Income tax on a French micro-enterprise, from turnover to the amount due
The tax office ignores your actual costs: it removes a fixed percentage, then applies the scale to your whole household.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Income tax on your business
Tax due to the business
€3,004
| Flat allowance | €17,000 |
| Taxable business income | €33,000 |
| Household marginal rate | 30 % |
| Share of turnover | 6.0 % |
A French micro-entrepreneur pays income tax on turnover minus a flat allowance (abattement) that replaces actual business costs: 71 % for selling goods and accommodation, 50 % for commercial or craft services, 34 % for freelance professions, with a minimum of €305. What remains is added to the rest of the household’s income and taxed on the progressive scale. France taxes the foyer fiscal, the tax household, not the individual: income is divided by a number of shares (one per adult, half or more per child), taxed band by band, then multiplied back. In 2026 a single freelance developer with no other income who receives €70,000 reports €46,200 of taxable income and owes €6,964, with a marginal rate of 30 %. Her real costs play no part. At low turnover a discount called the décote removes much of the bill; for a couple, the family quotient cuts it sharply. The only alternative is the flat-rate option, open to households under an income limit.
From turnover to taxable income
Under the micro tax regime you never prepare a profit and loss account. The tax office starts from the turnover you report and removes a percentage set by law for your category of activity (service-public, sheet F23267). The allowance cannot be lower than €305 or larger than the turnover itself.
| Activity | Allowance | Taxable income on €40,000 received |
|---|---|---|
| Selling goods, accommodation (BIC) | 71 % | €11,600 |
| Commercial or craft services (BIC) | 50 % | €20,000 |
| Freelance professions (BNC), Cipav included | 34 % | €26,400 |
The minimum only matters for tiny amounts: a freelancer who receives €600 in the year gets a €305 allowance rather than €204, leaving €295 taxable. With a mixed activity, the minimum becomes €610.
The resulting figure is a legal construct, not what you actually earned. For a business with no costs it understates income; for one with heavy costs it overstates it.
Then the household scale
If you come from a country that taxes each person separately, this is the big adjustment. In France, a couple taxed together files one return and pools its income. Your taxable micro income joins salaries, pensions and any other income of the household; the total is divided by the number of shares, taxed band by band, then multiplied back (service-public, sheet F1419). The scale in force is the one set by the 2026 budget for 2025 income.
| Income per share | Rate |
|---|---|
| €0 to €11,600 | 0 % |
| €11,601 to €29,579 | 11 % |
| €29,580 to €84,577 | 30 % |
| €84,578 to €181,917 | 41 % |
| above €181,917 | 45 % |
Two adjustments matter for small businesses. The décote: when a single person’s gross tax is no more than €1,982, €897 minus 45.25 % of that tax is taken off (service-public, sheet F34328). The quotient cap: each half share for a child cannot cut tax by more than €1,807 (service-public, sheet F2705). Any tax under €61 is not collected.
Four turnover levels for a freelancer
The engine works out the tax due to the business for a single person with no other income, then for a couple for whom it is the only income.
| Turnover | Taxable income | Tax, single | Tax, couple | Marginal rate, single |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €20,000 | €13,200 | €0 | €0 | 11 % |
| €40,000 | €26,400 | €1,468 | €0 | 11 % |
| €60,000 | €39,600 | €4,984 | €1,137 | 30 % |
| €80,000 | €52,800 | €8,944 | €3,246 | 30 % |
The curve is steep. Between €40,000 and €60,000 of receipts the single person’s tax more than triples, as taxable income enters the 30 % band and the décote disappears. The couple stays in the 11 % band much longer.
With other household income, everything shifts upwards: the business is taxed from whatever marginal rate the salaries have already reached. The mini-calculator at the top lets you add that income; for a business run alongside a job see a side business with a job.
The yearly return
Each spring the previous year’s gross turnover goes on the supplementary return 2042-C-PRO, in the box for your category, with nothing deducted. The Urssaf provides a tax certificate in February in your online account that repeats the amounts you declared (Urssaf, key facts about the scheme). The full calendar is on declaring your turnover.
Scale or flat-rate option
Subject to a reference income test, the versement libératoire replaces this tax with 1 % to 2.2 % of turnover, paid alongside contributions. It suits households already taxed at 11 % or more and penalises those the décote protects. And if your real costs clearly exceed the allowance, look at moving to real profit.
These amounts are estimates computed on the published scale, not personal advice; only the French tax office sets your tax.