Energy bill rises and other changes in France in August

Several changes come into play for households in France this August. These range from energy bill increases to back-to-school bursaries

Millions of households will also receive an income tax refund, or have to make an additional tax payment. 

Below, The Connexion provides an overview of key changes in August.

Drop in savings account interest rates 

The interest rate on tax-free and government regulated Livret A savings accounts will drop to 1.7% on August 1. 

It is the second fall this year, after an initial 3% to 2.4% drop in February. The change is due to low interest rates in previous months. 

Equally, the interest rate of the livret d'épargne populaire (LEP) savings account, which are available to modest income households, will drop from 3.5% to 2.7%. 

Read more: Interest rate of French Livret A savings account to fall in August

Energy taxes go up…

The VAT rate on energy contracts increases from 5.5% to 20% on August 1, affecting both gas and electricity bills. 

The change is required due to EU laws that state the same VAT rate must be applied across the entire energy sector. 

To lessen the impact, consumption taxes on energy usage will decrease. 

This includes the excise tax (taxe de l’accise) for both gas and electricity subscriptions, which will be reduced gradually between August 1 and December 31.

Additionally, the tax for using the public electricity grid (the TURPE tax) will also drop from 7.7% to 2.5%, however this will only impact households that power their homes with electricity. 

Notably, reducing energy usage will have less of an impact on the outcome of your bill, as the VAT increase is more impactful as a share of the final bill cost than these variable rates. 

… but gas consumption prices fall

Increased VAT means that gas bills will rise by roughly €40 annually according to the French Energy Commission (CRE). 

However, the actual cost of gas will drop slightly in August, reducing a little the impact of the VAT change. 

The price of gas per kW/h for cooking and hot water will drop from €0.13970 to €0.13920, and for heating down to €0.10801 from €0.10852. 

Extra fees for those not using Linky meters 

Households that have still not installed a Linky smartmeter to monitor electricity usage will face an additional €6.48 charge, excluding VAT, every two months on their bill. 

An additional €4.14 charge will be added if no meter readings have been handed over to the grid operator Enedis in at least 12 months. 

The fees will be waived for properties where Enedis confirms it is impossible for the meters to be installed.

Read more: Extra fees start soon for French homes without Linky smart electricity meter

Back-to-school annual grant to be paid on August 19

Around three million households will receive a back-to-school bursary payment from the government. 

The payment will arrive on August 19 (August 5 in some overseas departments) for modest income households with a revenu fiscal de référence (RFR) of less than €28,444. 

The payments depend on the number of children in the home and their age, but can range from €423.48 to €462.33 per child. 

In most cases, the payments are made automatically. 

Read more: How France’s ‘back to school’ grant works and the amounts for 2025