Registering a micro-enterprise: the steps and your first year
One online filing, two options you must settle almost at once, and a first year that follows its own rules.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Your timeline if you start in 2026
2026 turnover ceiling
€27,943
| Days trading in 2026 | 122 |
| Any Acre relief until end of | June 2027 |
| CFE | €0 in 2026, base halved in 2027 |
To register as a micro-entrepreneur in France in 2026, the simplified self-employed status also called auto-entrepreneur, you file a start-of-business declaration online on the guichet unique, the single government portal for business formalities, and receive proof of registration with your company number, the Siret. A few choices follow almost immediately. Acre, the start-up relief on social contributions, is no longer automatic: you must apply to the Urssaf, the body that collects contributions, within 60 days of starting, and only certain profiles qualify. The versement libératoire, a flat-rate income tax paid with your contributions, must be chosen at registration or by the last day of the third month afterwards. You also pick monthly or quarterly returns. The first year has its own ceiling, pro-rated to the days you trade: €70,087 for services started on 1 March 2026 instead of €83,600. No CFE, the local business tax, is charged for the year you start. These figures are estimates; the Urssaf and the tax office set what you actually owe.
The registration steps, in order
Everything happens online. You declare the start of your business on the guichet unique des formalités des entreprises, the single online portal for all business formalities. You describe what you do, and that description sets your tax and social category: selling goods, commercial or craft services, or a liberal profession (the French term for independent professional services such as consulting, design or coaching). At the end you get proof of registration and the Siret number that identifies the business on invoices and in dealings with the authorities.
That category matters more than it looks, because it fixes your contribution rate for as long as you trade. In 2026 it is 12.3 % for sales, 21.2 % for commercial or craft services and 25.6 % for unregulated liberal professions (Urssaf, key facts about the scheme). If you mix several kinds of work, see the turnover ceilings page.
- File the start of business on the guichet unique and keep the proof of registration.
- If you meet one of the conditions, apply to the Urssaf for Acre within 60 days.
- Decide on the flat-rate income tax before the end of the third month.
- Choose monthly or quarterly turnover returns.
- Write « TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI » on every invoice while you stay below the VAT threshold. It tells clients you are exempt from charging VAT.
Your first-year calendar by start month
Starting in January or in November leads to different limits. The ceiling covers only the days you actually trade (service-public, sheet F32353), and any Acre relief runs to the end of the third calendar quarter after the one in which you start (service-public, sheet F11677). The table assumes you start on the first day of the month.
| Start of trading | Days in 2026 | Sales ceiling | Services ceiling | Any Acre until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2026 | 365 | €203,100 | €83,600 | 31 December 2026 |
| 1 March 2026 | 306 | €170,270 | €70,087 | 31 December 2026 |
| 1 May 2026 | 245 | €136,327 | €56,115 | 31 March 2027 |
| 1 July 2026 | 184 | €102,385 | €42,144 | 30 June 2027 |
| 1 September 2026 | 122 | €67,885 | €27,943 | 30 June 2027 |
| 1 November 2026 | 61 | €33,943 | €13,972 | 30 September 2027 |
A late start shrinks the first-year ceiling a lot, which matters if you already have a large contract lined up. The relief, on the other hand, lasts more months when you start early in a quarter. The official example: starting on 3 September 2026 gives relief until 30 June 2027, ten months in all.
A worked case: a graphic designer starting on 1 September
She works as a liberal profession and receives €12,000 between September and December. Her first return cannot be filed before ninety days of trading. Without Acre, her contributions for the period come to €3,072. If she qualifies and applies in time, the reduced rate for businesses started from 1 July 2026, 19.2 %, brings that down to €2,304, a saving of €768 over four months.
For VAT (TVA in French), her turnover is scaled up to a full year: €12,000 × 365 / 122 days gives €35,902, below the services exemption threshold of €37,500. She therefore stays exempt and invoices without VAT. If she chooses the flat-rate income tax, she adds €264 of tax to her payments for the period, at 2.2 %. And she owes no CFE for 2026.
Acre: you now have to ask for it
Until 2025 many founders received it without doing anything. Since 1 January 2026 you must apply, and only if you belong to one of the groups listed: jobseekers receiving unemployment benefit, unpaid jobseekers registered for six of the last eighteen months, people on RSA or ASS (French minimum income benefits), people aged 18 to 25 (29 with a disability), founders in a priority urban district or a designated rural revitalisation zone, among others (Urssaf, the new Acre rules). You must not have had Acre in the previous three years. Rates are on the Acre page.
The flat-rate tax option: a narrow window
This option swaps income tax on the progressive scale for a percentage of turnover, paid with your contributions. It can be chosen at registration or within three months (service-public, sheet F23267), and only if your household reference income, the revenu fiscal de référence shown on your French tax notice, is at most €29,315 per share for 2026. If you have just arrived and have no French tax notice yet, check your position with the tax office before opting. The figures are compared on the flat-rate tax page.
CFE: two years of partial relief
The CFE, cotisation foncière des entreprises, applies to every business owner, even one working from home. It is not charged for the year you start; the following year the base is halved (service-public, sheet F23547). The amount depends on your commune, the local authority: the CFE tool estimates it for yours.
Minimum contributions, an option worth knowing
By default, low turnover means low contributions and therefore few benefit rights. You can ask the Urssaf, before the end of the third month after you start, to pay on a minimum base instead; your contributions are then calculated like those of other self-employed people. This site does not model that option.
All amounts here are estimates built on the published 2026 parameters, not personal advice; the Urssaf and the tax office decide what is due. