1 More and more Bretons taxed
With Rennes and its metropolis, Ille-et-Vilaine is the most populated department in Brittany. It is also the one which saw the most tax households increase between 2016 and 2024 (almost 100,000 more). The same goes for the share of taxed households, increasing from 44.2% in 2016 to 50.5% in 2024. This is also the department which has the largest share of households taxed on income.
We are here on a very relative superiority, since it is barely one point more, in 2024, than Finistère, Morbihan and Brittany as a whole (49.3%): rounding up, we can say that one Breton in two is today subject to income tax. The nuance lies rather on the side of Côtes-d’Armor, where 46.9% of tax households are taxed – it is, moreover, the department which has the fewest households.
In eight years, the four departments have seen their number of households and the share subject to income tax increase, thus following the national trend.
2 Where do we pay the most income tax in Brittany?
The metropolis of Rennes, already cited for its population density, is among the intercommunalities where the average amount of income tax is the highest (€4,505). More than double the average for Kreiz-Breizh or the Monts d’Arrée. But the highest average is on the Emerald Coast, with €5,191. Opposite, the Pays de Saint-Malo is also at the top of the basket, as is the Gulf of Morbihan, the Pays d’Iroise or even the Pays Fouesnantais which also peak beyond the 4,000 € average.
The lowest value is located in the territory of Roi Morvan Community, with €1,746 in income taxes paid on average. That’s almost a third of the Emerald Coast. Generally speaking, the map shows, without much surprise, lower values in Central Brittany and higher on the coast or in the large metropolises.
3 Activity or pensions: where does the income come from?
The data published each year by the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) details declared income from salaries and income from retirement pensions. By calculating the share of each category for each commune in Brittany, we see that the metropolises and urban areas obviously concentrate the most active.
The coast, and in particular the Gulf of Morbihan, Côtes-d’Armor and West Cornouaille have the largest shares of pensions. We note that Kreiz-Breizh and the Monts d’Arrée have an income distribution close to 50/50, with some municipalities where there are more retirees, such as Huelgoat (29) or Lanrivain (22). Across the region as a whole, there are 64% salaries compared to 34% pensions.
