Corporate tax for a small French company, band by band
Two rates, one profit threshold and one capital condition: that is the whole corporate tax bill of a one-person company.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Corporate tax on your profit
Corporate tax
€10,750
| At 15 % up to €42,500 | €6,375 |
| At 25 % above | €4,375 |
| Average rate | 17.9 % |
| Profit after tax | €49,250 |
If you trade through a French company such as a SASU or an EURL, its profit pays impôt sur les sociétés, or IS, France’s corporate tax. In 2026 the first €42,500 of taxable profit is taxed at 15 % and anything above at 25 %. The lower band requires share capital that is fully paid up and at least three-quarters owned by individuals, which a founder who paid in all of their contribution normally meets. A company making €70,000 owes €13,250, an average rate of 18.9 %; at €120,000 the bill reaches €25,750. Your own pay and the contributions on it are deducted before the tax is worked out. Profit left after IS can be kept in the company or paid out as dividends, which then bear the 31.4 % flat tax. One euro of profit taxed in the lower band and then distributed leaves you €0.58; in the upper band, €0.51.
The 2026 scale on two lines
French corporate tax works in bands, like income tax, but there are only two (service-public, sheet F23575). Profit up to €42,500 is taxed at 15 %; the rest, with no upper limit, at 25 %. Crossing the threshold by one euro does not drag the whole profit into the higher rate: only that extra euro is taxed at 25 %.
Every qualifying company gets the same lower band, whatever its size. Compared with paying the full rate on everything, it is worth at most €4,250 a year. For a freelancer’s company with modest profit, that band is most of the bill.
| Taxable profit | Corporate tax | Average rate | Profit after tax | Net dividends after flat tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €15,000 | €2,250 | 15.0 % | €12,750 | €8,747 |
| €42,500 | €6,375 | 15.0 % | €36,125 | €24,782 |
| €70,000 | €13,250 | 18.9 % | €56,750 | €38,931 |
| €120,000 | €25,750 | 21.5 % | €94,250 | €64,656 |
The average rate climbs slowly: 15 % up to the threshold, then edging towards 25 % without ever reaching it. On €120,000 of profit it is 21.5 %.
Who gets the reduced rate
Two tests, both required. The share capital must be fully paid up: shareholders have actually transferred everything they committed to. And at least three-quarters of it must belong to individuals, or to a company that passes the same test. A SASU (a single-shareholder simplified company) whose founder subscribed and paid all the capital qualifies. The trap is partial payment: as long as some of the capital is still owed, profit is taxed at 25 % from the first euro.
What the tax is worked out on
Taxable profit is turnover minus the company’s costs, and those costs include what you pay yourself. As president of a SASU you are treated like an employee, so your total cost includes the employer contributions of the general scheme. As manager of an EURL (a single-member limited company) taxed under IS, the company covers your pay and your self-employed contributions, worked out on the base reformed in 2026.
A SASU worked through
A consulting SASU makes €80,000 before paying its president. With no salary, corporate tax is €15,750. If she pays herself €30,000 gross for the year, the company spends €42,039 including employer contributions; profit drops to €37,961 and the tax to €5,694. She receives €23,704 net before income tax, and that salary earns social rights a dividend does not. The full trade-off is on salary or dividends.
After corporate tax: paying it out
Profit after tax can stay in the company or be distributed. Once distributed it is a dividend, taxed under the flat tax (PFU) of 31.4 %: 12.8 % income tax plus 18.6 % social levies. You may instead choose the progressive income tax scale with a 40 % allowance on the dividend. When the dividend is paid, the company withholds 12.8 % as an advance on income tax.
Put together, corporate tax and the flat tax leave you 58.3 % of profit taxed in the lower band and 51.5 % of profit taxed at 25 %. Hence the case for checking each year whether a salary would bring the remaining profit under €42,500.
EURL managers: one more layer
In an EURL, dividends paid to the managing sole member above 10 % of share capital, share premium and partner current accounts also carry self-employed contributions. Corporate tax is identical to a SASU; what changes is the cost of taking the money out. See EURL dividends.
Using the mini-calculator
Enter the year’s taxable profit, after your pay and contributions. It shows the part taxed at each rate, the average rate and the profit left. It assumes the company qualifies for the lower band. To start from turnover and let the engine find the best pay split, use the SASU calculator or the EURL calculator.
These figures are estimates built from the published rules. The French tax office alone sets the tax actually due, and nothing here replaces advice on your own situation.