VAT Refund in France: Thresholds, Deadlines and Forms (2026)

GME Audit l Votre expert-comptable

Oct 9

6 min read

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 foreign companies claim French VAT back.

One point first, because search results mix three different things. A business VAT refund is not an income tax refund, and it is not the tourist VAT refund you get at the airport for shopping. If you are looking for the income tax cycle (the refund the tax office sends after your annual return), read our tax refund in France guide. This article covers VAT credits for companies.

When your company builds up a VAT credit

VAT (value added tax) is collected by your company on its sales and paid to the French tax administration, the DGFiP. On the other side, the VAT you pay on business purchases is usually deductible. Most months, you pay the difference between the two.

Sometimes the balance goes the other way. Your deductible VAT is higher than the VAT you collected, and the return shows a negative figure. This happens to companies that buy heavily before selling: A startup investing in equipment, an exporter whose sales are zero-rated, a property company in a renovation phase, or any business whose customers pay late while suppliers demand immediate payment.

When that happens, you have two options on your VAT return, form CA3:

Carry the credit forward. The amount is reported on your next return and offsets the VAT you will owe. No money moves.
Claim a refund. You ask the tax office to pay the credit back to your bank account. This is the VAT refund.

Carrying forward costs nothing if the next return will absorb the credit. A refund is the right move when the credit is large or structural, because it converts a paper figure into cash. A company registered for VAT in France that invoices from France should also check the basics of the French VAT system in our VAT in France guide.

Monthly, quarterly and the €760 threshold

If you file monthly or quarterly VAT returns, you do not have to wait for the end of the year.

Companies that file monthly returns by electronic transmission can claim a refund whenever a monthly return shows a credit of deductible tax. Companies that file quarterly returns can claim at the end of each of the first three calendar quarters. In both cases, the claim must be at least €760.

This means a monthly filer with a large structural credit can recover it twelve times a year instead of letting it sit on the balance sheet. Below €760, the claim cannot be filed for that period. The credit is not lost: it carries forward until it crosses the threshold or until the annual claim in January.

Filing rhythm	When you can claim	Minimum amount
Monthly returns	Each month with a credit	€760
Quarterly returns	End of each of the first three quarters	€760
Annual claim	January, on the previous year's credit	€150

The annual refund in January: form 3519 and the €150 threshold

At the end of the year, any remaining credit is in general the one shown on 31 December of the past year, or at the close of your financial year if it does not follow the calendar year. The annual refund claim has a lower threshold: €150.

The claim must be filed electronically; paper is not an option. All companies must file online, and a claim sent on paper is rejected. How you file depends on your VAT regime:

Normal regime. You file form 3519 online from your professional account on impots.gouv.fr, detailing the credit and the amount you want refunded. The filing window is January, after the year the credit arose.
Simplified regime (RSI). You enter the refund requested in the dedicated box of your annual VAT return, form 3517-CA12 (calendar year) or 3517-CA12E (off-calendar financial year). The refund is limited to credits coming from the purchase of fixed assets, with the invoices attached. This route disappears in 2027, as explained below.

One practical point delays many claims: bank details. You must attach a bank account details document (RIB) with a first refund request, and again whenever your bank details change. A missing document slows the processing of your file.

If your company is not established in France

Foreign companies that are not established in France but have paid French VAT on business expenses can also claim a refund. The tax office sets three conditions:

Your company has no stable establishment in France.
Your company does not owe French VAT on any operations and has no filing obligation in France, such as an intra-EU supply or an export from France.
The VAT was paid in France on expenses made for the needs of your business.

The route then depends on where your company is based:

Established in the European Union. You file through the electronic portal of your own country, which forwards the claim to the French administration. Forms 3560-A and 3560-B exist for these refund procedures.
Established outside the European Union. The claim must be sent electronically by your tax representative, through the secured messaging of their professional account on impots.gouv.fr.

If your company goes further and invoices French customers from France, it moves from refund claimant to VAT payer. Our article on the French VAT number explains registration and the VIES check.

What changes in 2027: the end of the simplified regime

One rule is about to change, and most English-language guides have not caught up. Article 38 of the 2025 Finance Law abolishes the simplified VAT regime (RSI) from 1 January 2027.

Companies currently under the simplified regime will move to the normal regime and file form 3310-CA3. The default rhythm becomes quarterly if turnover plus taxable acquisitions did not exceed €1,000,000 in the previous year or €1,100,000 in the current year. A company can opt for monthly filing by sending a request through the secured messaging of its professional account, with effect from the first day of the following quarter.

For refunds, this closes the semi-annual refund route attached to the simplified regime. From 2027, every company claims under the normal regime rules: the €760 threshold during the year and form 3519 in January. The simplified regime for farmers is not affected.

What a chartered accountant handles

A VAT credit that sits on a return is cash that is not working for your business. This is the type of file a chartered accountant structures. GME Audit is registered with the French Order of Chartered Accountants. The firm is directed by Steeve Elharrar, expert-comptable and statutory auditor, former KPMG and Deloitte. The team brings more than 10 years of combined experience in accounting, audit and advisory, and follows about a hundred files each year, from startups to real estate investors. The firm works in French and English and runs bookkeeping in real time through Pennylane, so a VAT credit is visible the month it appears, not at year end.

Concretely, on VAT refunds we check the credit line by line before any claim, file form 3519 or the quarterly claim on schedule, and monitor the payment. To go wider, our article on what a French chartered accountant does explains the role. If you want a review of your VAT position, contact our English-speaking team.

Common questions

Can I get a VAT refund every month?

Yes, if you file monthly VAT returns by electronic transmission and the monthly credit is at least €760. Quarterly filers claim at the end of each of the first three quarters, with the same minimum.

Is there a minimum amount for a VAT refund in France?

€760 for monthly and quarterly claims, €150 for the annual claim filed in January. Credits below the threshold carry forward to a later period.

Is a VAT refund the same as a tourist VAT refund?

No. The tourist refund concerns VAT on goods you take out of the country, handled by retailers such as duty free operators. A business VAT refund concerns the credit on your company's VAT returns. They follow different rules and different forms.

What to do now

Check your latest VAT return for a credit line, and whether it was carried forward or refunded.
Compare the credit with the thresholds: €760 during the year, €150 in January.
If you claim for the first time, prepare your bank details document now; it is the most common cause of delay.
If your company is under the simplified regime, plan the move to the normal regime before 1 January 2027.

This article is general information about French VAT rules as verified in October 2026, not tax advice. Thresholds and deadlines change with finance laws; check the official pages on impots.gouv.fr or ask a professional before filing.