A €400 day rate: the micro ceiling comes within reach
At this rate the micro-enterprise ceiling is a matter of a few days, and one year above it passes without leaving the scheme.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
This day rate by legal form
Annual turnover
€80,000
| Micro (BNC), monthly | €4,201 |
| EURL, monthly | €3,875 |
| SASU, monthly | €3,808 |
| Umbrella (8% fee), monthly | €3,018 |
On a €400 day rate, the €83,600 turnover ceiling of a micro-enterprise (France’s simplified self-employed scheme) for services is reached after 209 billed days, and day 210 takes you over. Up to 200 days, the micro-enterprise still leaves the most: €4,201 a month against €3,875 in an EURL (single-member limited company), for a single person with no expenses or other income. At 220 days turnover reaches €88,000. French rules tolerate an isolated overshoot: the scheme still applies in a year if either of the two previous years stayed under the ceiling. That year, micro leaves €4,564 a month. Two years running above it and you leave on the following 1 January; the EURL, the engine’s best option at that level, then leaves €4,200. The VAT exemption is gone much earlier, on day 94. These figures are estimates, not personal advice.
209 days: where the micro ceiling closes
At €400 a day, the ceiling stops being theoretical. 209 billed days come to exactly €83,600, the 2026 limit for services (service-public, sheet F32353); the next day takes you over. 209 days is a volume a freelancer on a long assignment reaches without trying, whereas at €300 it stayed out of reach. The scheme has a safety valve: one year above does not push you out. Micro applies as long as turnover in the previous year, or the year before, stayed under the ceiling. In practice, one big isolated year passes; two big years in a row move you to the real-profit regime (régime réel, where tax and contributions are based on actual profit) on the next 1 January. The question is not whether you will cross once, but whether that pace will last. A full-time contract renewed year after year points to a company before the second year; a one-off peak is handled by staying micro.
Take-home by days billed, tolerated year included
| Days billed | Turnover | Micro (BNC) | EI, real profit | EURL, corporate tax | SASU | Umbrella |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 160 | €64,000 | €3,476 | €3,068 | €3,180 | €3,075 | €2,573 |
| 180 | €72,000 | €3,839 | €3,412 | €3,540 | €3,451 | €2,794 |
| 200 | €80,000 | €4,201 | €3,733 | €3,875 | €3,808 | €3,018 |
| 220 | €88,000 | €4,564 (tolerated year) | €4,044 | €4,200 | €4,150 | €3,256 |
Up to 200 days, micro keeps its lead, €327 a month over the EURL. The 220-day row shows micro in its tolerated year: €4,564, still above every other option. The cost comes the year after, if the pace holds: then compare with the EURL column, the best placed in the legal form comparison.
What actually counts towards the ceiling
The ceiling applies to turnover received in the calendar year, before VAT. A December invoice paid in January counts in the year you are paid. On €400 a day, a few days billed in late December and settled in January can make the difference between 209 and 214 days counted. In your first year the ceiling is prorated: a business started on 1 March has €70,087, or 175 days at this rate (Urssaf). The turnover ceiling page covers mixed activities.
Preparing the exit before year two
If two full years are coming, leaving micro is not a penalty but a change of method. As a sole trader on real profit, contributions follow the 2026 self-employed scale (Urssaf) and are adjusted the following year, unlike micro contributions, which are final (service-public, sheet F36232). On 220 days the EURL comes first at €4,200, with the SASU at €4,150. VAT has applied for a while by then: at this rate, the €37,500 threshold goes on day 94 (service-public, sheet F21746).
At the next level, a €500 day rate, micro no longer lasts a full year. The day rate calculator tests your own number of days. These are estimates: the Urssaf and the tax office set the final figures.