Accountant for English-speaking freelancers in France

Three structures for a solo activity

A freelancer working alone in France can trade as a sole trader or through a single-shareholder company. There is no minimum share capital for either type of company, and in both cases liability is limited to the amount contributed, except in the event of management misconduct or personal guarantees.

• Micro-entreprise (simplified sole-trader regime, also called auto-entrepreneur): no company is created, tax and social contributions are calculated on turnover, and bookkeeping is reduced to a minimum.
• EURL (single-shareholder limited liability company): profit is taxed in the hands of the shareholder by default, with an option for corporate tax. The shareholder-manager is a travailleur non salarié (self-employed for social security purposes).
• SASU (single-shareholder simplified joint-stock company): subject to corporate tax, with a possible option for income tax limited to five years. A president who is paid is an assimilé salarié (treated as an employee) and belongs to the general social security scheme.

Micro-entreprise: thresholds and contributions in 2026

The micro-entreprise regime is available as long as annual turnover excluding VAT stays under EUR 83,600 for services and liberal professions, or EUR 203,100 for the sale of goods. These ceilings apply for 2026. In the year the business is created, the ceiling is reduced in proportion to the number of days of activity. You only leave the regime after exceeding the ceiling for two consecutive calendar years, with effect from 1 January of the following year.

Social contributions are a percentage of the turnover actually received, declared monthly or quarterly to URSSAF (the body that collects social contributions). If you have no turnover, you pay no contributions. Income tax is calculated on turnover after a flat allowance, with a minimum allowance of EUR 305, and no actual expense can be deducted.

• Social contributions in 2026: 12.3% for sales of goods, 21.2% for commercial and craft services, 25.6% for non-regulated liberal professions, 23.2% for regulated liberal professions affiliated to the CIPAV pension fund.
• Flat allowance for income tax: 71% for sales, 50% for commercial services, 34% for liberal professions.
• Optional versement libératoire (income tax paid with the contributions): 1% for sales, 1.7% for commercial services, 2.2% for liberal professions. It is only open if the household reference income of the year before last does not exceed EUR 29,579 per household share.

VAT: the franchise en base thresholds

VAT is a separate question from the micro-entreprise ceiling. Under the franchise en base de TVA (VAT exemption for small businesses), you do not charge VAT to your clients and you cannot recover VAT on your purchases. The thresholds in force in 2026 are lower than the micro-entreprise ceilings, so many freelancers become liable for VAT while remaining micro-entrepreneurs.

The single EUR 25,000 threshold that was included in the Finance Act for 2025 has been abandoned, and the thresholds below remain applicable in 2026. They are set by article 293 B of the French tax code (Code général des impôts), last amended by law no. 2025-1044 of 3 November 2025, and confirmed by the official tax doctrine (BOFiP) in its version of 1 July 2026. The franchise is a French domestic regime: services invoiced to business clients in other countries follow specific rules on the place of taxation, which should be checked before you issue your first invoice.

• Services and liberal professions: EUR 37,500, with an upper threshold of EUR 41,250.
• Sales of goods: EUR 85,000, with an upper threshold of EUR 93,500.
• If turnover goes over the first threshold without reaching the upper one, VAT applies from 1 January of the following year.
• If turnover goes over the upper threshold, VAT applies immediately, from the date on which it is exceeded.

EURL and SASU: tax and social security

In a company, tax and contributions are based on real figures. Professional expenses are deducted, which matters as soon as you have significant costs such as equipment, subcontracting, travel or office rental. In return the company must keep full accounts, prepare annual accounts and file them with the commercial court registry.

Corporate tax is charged at 25% in 2026. A reduced rate of 15% applies to the first EUR 42,500 of profit for companies with turnover of no more than EUR 10 million, whose share capital is fully paid up and at least 75% owned by individuals. What remains can be kept in the company or distributed as dividends.

• EURL manager: contributions are calculated on remuneration, and minimum contributions are due even when no remuneration is paid. When the EURL pays corporate tax, the share of dividends above 10% of the total of share capital, share premiums and sums left in the shareholder current account is also subject to social contributions.
• SASU president: contributions are the same as for an executive employee, without unemployment insurance. They are only due when remuneration is paid. Dividends are not subject to social contributions and are taxed as investment income at the flat rate of 31.4% since 1 January 2026 (12.8% income tax and 18.6% social levies), or on option at the progressive income tax scale.

When to switch from micro-entreprise to a company

There is no single threshold at which a company becomes the better choice. The comparison has to be made with your own figures: turnover, real expenses, the income you need each month, other household income and the level of social protection you expect.

The change is a formality filed online through the guichet unique (the one-stop portal for business formalities run by INPI). It is worth planning for the start of a calendar year or financial year, so that you do not manage two regimes in the same period. This page gives general information based on the rules in force on the review date. Each situation is different and should be reviewed individually before a decision is made.

• Your turnover is approaching the EUR 83,600 ceiling, or has exceeded it for a first year.
• Your real expenses are higher than the flat allowance of 34% or 50%.
• You have become liable for VAT, so part of the simplicity of the regime has gone.
• You want to separate your own pay from the profit of the business, or keep profit in the company to invest.
• Clients or partners expect to contract with a company.