The short answer: hourly rates for 2026
The most common practice in France is to value one hour of volunteering at the gross hourly minimum wage (SMIC), possibly increased by employer contributions. For specific skills, you can use the wage of an equivalent job instead.
| Method | Hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Gross hourly minimum wage (SMIC) | €12.31/h |
| Minimum wage + employer contributions (45%) | €17.85/h |
| Custom rate | Gross hourly wage of an equivalent job, for a skilled role |
Gross hourly minimum wage in force since June 1, 2026 (official source). The 45% employer contribution rate assumes no contribution relief: adjust it with your accountant.
To apply these rates to your own hours right away, use our free volunteer time valuation calculator.
Why value volunteer time?
In many nonprofits, volunteering is an essential resource, sometimes larger than grants. Yet it shows up nowhere unless someone puts a number on it. Valuing it makes that contribution visible to members, partners and funders.
It's an accounting requirement. For financial years starting on or after January 1, 2020, French ANC regulation no. 2018-06 requires nonprofits to record voluntary contributions in kind when they are essential to understanding the organization's activity and can be reliably counted and valued. Otherwise, the notes to the accounts must explain why.
It strengthens your grant applications. The forecast budget of the CERFA no. 12156 grant application form has a dedicated section for voluntary contributions in kind, and FDVA (the French fund for the development of associative life) applications ask you to value volunteering in the forecast budget or the income statement. A precise figure, backed by a clear method, makes the application stronger.
The three methods and how to justify them
1. The gross hourly minimum wage
This is the simplest and most common method: each volunteer hour is worth €12.31 in 2026. It suits the vast majority of tasks — welcome desk, refreshment stand, logistics, running a booth — and is easy to justify: the rate is public and dated.
2. The minimum wage plus employer contributions
This method aims to reflect what the hour would actually cost if it were paid: gross minimum wage × (1 + employer contribution rate). With the 45% assumption, you get €17.85/h. The contribution rate is an assumption to document, ideally confirmed with your accountant, since any contribution relief changes the real cost of a wage close to the minimum wage.
3. The wage of an equivalent job
For specific skills — bookkeeping, care, legal advice, qualified coaching — you can use the gross hourly wage you would have to pay to get the same service. This is the most faithful method, but also the hardest to justify: keep the reference you used (collective agreement pay scale, comparable job offer).
What really matters: consistency
Whatever the method, what matters is to justify it, apply it consistently from one year to the next and describe it in the notes to the accounts: method used, hourly rate, number of volunteers and how the hours were counted. The calculator lets you pick a method per task, for example the minimum wage for the welcome desk and a custom rate for bookkeeping done by an expert volunteer.
Value your volunteer time in one minute
Free, no account needed: hours, FTE, amounts for accounts 864/870 and CSV export.
Worked example
A nonprofit runs a summer festival with 12 volunteers who give 480 hours in total (setup, refreshment stand, welcome desk, teardown). It chooses to value these hours at the minimum wage plus employer contributions:
480 h × €17.85/h = €8,568.00
These 480 hours represent 0.30 full-time equivalent, based on the legal 1,607 hours per year. At the gross minimum wage, the same activity would be valued at €5,908.80: which is why the method used must be stated in the notes to the accounts.
Accounting entries: accounts 864 and 870
The valuation is recorded at the bottom of the income statement, under "Voluntary contributions in kind": debit account 864 "Volunteer staff" and credit account 870 "Volunteering". In our example, €8,568.00 is debited to 864 and the same amount credited to 870.
The two accounts balance each other: they make the volunteers' contribution visible without changing the year's net result.
In a grant application: CERFA 12156
In a grant application (CERFA no. 12156), report the valued amount under voluntary contributions in kind in the forecast budget (accounts 86 and 87). The funder then sees the real share of the project carried by your volunteers, on top of the financial resources.
The hard part: counting the hours
Picking a rate takes five minutes. The real work is getting a reliable number of hours — a condition set by the ANC regulation for recording these contributions. Re-typed sign-in sheets, spreadsheets kept by several coordinators, estimates from memory: manual methods and their limits are covered in our article Tracking volunteer hours and generating certificates.
In Planigramme, hours come straight from the schedule: each volunteer signs up for dated shifts. With the Pro plan, a schedule's "Statistics" tab shows a "Volunteer time value" card computed from planned sign-ups; the calculation can then be broken down further in the calculator.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Switching methods every year without explaining it. Moving from the gross minimum wage to the loaded minimum wage from one year to the next changes the amount even though the activity did not change. If you switch methods, say so in the notes.
- Forgetting the notes. An amount on its own says nothing: the method, the rate, the number of volunteers and how the hours were counted must come with it.
- Applying a contribution rate without documenting it. The 45% rate assumes no contribution relief. Write down where the rate comes from and have your accountant validate it.
- Using an outdated minimum wage. Check the effective date of the rate you apply: the gross hourly minimum wage used here has been in force since June 1, 2026.
- Estimating hours from memory. A total rebuilt at the end of the year won't hold up to a request for supporting evidence. The fairest rate is useless if the number of hours is approximate.
- Over-valuing by default. The wage of an equivalent job is for specific skills actually used. For welcome desk or logistics tasks, the minimum wage remains the simplest reference to defend.
In short
In 2026, one hour of volunteering is most often valued at €12.31 (gross hourly minimum wage) or €17.85 (minimum wage + 45% employer contributions), and at the wage of an equivalent job for specific skills. The method matters less than how you justify it and apply it consistently: describe it in the notes, apply it every year and rely on a reliable count of hours. This article is meant as guidance: your accountant or auditor remains the right person to validate the method and rate you use.