Architects, osteopaths and ski instructors: the Cipav micro rate
About twenty regulated professions pay a separate rate, slightly below other freelancers, with more of it going to pension.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Your activity in figures
Monthly take-home, single
€2,847
| Contribution rate | 23.2 % |
| Training + chamber levy a month | €8 |
| Income tax a month | €217 |
| Annual ceiling for this activity | €83,600 |
In France, a closed list of regulated professions is attached to the Cipav, a pension fund of its own for those professions. It includes architects, interior architects, project managers in construction, chartered surveyors, consulting engineers, osteopaths, psychologists, psychotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, chiropractors, psychomotor therapists, ski instructors, mountain guides, tour guides and court or car experts. As micro-entrepreneurs these professions pay social contributions of 23.2 % of fees received in 2026, against 25.6 % for unregulated freelancers, plus the same 0.2 % training levy and no chamber levy. The money is split differently: 30.7 % goes to the supplementary pension the Cipav runs. Income tax works as for any freelancer: a 34 % flat allowance, or the flat-rate option at 2.2 %. An osteopath receiving €40,000 pays €9,280 of contributions, €960 less than a consultant on the same fees, and keeps €29,172 over the year if single, before CFE local business tax and practice costs.
The official list
The Cipav does not cover every freelancer. Only the professions named by service-public, sheet F36232 stay attached to it; all other freelance work, consulting, IT, coaching, falls under the general BNC rules.
- building: architect, interior architect, construction economist, project manager (maître d’œuvre), chartered surveyor (géomètre expert);
- engineering: consulting engineer;
- mountains: ski instructor, high-mountain guide, mid-mountain leader;
- health and therapy: osteopath, psychologist, psychotherapist, occupational therapist, dietician, chiropractor, psychomotor therapist;
- arts: artist not covered by the Maison des artistes (the artists’ social security body);
- expertise: car expert, court expert, court-appointed guardian for adults;
- tourism: tour guide (guide-conférencier).
If your activity is not on the list, the 23.2 % rate does not apply to you, however close your job seems.
The 2026 rate and what it pays for
A Cipav micro-entrepreneur pays 23.2 % of fees plus a 0.2 % training levy, both collected by the Urssaf. The real difference from other freelancers is where the money goes (decree no. 2025-943 of 8 September 2025).
| Share of contributions, 2026 | Cipav | Unregulated freelance (BNC) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pension | 29.5 % | 46.4 % |
| Supplementary pension | 30.7 % | 21.0 % |
| Health and sick pay | 11.4 % | 4.1 % |
| Disability and death | 1.4 % | 3.3 % |
| CSG-CRDS levies | 27.0 % | 25.2 % |
For Cipav members the supplementary pension even edges past the basic one, and health gets 11.4 % rather than 4.1 %. Out of the €9,280 an osteopath on €40,000 pays, €2,849 goes to the supplementary scheme.
Three professions, three levels of activity
| Situation | Received | Contributions and CFP | Income tax (scale) | Kept per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ski instructor, one season | €18,000 | €4,212 | €0 | €13,788 | €1,149 |
| Full-time osteopath | €40,000 | €9,360 | €1,468 | €29,172 | €2,431 |
| Interior architect | €60,000 | €14,040 | €4,984 | €40,976 | €3,415 |
These amounts come before CFE, practice rent, equipment or professional insurance, none of which the micro scheme deducts.
Income tax follows BNC rules
For tax, Cipav membership changes nothing (sheet F23267). Fees are cut by the 34 % allowance and added to household income, or taxed at 2.2 % under the versement libératoire, a flat-rate payment made with your contributions. For a single interior architect on €60,000, the option costs €1,320 against €4,984 on the scale. The income test is on the flat-rate option.
Ceiling and VAT
The ceiling is the services one, €83,600. VAT exemption ends at €37,500 over the previous year, with leeway to €41,250. At €60,000 the interior architect charges VAT while staying a micro-entrepreneur. This site only covers the exemption thresholds; for any VAT rule specific to your profession, ask your tax office.
Acre, CFE and artists
Acre lowers the rate to 17.4 % for a start from 1 July 2026, 75 % of the normal rate (Urssaf); see Acre in 2026. The CFE local business tax applies from year two, but painters, sculptors, engravers and artist illustrators are among the automatic exemptions on the service-public list. Others can check the CFE calculator.
Outside the micro scheme
On real profit, a Cipav member pays pension contributions to the fund directly, on its own scale, which this site does not simulate. The calculator therefore covers these professions only under the micro scheme.
Opening a practice after moving to France
Once registered, you file your fees online with the Urssaf each month or each quarter and pay contributions at the same time; the first return comes at least ninety days after your start date, and the amounts are final, with no catch-up bill later. Health cover comes from the CPAM, the public health insurer, through those same contributions. If you fall ill, sick pay is worked out on fees after the 34 % allowance, roughly two thirds of what you received. In your first year, the €83,600 ceiling is reduced in proportion to the days you were trading; the tax office then checks it against full years from the third year on. Keep a simple ledger of every payment received with its date: it is the only figure the Urssaf asks for.
All figures are estimates based on 2026 rates, not personal advice; the Urssaf, the Cipav and the tax office set what you owe.