Tranche (French / Spanish income-tax band)
A discrete income range with a fixed marginal tax rate — the French / Spanish equivalent of a UK tax band.
A tranche is a discrete income range over which a single marginal rate applies. France and Spain both use the tranche model for their main income tax (impôt sur le revenu / IRPF) — distinct from Germany's continuous polynomial, but mathematically equivalent at the band boundaries.
French 2025 PAS tranches: 0% up to €11,294, 11% to €28,797, 30% to €82,341, 41% to €177,106, 45% above. Spanish 2025 IRPF tranches: 19% to €12,450, 24% to €20,200, 30% to €35,200, 37% to €60,000, 45% to €300,000, 47% above. Like in the UK, only the income within a tranche is taxed at that tranche's rate — moving up a tranche affects only the next euro earned, not all earlier euros.
The site's France and Spain calculators apply tranches in order; the visible breakdown shows the amount of tax owed within each.
Calculator pages that use this term
See also
- Marginal tax rate — The percentage paid in tax on the next unit of income earned — distinct from the average effective rate.
- Effective tax rate — Total deductions divided by gross pay — the single percentage that summarises the overall tax bite.
- PAS (Prélèvement à la Source) — The French withholding-tax system — collects income tax monthly via payroll, like UK PAYE.
- IRPF (Spanish income tax) — Spain's progressive income tax — split between a state and a regional (Comunidad Autónoma) component.