Invoicing a service as a micro-entrepreneur in France
What to ask the client so that the amount you want is left, and what changes with the nature of the service.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
The price to charge to keep a target net
Price to charge before VAT
€1,348
| Contributions and levies included | 25.8 % |
| Amount taken on the job | €348 |
Before income tax, which depends on your household.
To keep €1,000 from a service invoiced as a French micro-entrepreneur in 2026, the simplified self-employed status, you need to charge €1,348 before VAT if the work is a liberal profession (BNC, independent professional services such as consulting or design), €1,271 for a commercial service (BIC) and €1,282 for a craftsperson. The difference comes from what is taken from the price: 25.6 % of contributions plus a 0.2 % training levy for liberal work, 21.2 % plus the training and chamber levies for BIC. With the versement libératoire, an optional flat-rate income tax of 2.2 % for liberal work, the price rises to €1,389. While turnover stays below the services exemption threshold of €37,500, or below the higher €41,250 threshold during the year, you invoice without VAT (TVA in French) and add the note « TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI ». The scheme ceiling for services is €83,600. These are estimates before income tax on the scale, not personal advice.
Start from what you want to keep
Under the micro scheme, everything the client pays you before VAT is turnover, and the Urssaf, the body that collects social contributions, takes a fixed percentage of it (Urssaf, key facts about the scheme). For a service, the useful question is therefore: what price leaves the amount I want after those deductions? The arithmetic is simple, the target divided by one minus the total rate, but the rate depends on the nature of the service. The table gives the answer for four amounts.
| Target net | Commercial service (BIC) | Craftsperson (BIC) | Liberal profession (BNC) | Liberal with flat-rate tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €500 | €636 | €641 | €674 | €694 |
| €1,000 | €1,271 | €1,282 | €1,348 | €1,389 |
| €2,500 | €3,178 | €3,204 | €3,369 | €3,472 |
| €5,000 | €6,357 | €6,409 | €6,739 | €6,944 |
The rates used: 21.34 % for a commercial service, 21.98 % for a craftsperson, 25.8 % for a liberal profession and 28.0 % for a liberal profession with the flat-rate tax. A craftsperson pays slightly more than a trader for the same service because of the 0.3 % training levy and the 0.48 % trades-chamber levy (service-public, sheet F32847).
BIC or BNC: the nature of the service decides
The single English word service covers two French tax categories. Commercial or craft services, such as repairs, cleaning or maintenance, are BIC, bénéfices industriels et commerciaux. Unregulated liberal activities, such as consulting or design done as a liberal profession, are BNC, bénéfices non commerciaux. Some regulated professions belong to the Cipav pension fund, at 23.2 %. The category follows from the activity declared at registration and appears on every return.
The gap goes beyond contributions. For income tax on the scale, the flat allowance is 50 % for BIC and 34 % for BNC (service-public, sheet F23267). On €40,000 of services, taxable income is €20,000 under BIC against €26,400 under BNC. A liberal service therefore bears both more contributions and more tax than a commercial service of the same amount. The trades concerned are covered on liberal professions under micro and craft trades under micro.
A €3,000 job, line by line
A consultant invoices €3,000 before VAT for an advisory job. As a liberal profession, the Urssaf takes €768 of contributions and €6 of training levy, leaving €2,226. With the flat-rate tax, €66 is added and the income tax on that job is settled. Without it, tax comes the following year, on income after the allowance.
The same amount received for a commercial service leaves €2,360 after €636 of contributions, €3 of training levy and €1 of chamber levy. To think in day rates rather than fixed fees, use the day-rate calculator; TJM, taux journalier moyen, is the French term for a freelance day rate.
The invoice: what it must say about VAT
While you benefit from the franchise en base, the French small-business VAT exemption, you invoice without VAT and every invoice carries the note « TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI ». For services the exemption holds up to €37,500 of turnover in the previous year, with a higher threshold of €41,250 during the current year (service-public, sheet F21746). These are far lower than the thresholds for sales, €85,000 and €93,500.
The trap specific to services is the big invoice late in the year. A provider who has received €39,000 is between the threshold and the higher threshold; one more €3,000 job brings the total to €42,000, above the higher threshold. VAT is then due from the day it is crossed, so that invoice must show it. You then need an EU VAT number from the SIE, the business tax office, and must track VAT collected and VAT you can deduct. Turnover declared to the Urssaf stays a before-VAT figure. Details are on the VAT threshold page.
The services ceiling and mixed activities
The micro scheme accepts up to €83,600 of services a year (service-public, sheet F32353). If you also sell goods, total turnover must not exceed €203,100, of which at most €83,600 in services: the ceiling is not doubled. Each part keeps its own rate and allowance, with a minimum allowance of €610 in total. Going over the ceiling once is tolerated; two years in a row takes you out of the scheme; see the turnover ceilings.
Setting your price without mistakes
Three habits help. Think before VAT, since any VAT you collect is never yours. Build the flat-rate tax into the price if you chose it, because it is paid along with contributions; whether it pays off is covered on the flat-rate tax page. And add your real costs for the job, travel or materials, which the micro scheme does not deduct. The mini-calculator at the top of the page runs the numbers for your own target. Results are estimates; the Urssaf and the tax office set the amounts actually due.