Consultants, developers and designers on the French micro scheme
The highest rate in the scheme, raised three times since mid-2024, with the smallest tax allowance.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Your activity in figures
Monthly take-home, single
€2,751
| Contribution rate | 25.6 % |
| Training + chamber levy a month | €8 |
| Income tax a month | €217 |
| Annual ceiling for this activity | €83,600 |
Most freelancers who move to France and sell know-how, consulting, software development, design, copywriting, training or coaching, fall into the BNC category (bénéfices non commerciaux, non-commercial profits) as unregulated professionals. Under the micro-enterprise scheme they pay social contributions of 25.6 % on fees received in 2026, up from 21.1 % until June 2024, plus a 0.2 % training levy and no chamber levy. For income tax the State assumes only 34 % of fees are costs, the smallest allowance in the scheme, and the flat-rate tax option costs 2.2 % of fees. The ceiling is €83,600; VAT exemption stops at €37,500. A single consultant receiving €40,000 pays €10,240 of contributions, €80 of training levy and €1,468 of income tax, keeping €28,212, or €2,351 a month before the CFE local business tax and costs. Some regulated professions belong to the Cipav fund and have their own rate.
Who falls under BNC
An unregulated professional sells intellectual services, consulting, software, design, writing, training, coaching, and is not on the list of professions attached to the Cipav pension fund. Health cover comes from the CPAM, France’s public health insurer. A closed list of professions, from architects to ski instructors, belongs to the Cipav instead, at 23.2 %: see Cipav professions. What decides is the activity you declare when registering, not the job title on your website.
A rate raised three times
No other category moved as much (Urssaf, mon-entreprise).
| Period | BNC rate | Contributions on €40,000 |
|---|---|---|
| until June 2024 | 21.1 % | €8,440 |
| July to December 2024 | 23.1 % | €9,240 |
| 2025 | 24.6 % | €9,840 |
| 2026 | 25.6 % | €10,240 |
Since mid-2024, a consultant on €40,000 pays €1,800 more each year. What it buys shows in the 2026 split (decree no. 2025-943): 46.4 % to basic pension, 21.0 % to supplementary pension, only 4.1 % to health, 3.3 % to disability and death cover, and 25.2 % to the CSG-CRDS social levies.
What you keep, from €20,000 to €80,000
| Fees received | Contributions and CFP | Income tax (scale) | Kept per year | Per month | VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €20,000 | €5,160 | €0 | €14,840 | €1,237 | exempt |
| €40,000 | €10,320 | €1,468 | €28,212 | €2,351 | exempt up to upper limit |
| €60,000 | €15,480 | €4,984 | €39,536 | €3,295 | VAT due |
| €80,000 | €20,640 | €8,944 | €50,416 | €4,201 | VAT due |
These figures leave out the CFE and real costs, laptop, software, coworking, travel, which the micro scheme never deducts. A developer on €60,000 keeps €3,295 a month before those. At that level a company may be worth a look: see micro-enterprise or SASU.
A small allowance means more tax
The tax office assumes a freelancer spends 34 % of fees (sheet F23267), against 50 % for a tradesperson. On €40,000, €26,400 becomes taxable. For a single person that means €1,468 on the scale, while the versement libératoire (flat-rate tax paid with contributions) at 2.2 % would cost €880. You choose it when registering or before 30 September for the next year, subject to an income test: see the flat-rate option.
The same allowance shapes sick pay, which is based on fees after the 34 % cut. With only 4.1 % of BNC contributions going to health, cover during illness is thin.
Thresholds: VAT first, ceiling later
VAT exemption ends at €37,500 of fees, with leeway up to €41,250 during the year. Business clients who reclaim VAT barely notice; private clients do. The €83,600 ceiling is pro-rated in year one: starting on 1 March 2026 gives €70,087, the example service-public uses. See the VAT threshold.
CFE exemptions worth knowing
Some freelancers never pay the CFE: teachers who give their own lessons at home or in unsigned premises, translators, authors and composers earning copyright royalties, author-photographers and artist illustrators. For others it starts in year two at half rate; the commune-by-commune calculator gives the figure.
BNC or Cipav: the gap in euros
On the same €40,000, a BNC consultant pays €10,240 of contributions and a Cipav osteopath €9,280. Training levy, allowance and flat-rate option are the same; only the rate and the split between risks differ (Urssaf).
Your first year as a freelancer in France
If you qualify for Acre, the start-up relief that now has to be claimed within 60 days, your BNC rate drops to 19.2 % for a start from 1 July 2026 (12.8 % for earlier starts) until the end of the third calendar quarter after you begin; see Acre. Your first Urssaf return comes at least ninety days after your start date. Low earners sometimes worry about thin pension rights: the Urssaf lets you ask for minimum contributions, before 31 December for the following year or within three months of starting, which moves you to the standard self-employed calculation. This site does not model that option. Finally, keep invoices and bank receipts apart from personal spending: you declare what you actually received in each period, and that figure drives everything above.
All figures are estimates from 2026 rates, not personal advice; the Urssaf and the tax office set what is due. Developers can compare legal forms on freelance developer.