SME-EAP with a bank EAP or with an insurance EAP.
The bank that receives your application to open PEA-PME-ETI must inform you of the prohibition on holding 2 PEA-PME-ETIs, and ask you whether you already hold an PEA-PME-ETI in another institution or not.
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You state that you do not hold PEA-PME-ETIs at another institution
If you declare that you do not hold PEA-SME-mid-caps in another institution, the bank must inform you of the need to ask the tax administration about this.
In this case, you must tell the bank whether or not you agree that the tax authority should provide it with information about the existence of an SME-PEA opened on your behalf in another institution.
But you cannot object to the administration informing the bank of the existence of another PEA-SME-mid-cap open in your name.
The bank cannot open the plan until it has received a response from the tax administration, which must intervene within a maximum of 2 working days.
You agree that the tax authority will disclose the information to the bank
The situation varies depending on the response of the tax administration.
You do not have an SME-PEA in another institution
If the tax authority confirms that you do not hold an SME-PEA in another institution, the bank must open the SME-PEA to you.
You hold an SME-PEA in another institution
If the tax administration informs the bank that you already hold an SME-PEA in another institution, the bank must provide you with the information, offering to choose one of the following 3 solutions:
- Close the existing PEA-SME-ETI yourself
- Authorize the bank to complete the closure formalities of the existing SME-SME-SME PEA and transfer the funds to the new SME-SME-SME-SME PEA
- Abandon the request to open the new PEA-SME-ETI
You refuse to allow the tax authority to disclose the information to the bank
The situation varies depending on the response of the tax administration.
You do not hold PEA-SME-ETIs in another institution
If the tax authority confirms that you do not hold an SME-PEA in another institution, the bank must open the SME-PEA to you.
You hold an SME-PEA in another institution
If the tax authority notifies the bank that you already have an SME-PEA in another institution, the bank must refuse to open a new one.
You state that you already hold an SME-PEA in another institution
If you declare that you already hold an SME-EAP in another institution, the bank must not open a new one for you.
Disbursements and authorized uses
Only the cash payments are allowed. They are running a cash account to buy securities.
The securities acquired are then recorded in a securities account.
Only certain securities may be acquired by payments made to the PEA and entered in the securities account.
These securities must be held by:
- Plan holder
- Person he/she lives with as a couple
- Ascending or descendant
Warning
You may not include in the plan the titles of businesses of which you and your family group (spouse, ascendants and descendants) directly or indirectly hold more than 25% social rights.
Securities which may be the subject of direct investment
The funds paid out of the PEA-SME-ETI are intended for the financing of small and medium-sized companies and mid-sized companies.
They may be invested in the following securities:
- Shares (excluding preferential shares), or business investment certificates, and cooperative investment certificates
- Shares of SARL: titleContent or businesses of equivalent status, and securities representing the capital of cooperative businesses
- Bonds convertible or redeemable in shares (excluding bonds redeemable in unquoted shares)
- Participating securities and fixed-rate bonds acquired through a trader of an investment service provider or a participatory investment advisor via a website approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers.
- Preferential subscription rights issued in the context of a capital increase, allocated to the plan holder and relating to listed securities already held on the PEA.
If the business issuing the securities is a unquoted company, it must have an employed staff of less than 5,000 people and an annual turnover which does not exceed €1.5 billion, or a balance sheet total which does not exceed €2 billions.
If the issuing business is a quoted companyIt must have a market capitalization less than €2 billions or it must to have had market capitalization less than €2 billions in at least one of the last 4 previous calendar years.
FYI
Those thresholds shall be examined on the basis of the consolidated accounts of the securities issuing business, taking into account, where necessary, the performance of its subsidiaries.
The possibility of a business' securities being purchased by the money invested in the PEA-SME-ETI is examined on the basis of its accounts. In particular, the examination shall cover the penultimate closed accounting year preceding the date of acquisition of the securities in the plan.
Once a security is acquired in the PEA-PME-ETI, it can be retained there even if the accounting situation of the business subsequently changes on the basis of the number of employees, turnover or balance sheet total. The same is true if the market capitalization criterion is changed.
But if the business issues new securities, its accounting situation will be reviewed again before these securities can also benefit from the investments of the PEA-SME-ETI.
Securities which may be subject to indirect investment
Indirect investment is the purchase of securities from a business whose business is to invest on behalf of others.
Amounts paid to the PEA-SME-ETI may be indirectly invested in the following securities:
- Shares in open-end investment businesses, the capital of which is more than 75%of securities ofETI: titleContent, of which at least two thirds are shares, shares, investment certificates or bonds which are convertible or redeemable into shares
- Mutual fund shares (UCITS: titleContent, Sicav: titleContent, etc.), more than 75 % of whose capital is made up of mid-cap securities, at least two thirds of which are shares, shares, investment certificates or bonds which are convertible or redeemable into shares
- Units of collective investment undertakings (UCITS, Sicav, etc.) established in the European Economic Area, whose capital is composed of more than 75% of mid-cap securities, of which at least two thirds are shares, shares, investment certificates or bonds which are convertible or redeemable into shares
- Shares in risk-bearing mutual funds or commercial business securities which qualify for exemption from risk capital businesses
- Shares or shares of AIF authorized, provided that more than half of their assets are permanently invested in shares, shares, investment certificates or bonds which are convertible or redeemable into shares and that they do not hold dematerialized real estate assets.
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Before 5 years
Partial withdrawals before 5 years result in the closure of the plan except in :
- Recovery or company creation
- Dismissal, invalidity or early retirement of the holder or of the holder's Civil partnership or partner
- Withdrawal from the plan of businesses in liquidation.
After 5 years
Partial withdrawals after 5 years shall not result in the closure of the plan. The plan continues to work and new payments can be made.
The remuneration of the PEA is uncertain, as it depends on the stock market return of the investment vehicles chosen (shares or shares inOPC).
In the case of a good return on the investment vehicles, the remuneration of the PEA may come from dividends and interest generated by the investments or from the capital gains realized on the occasion of the sales.
FYI
The EAP does not offer a guarantee of capital conservation. It is therefore possible that you will lose some of the money invested in case of poor performance of the investment media.
The ceiling for the PEA-SME-ETI is €225,000. Its calculation does not take into account the gains made since the opening of the plan.
Please note
The PEA-SME-ETI and the conventional PEA (banking or insurance) can be combined. However, the total amount paid on these two plans by the same holder cannot exceed €225,000. Even in case of cumulation, the ceiling of the traditional EAP shall not exceed €150,000.
The EAP income tax depends in particular on the date of withdrawal.
The revenues of the PEA are subject to the social security contributions regardless of the date of withdrawals.
The following operations result in the closure of the EAP:
- Any withdrawal before 5 years (except in authorized cases)
- Non-compliance with one of the operating conditions (e.g. exceeding the ceiling on payments)
- Death of the holder
- Withdrawal after 5 years of all sums or values and conversion of capital into life annuity.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Definition and operation of the EAP
Definition and operation of the SME-midcap EAP
Opening of the SME-midcap EAP and thresholds for SME-midcap EAP eligible companies
Online service
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Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)
Institute for Public Financial Education (IEFP)
Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)
Institute for Public Financial Education (IEFP)