The micro-entrepreneur (formerly auto-entrepreneur) is France's answer to freelancing without the paperwork. You declare your turnover, a flat social-charge percentage is applied, and that is most of the job done. No VAT to manage below the thresholds, no complex accounting, no balance sheet. For freelancers, consultants, small traders and side-hustlers it is often the fastest legal route to invoicing a French client.
But the simplicity hides some sharp edges. Because charges are calculated on turnover, not profit, a business with high costs can be taxed on money it never really keeps. This guide breaks down the 2026 rules: the social-charge rates by activity, the optional flat income tax, the allowances, the turnover ceilings, and the ACRE start-up discount. It is informational, based on URSSAF and impots.gouv.fr guidance, and not personal tax advice.
How the micro regime is structured
Your activity falls into one of three families, and everything else flows from which one you are in:
- Sale of goods (BIC vente): retail, resale, e-commerce of physical products, and some food/accommodation.
- Commercial and craft services (BIC prestations): most service businesses that are commercial or artisanal in nature.
- Professional services (BNC): liberal and intellectual professions, consultants, coaches, many freelancers.
Your category sets three things at once: your social-charge rate, your turnover ceiling, and your income-tax allowance. Get the category right first; everything downstream depends on it.
Since the 2023 reform of individual enterprise, the old auto-entrepreneur is now simply the micro regime of the entreprise individuelle, with a helpful side effect: your private assets are, in principle, protected from business creditors by default. You register once through the national one-stop portal (the guichet unique run by INPI), receive a SIRET number, and can start invoicing. There is no minimum capital, no notary, and no separate company to dissolve if you stop. That low friction is the whole point of the regime.
Social charges (cotisations sociales) in 2026
This is the core cost of being a micro-entrepreneur. URSSAF applies a flat percentage to the turnover you declare each month or quarter. For 2026 the headline rates are approximately:
| Activity | Social-charge rate on turnover |
|---|---|
| Sale of goods (BIC) | ~12.3% |
| Commercial / craft services (BIC) | ~21.2% |
| Professional services (BNC) | ~24.6% – 25.6% |
These cover health, pension, family and other social contributions. Note the BNC rate for liberal professions rose in stages as the government aligned micro contributions with the rest of the system, so confirm the exact current percentage with URSSAF before you rely on it. A small additional contribution for professional training (contribution à la formation professionnelle, CFP) and, for commercial and craft activities, a chamber fee (taxe pour frais de chambre consulaire) are added on top.
The mechanic matters as much as the rate. You declare turnover every month or every quarter through your URSSAF account, and the charge is calculated instantly. If you invoice nothing in a period, you owe nothing, but you must still file a zero declaration. There is no annual reconciliation and no surprise year-end bill: what you pay each period is final. That predictability is the regime's greatest strength, and it is why so many people start here even if they later outgrow it.
Income tax: two ways to pay
Social charges are not income tax. Your micro-entrepreneur profit is also subject to French income tax (impôt sur le revenu), and you have a choice.
Option 1: the standard method with an allowance
By default, France does not tax your full turnover. It applies a fixed cost allowance (abattement forfaitaire) to reflect assumed business expenses, then taxes the remainder at the normal progressive income-tax scale together with your household's other income:
- Sale of goods: 71% allowance (you are taxed on 29% of turnover).
- Commercial/craft services: 50% allowance.
- Professional services (BNC): 34% allowance.
The 2026 progressive income-tax brackets are:
| Taxable income per part | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to ~€11,500 | 0% |
| Next band | 11% |
| Middle band | 30% |
| Upper band | 41% |
| Top band | 45% |
Option 2: the versement libératoire
If your household income is below an eligibility ceiling, you can elect the versement libératoire de l'impôt sur le revenu. This pays your income tax as a flat extra percentage of turnover, settled at the same time as your social charges:
- Sale of goods: 1.0%
- Commercial/craft services: 1.7%
- Professional services (BNC): 2.2%
The versement libératoire is attractive if you actually pay income tax, because it is simple and predictable. But if your total household income is low enough that you would pay little or no income tax anyway, electing it means paying tax you did not owe. Do the comparison before you tick the box.
