Your three main options Most expat freelancers in France choose between three set-ups: the micro-entrepreneur scheme (also called auto-entrepreneur), a single-shareholder company called a SASU, or its alternative, the EURL. The right choice depends on your expected turnover, your expenses and how you want to pay yourself. Option 1: micro-entrepreneur, the simplest way to start You register online in a few days and pay social charges as a flat percentage of the turnover you ac

French admin, in a language you actually understand France has one of the most detailed tax and social security systems in Europe. Letters from URSSAF, the tax office (SIE) or the commercial court registry arrive in French, use specific jargon and often come with tight deadlines. For an expat business owner, a misunderstood letter can quickly turn into a penalty. An English-speaking accountant explains what is happening, what you must do, and by when. The mistakes we see most

The short version Since 1 September 2026, every VAT-registered business established in France must be able to receive electronic invoices. Small and medium-sized businesses, including sole traders (micro-entrepreneurs), must start issuing them on 1 September 2027. A PDF sent by email will no longer count: invoices must go through a certified platform (plateforme agréée) approved by the French tax authority. Key dates Date Who What 1 September 2026 All VAT-registered businesse

The auto-entrepreneur scheme is France's simplest way to run a business as a solo founder. One online registration, no separate company to incorporate, and social contributions calculated as a flat percentage of what you actually invoice. For English speakers launching or running an activity in France, it is usually the first status to evaluate, and the numbers are worth understanding before you register. This guide explains what the status covers, the turnover ceilings, the

If you earn money in France, or you run a business here, French income tax will be part of your life. The French call it impôt sur le revenu (IR), and it is the main personal tax on salaries, dividends, rental income and business profit passed through to owners. This guide explains income tax in France in plain English: who pays it, the five brackets, how the bill is computed, and the 2026-2027 withholding and filing calendar. Who pays French income tax Two questions decide

A VAT refund in France is how your company recovers tax it has paid but does not owe. When the deductible VAT on your purchases is higher than the VAT collected on your sales, the difference is a VAT credit. You can either carry it forward or ask for a refund. Monthly and quarterly claims need a minimum of €760. The annual claim in January needs a minimum of €150, filed online on form 3519. This article explains when a credit appears, which threshold applies to you and how fo

VAT in France works like VAT elsewhere in the EU, but with French thresholds and French filing rhythms. The short version: most sales carry VAT at 20%. Very small businesses can skip charging it under the franchise, up to EUR 85,000 of turnover for sales activities and EUR 37,500 for services. These thresholds are unchanged in 2026, and once you cross them you file returns on a monthly, or simplified annual, cycle. This guide walks through each layer so you know what applies

If you are waiting for a tax refund in France, two questions matter: when the money arrives, and what to do if it does not. The first step is to know which refund you are dealing with, because the phrase "tax refund France" covers two very different things. This article is about income tax refunds: the money the French tax administration (DGFiP, Direction générale des Finances publiques) returns to you after your annual return. It is not about the VAT refund on shopping, whic

You run a business in France, or you are about to start one, and you need the big picture of tax in France: what exists, what it costs, when it is due. Most guides you will find online either show 2024 rates, cover personal taxes only, or explain the French system in French. This guide gives you the full map, in English, with the rates that apply in 2026. Here is the short version. As a business owner in France, you personally face income tax (up to 45% in the top bracket) a

You searched for a certified management accountant in France and found two different worlds. Training sites selling a US certification called the CMA. And French firms offering accounting services under a title you had not seen before: expert-comptable. This article separates the two, because they answer different questions. One is a credential a finance professional earns. The other is a state-regulated professional your French company may be legally required to work with. R

Selling into France, or setting up a French entity? The French VAT number is the identifier your invoices, declarations and cross-border paperwork hang on. It is not a number you choose or buy: it is derived from your company registration, and it comes with filing obligations the moment it is issued. This article explains what the number looks like, how companies (including foreign ones) obtain it, how to check a customer's or supplier's number, and what having one commits yo

Hiring in France for the first time? Payroll services in France cover more than producing payslips: every pay run feeds a chain of social declarations, withholding obligations and employer duties that repeat each month. This article sets out what French payroll actually includes, which obligations surprise foreign employers, and what an outsourced payroll service should deliver. We keep to what the rules say and link the official sources; our French payroll services page desc

Selling French property as a non-resident? The French property capital gains tax for non residents works in two layers: a 19 % income-tax levy on the gain, plus social levies of 17.2 %, or a 7.5 % solidarity levy if you are affiliated to a social security scheme in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland. Allowances for holding period can reduce the bill, and two exemptions can remove it entirely. This guide sets out the calculation, the allowances, the exemptions and the filing steps

Inheritance tax in France for non residents is not a rumour: when assets pass on a death and France has taxing rights, it applies droits de succession, the French inheritance tax, wherever the beneficiaries live. What changes with residence is the scope. A death outside France brings only French assets into the net. A death in France can bring the whole estate. The 2026 Budget Act left the scales unchanged, so the figures below are those in force as of September 2026 (impots.

There is no single new annual tax on non-resident ownership of French property. What you pay is a set of long-standing taxes, plus three genuinely recent changes that most "new tax" headlines actually describe. This guide lists every tax, flags what is new, and gives rates and deadlines. Is There Actually a New French Property Tax for Non-Residents? No single new tax on foreign owners exists in 2026. The taxes themselves are old: land tax, residence tax, income tax on rents

A financial controller keeps your books closed on time, your reports reliable and your cash visible. Outsourcing financial controller services means buying that function by the day or by the month from an external provider, instead of hiring a full-time employee. In France the model has one twist the US and UK guides never mention: part of the finance function is legally reserved, and part is open to anyone good. This article explains what an outsourced controller does, what

"French accountant" is a translation, not a job title. The regulated profession behind it is the expert-comptable, best rendered in English as chartered accountant. The person who simply "does your books", a comptable, has no protected title at all. This distinction decides who can legally certify and file your accounts in France. This guide maps the French titles onto the ones you know and shows you how to verify a practitioner. What "French Accountant" Means in English St

You run a business, a freelance activity or a property investment in France, and your tax mail arrives in French. An English-speaking tax provider in France solves exactly this problem: a professional who handles your French tax filings and explains them to you in plain English. This guide sets out what such a provider should cover, how to check that the person you are about to hire is properly licensed, and which filings apply to you in 2026. What an English-Speaking Tax Pr

Last updated: August 2026. Figures and procedures verified against INPI, service-public.fr and impots.gouv.fr. Since 1 January 2023, all company registrations in France go through a single online portal: the INPI one-stop shop (guichet unique). The old system of business formalities centres (CFE) and commercial court registries (Greffe) no longer exists as a separate route. This guide walks you through every step of the process, the legal structures available, the costs, and

Establishing or managing a business in France can be challenging, especially for English-speaking entrepreneurs unfamiliar with the...