Tag: Prélevements

Configurer les prélèvements sociaux dans details

Configure social security contributions (CSG, CRDS, Solidarity Levy) in details

In France, royalties paid to artists and rights holders may be subject to social security contributions: the CSG , the CRDS , and the Solidarity Levy . This article explains, simply, how to configure these in the details section and how they are applied to statements.

The key takeaway is that these deductions are calculated on royalties generated during the period, even if the artist receives nothing on their statement (for example, due to an outstanding advance). This is the main difference with VAT or standard withholding tax, which only apply to what is actually paid.

► Step 1: Create the tax group

Go to SETTINGS → Accounting in the left menu → TAXES tab . Create a new tax group (for example “French social security contributions”) and add the three relevant taxes to it: CSG, CRDS and Solidarity Levy.

► Step 2: Define the calculation basis

Still in the tax group’s record, open the Tax Base Royalty tab (calculation basis).

This is where you specify: on what basis should these levies be calculated?

For social security contributions, keep it simple:

  • Check Royalties (Fee) in “Contract Elements”, or
  • Check Royalty Amount in “Statement Items”

Both amount to the same thing: the calculation is based on the royalties generated during the period, before deduction of advances.

Do not select: “Statement Net Amount”. This option calculates based on what is actually paid to the artist — this is not the correct choice for social security contributions, which must be applied even if the statement shows zero.

► Step 3: Leave the “previous period” option unchecked

In the Options section , leave Negative Tax Base from Prior Period unchecked .

Why: social security contributions are due on royalties for the current period, regardless of any deficits from previous periods. Each period is treated independently.

► Step 4: Link the tax group to the relevant contracts

Once the group is configured, link it to the contracts of the artists or rights holders subject to French social security contributions. The contributions will then be automatically calculated and deducted from each statement generated for these contracts.

Concrete example: An artist generated €1,000 in royalties this month, but still owes €5,000 in advance payments. Their statement therefore shows €0 to pay. However, social security contributions (CSG, CRDS, Solidarity Levy) will still be calculated on the €1,000 in royalties generated—even though the artist receives nothing this month.

In summary

  • Create a tax group dedicated to social security contributions
  • Base the calculation on the royalties generated (“Royalties” or “Royalty Amount”), not on the amount paid
  • Do not reactivate the carryover of previous periods
  • Link the group to the relevant contracts

Once configured, you don’t need to do anything else: each new statement will automatically calculate social security contributions according to these rules. For any questions, please contact our support team.

Tax Base Royalty

When a tax is applied to a royalty statement, the system needs to know: what amount should the tax be calculated on? This is called the tax base.

For most cases, the answer is simple — tax is calculated on what gets paid out. But some tax rules work differently. French social contributions, for example, are calculated on the royalties an artist earned in the current period, regardless of whether anything is actually paid out. An artist with an unrecouped advance may receive nothing — and still owe social contributions on the royalties they generated.

The Tax Base Royalty configuration lets you define exactly which elements of a statement should be used as the base for a given tax group.

Context: In most cases, you will not need to change this setting. The default behaviour — calculating tax on the final payable amount — is correct for standard VAT and most withholding taxes. The Tax Base Royalty tab is primarily needed for jurisdictions with specific social contribution rules, such as France.

► Where to Find This

Go to SETTINGS → Accounting in the left sidebar → click the TAXES tab → locate the Tax Groups (Select To Edit) panel on the right. Click the edit icon next to a tax group to open its configuration dialog.

► How It Works

The dialog has two tabs:

  • Select Taxes — choose which individual taxes (VAT, withholding, social contributions, etc.) are part of this tax group.
  • Tax Base Royalty — define what the taxes in this group are calculated on.

On the Tax Base Royalty tab, you select which financial elements should be included in the tax base. The system will sum up all selected elements and use the result as the base for calculating the taxes in this group.

Important: Either use Statement Net Amount on its own, or select a combination of individual elements below it — not both. Selecting Statement Net Amount automatically disables all other options.

► Statement Net Amount

This is the default and simplest option. When selected, the tax is calculated on the final payable result of the entire statement — what the artist actually receives after all advances, costs, and deductions have been applied.

