How to pay with CESU: practical guide 2026

The CESU, or Universal Service Employment Cheque, allows simple payment of a home employee or home service providers while benefiting from a 50 percent tax credit. The scheme exists in two forms: declarative (for direct employment) and prefunded (for purchasing services). This guide details how to pay with CESU depending on your situation, the ceilings in force in 2026 and the concrete steps to take.

Declarative CESU and prefunded CESU: understanding the difference

CESU is a scheme launched in 1994 to simplify home employment and encourage the declaration of service providers. It combines two distinct tools that should not be confused.

Declarative CESU

The declarative CESU is for individuals who directly employ a person at home: housekeeper, gardener, childcare, elderly care, tutoring. The employer remains responsible for recruitment, employment contract and direct salary payment, but declarative CESU simplifies the calculation of social contributions and pay slip issuance.

Steps:

1. Register with CESU on cesu.urssaf.fr
2. Pay the employee’s salary by transfer, cheque or cash
3. Declare each month the hours and net salary paid via the online CESU account
4. Urssaf automatically calculates contributions and direct debits from the employer’s bank account
5. Urssaf issues the pay slip given to the employee

According to Acoss figures published in 2025, 1.4 million private employers in France used declarative CESU, generating 920 million declared hours per year.

Prefunded CESU

The prefunded CESU is a nominative payment voucher with a fixed face value (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 euros), purchased by a third party and given to a beneficiary to pay for home services. The main issuers in France are:

• Domiserve (La Poste group)
• Sodexo (Cheque Domicile)
• Edenred (Ticket CESU)
• Up Cheque Domicile (Up group)

Prefunded CESU can be purchased by:

• An employer as social benefits for employees (up to 2,540 euros per year per employee in 2026, exempt from charges)
• A social and economic committee (CSE)
• A mutual insurance company or welfare organization
• A French department or pension fund, as part of APA or PCH

As detailed in our guide home care for seniors, prefunded CESU is the main payment tool for APA in most French departments.

How to pay with declarative CESU: the concrete steps

CESU registration

Registration with declarative CESU is done online at cesu.urssaf.fr. The private employer creates an account with their Social Security number and obtains a CESU number within 48 hours. No registration fees. The employee must also register on their own space to access their pay slips.

Monthly declaration

Once a month, the employer logs into their CESU account and declares:

• The number of hours worked
• The hourly net salary (at least 11.88 euros gross on January 1, 2026, the hourly minimum wage)
• Any paid leave (10 percent of net salary automatically calculated)

Urssaf calculates employer and employee contributions, then debited from the employer’s bank account. For 10 euros of net salary, the employer pays around 14 to 15 euros all inclusive (contributions included), reduced to 7 euros after tax credit.

The pay slip

Urssaf automatically issues the employee’s pay slip, accessible from both sides (employer and employee) on the online account. No additional steps. The pay slip contains the mandatory legal information.

How to use prefunded CESU

Receipt and activation

The holder receives their prefunded CESU by mail or via a mobile application (depending on the issuer). Each voucher bears the beneficiary’s name, face value, expiration date (generally January 31 of N+1 for vouchers issued in year N) and a unique code. The dematerialized form is progressing rapidly, 60 percent of prefunded CESU are now in electronic form according to Domiserve (2025 data).

Paying a service provider or organization

Payment with prefunded CESU can be used to pay:

• A person directly employed, already declared by the employer via declarative CESU (prefunded CESU then complements or replaces cash salary)
• An approved home services organization (company, association or self-employed person holding the prefectoral declaration or DGE approval)
• An approved childminder (child care)

The beneficiary gives their prefunded CESU to the service provider or enters them online in the organization’s application. The face value covers all or part of the bill.

Cash-in by the service provider

The service provider receiving prefunded CESU must register for free on the CESU Reimbursement Center website (crcesu.fr). After validation of registration (within 5 to 10 days), they can deposit their vouchers:

• By mail (physical deposit of paper vouchers)
• By online entry (electronic vouchers)

Reimbursement occurs within 5 to 10 business days on the bank account. The CRCESU commission is zero for the beneficiary and the service provider: the issuer takes a commission upon purchase of the vouchers (around 2 to 3 percent).

The CESU tax credit: how much to recover

The main financial interest of CESU is the 50 percent tax credit on amounts paid, applicable to both schemes (declarative and prefunded).

2026 Ceilings

The annual ceiling of expenses taken into account for the tax credit is:

The tax credit is paid in two stages: a 60 percent advance in January, the balance settled after the annual tax return. Since 2022, the tax credit has been paid immediately for current services (cleaning, gardening, child care), without cash advance for the employer.

Conditions to benefit from the tax credit

• Expenses must be paid to a declared employee (declarative CESU), an approved organization or an approved childminder (prefunded CESU)
• Services must take place at home in France
• Expenses must be declared on the income tax return (box 7DB or 7DF)
• The tax credit applies even to non-taxable taxpayers (full refund if no tax due)

As reminded in our comparison best personal care company, it is essential to check that the chosen organization has the prefectoral declaration or DGE approval, otherwise the tax credit is not granted.

Which services are payable in CESU

CESU covers about twenty home services, grouped into three main families according to the Labor Code.

Services for families

• Childcare at home (excluding approved childminders at their own home)
• Tutoring and home lessons
• Accompanying children outside the home (occasional school outings)

Services for elderly or dependent people

• Home help (cleaning, shopping, meals)
• Assistance to elderly or disabled people
• Driving the home’s personal vehicle
• Sick care (excluding medical care)

Daily life services

• Cleaning and ironing
• Small gardening and DIY work
• Computer assistance at home
• Meal and shopping delivery at home

Medical services (nurse, physiotherapist) are not eligible for CESU. For peer to peer services outside home services, consult our guide best peer-to-peer service platform in France.

Special cases and practical tips

CESU and self-employed

A self-employed home services provider can receive prefunded CESU as a means of payment, but cannot be paid via declarative CESU (reserved for direct employment). To receive CESU, the self-employed person must be registered in the directory of home services organizations (Nova) and have obtained the prefectoral declaration via the portal nova.entreprises.gouv.fr.

CESU as a supplement to a home employee’s salary

A private employer can pay their employee by combining declarative CESU (declaration) and prefunded CESU (actual payment). Example: an employer buys 200 euros of prefunded CESU for their 20 monthly hours of cleaning. They declare the hours on the declarative CESU account as usual, but settle the net salary by giving the prefunded vouchers to their employee instead of a transfer.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Forgetting to declare the employee on declarative CESU: undeclared work, possible Urssaf adjustment
2. Confusing CESU and meal vouchers: these are two distinct, non-interchangeable schemes
3. Using prefunded CESU to pay an undeclared worker: illegal, loss of tax credit
4. Not keeping supporting documents: the tax administration may request pay slips or annual certificates
5. Forgetting the expiration date of prefunded CESU: vouchers lost if not used before January 31 of the following year

Frequently asked questions