Turnover ceilings for 2026
The micro regime only works up to fixed annual turnover ceilings. Cross them for two consecutive years and you are moved to the réel regime with full accounting.
| Activity | Annual turnover ceiling |
|---|---|
| Sale of goods (BIC) | €188,700 |
| Services (BIC and BNC) | €77,700 |
Separately, VAT has its own lower thresholds. Once your turnover passes the VAT franchise limit you must register for and charge TVA, even while staying a micro-entrepreneur. The VAT thresholds have been a moving target in recent years, so check the current franchise limit for your activity before you assume you are exempt.
ACRE: the first-year discount
Most new micro-entrepreneurs qualify for ACRE (aide à la création ou à la reprise d'une entreprise), a start-up relief that cuts social charges by 50% for the first year of activity. In practice URSSAF applies a reduced rate automatically for eligible founders. A BNC consultant, for example, pays roughly half the normal social-charge rate on turnover during that first period, which materially improves early cash flow. Apply or confirm eligibility at registration so you do not miss it.
ACRE is not automatic for everyone. You generally must not have benefited from it in the previous three years, and jobseekers, young entrepreneurs and recipients of certain benefits are prioritised. Because it only lasts twelve months, plan for your charges to roughly double from month thirteen. Many first-year micro-entrepreneurs are caught out when the discount ends and their effective cost jumps overnight, so set expectations, and cash, accordingly.
Worked example: a BNC consultant
Imagine a freelance consultant (BNC) with €50,000 of annual turnover, no versement libératoire, single, in their second year (so no ACRE). Figures are illustrative.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Turnover | €50,000 |
| Social charges (~25%) | ≈ €12,500 |
| 34% allowance → taxable income | €33,000 |
| Income tax on €33,000 (single) | ≈ €3,000 |
| Take-home before expenses | ≈ €34,500 |
Notice the trap: social charges are levied on the full €50,000, regardless of your real costs. If this consultant actually spent €15,000 running the business, the micro regime is punishing, because it assumes only a 34% cost ratio. High-cost businesses should model the réel regime instead.
Flip the example and the regime shines. A copywriter with the same €50,000 turnover but only €2,000 of real costs keeps far more than the 34% allowance implies she should, because the flat abattement is generous relative to her actual spending. That asymmetry is the single most important thing to understand about the micro regime: it rewards low-cost, high-margin work and penalises capital-intensive or resale-heavy activity. Before you commit, estimate your real expense ratio and compare it against your category's allowance.
When the micro regime stops making sense
- Your real expenses exceed the allowance. If costs are well above 34% (BNC) or 50% (services), the flat allowance overstates your profit and you overpay.
- You are near the ceilings. Sustained turnover above the limits forces you out anyway; plan the transition.
- You want to reclaim VAT on big purchases, which the franchise regime does not allow.
- You need to build corporate structure or bring in partners, where an EURL or SASU fits better.
Practical tips for micro-entrepreneurs
- Declare turnover on time each month or quarter even if it is zero; missed declarations trigger penalties.
- Open a dedicated bank account once turnover is significant, as required above a threshold.
- Keep a simple revenue register and all invoices; the regime is light on accounting but not lawless.
- Show the mention "TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI" on invoices while you remain under the VAT franchise.
- Remember the CFE (cotisation foncière des entreprises), a local business tax most micro-entrepreneurs pay from their second year, exempt in year one and below a small turnover floor.
- Set money aside from every payment for the charges you have not yet paid.
The CFE and other easy-to-forget costs
Beyond social charges and income tax, most micro-entrepreneurs eventually owe the CFE, a local tax based on your commune rather than your profit. It is waived in your first calendar year and for very low turnovers, but a typical established micro-entrepreneur pays somewhere from around one to several hundred euros a year. Because it lands as a single bill in December, it surprises people who budgeted only for the monthly URSSAF percentage. Factor it in, along with professional liability insurance where your activity requires it, so your take-home projection is honest.
Run your own numbers
The micro-entrepreneur regime is genuinely excellent for low-cost service businesses and a poor fit for high-cost ones. The only way to know which side you are on is to calculate it. Use our France micro-entrepreneur tax calculator to see your social charges and income tax for 2026 in seconds, compare France with other countries using the compare taxes by country tool, and set aside the right amount each month with the tax set-aside calculator. Unsure what BIC, BNC or abattement mean? The tax glossary has plain-English definitions.
Before you register or file, know your number. Enter your turnover and activity in the micro-entrepreneur calculator now and see exactly what you will owe.