Use this for standard VAT or withholding taxes that should only apply when something is actually being paid out. If the statement is negative or zero, no tax is calculated.

► Contract Elements

These settings let you build a custom tax base from specific components of each contract. The system calculates the selected elements for each contract and adds them together across the whole statement.

  • Royalties
    Includes the gross royalties earned in the current period — from physical sales, digital, licensing, publishing, neighbouring rights, and performance income. This is calculated before any advances or costs are deducted.
    Use this for social contributions that must be calculated on what was earned, not what was paid — for example, French CSG, CRDS, and Prélèvement de solidarité.
  • Advances
    Includes advance recoupment amounts in the tax base. These are amounts previously paid to the artist that are being recouped from the current period’s earnings.
    Use this if your tax rules treat advance recoupments as part of the taxable base.
  • Reserve
    Includes reserve movements — amounts added to or released from reserve. Reserves are amounts withheld as a buffer against potential returns.
    Use this if reserve releases are considered a taxable income event under your applicable rules.
  • Costs
    Includes costs charged against the contract (for example, recording or marketing costs that are recouped from royalties).
    Use this if costs are part of the gross base before deduction under your applicable tax rules.
  • Other Income
    Includes any additional income items posted to the contract that fall outside the standard royalty categories.
    Use this if other income types are subject to the same tax treatment as royalties.
  • Contract Total
    Uses the full net result of each individual contract as the tax base — all elements combined. Selecting this automatically deactivates the other Contract Elements options, as it already represents their combined result. Deselecting it re-enables the individual options for manual selection.
    Use this if you want to base taxes on each contract’s net position rather than selecting specific elements.

► Statement Elements

These settings add statement-level components to the tax base — items that are posted directly to the statement rather than to an individual contract.

  • Royalty Amount
    The total royalty amount for the current period across all contracts, excluding any opening balance carried forward from a previous period. This reflects what was earned this period only.
    This is the most common choice for French-style social contributions, where the tax base is the current-period result only.
  • Royalty Amount Including Opening
    The total royalty amount for the current period plus the opening balance carried forward from the previous period. This reflects the artist’s cumulative position.
    Use this if the tax base should take prior-period balances into account.
  • Additions
    Includes manual additions posted directly to the statement in the tax base.
    Use this if manual additions represent income that is subject to the same tax treatment.
  • Deductions
    Includes manual deductions posted to the statement. Since deductions are negative amounts, including them will reduce the tax base.
    Use this if manual deductions should reduce the taxable base.

► Options

  • Negative Tax Base from Prior Period
    When enabled, a negative tax base from the previous period is carried forward and offsets the current period’s tax base before taxes are calculated. If last period’s base was negative, it reduces what gets taxed this period.
    When disabled, each period stands alone — a negative base from a previous period has no effect on the current one.
    Leave this disabled for French social contributions, where contributions are due on current-period royalties regardless of prior deficits.
  • Opening Balance = Net Plus Taxes
    When enabled, the balance carried forward to the next statement period includes both the net amount and any taxes already deducted. This prevents taxes from being counted twice when a statement ends negative after a tax deduction.
    Enable this when taxes are deducted from a statement that then ends in a negative balance, to ensure the tax deduction is correctly reflected in the carry-forward.
Example — French Social Contributions: To calculate CSG, CRDS, and Prélèvement de solidarité on current-period royalties only (regardless of advances or prior deficits), select Royalties under Contract Elements, or Royalty Amount under Statement Elements. Leave Negative Tax Base from Prior Period unchecked.

► French UI Reference

If you’re working with a French-language interface or supporting French clients, here’s how these settings map to the French labels:

English (this article) French UI label
Statement Net Amount Redevance montant net
Advances Avances
Royalties Redevance
Reserve Réserves
Costs Charges
Other Income Autres Revenus
Contract Total Total contrat
Additions Additions
Deductions Déductions
Royalty Amount Montant des redevances
Royalty Amount Including Opening Montant des redevances incluant le solde d’ouverture
Negative Tax Base from Prior Period Base négative de la période précédente
Opening Balance = Net Plus Taxes Solde d’ouverture = Montant payable plus taxes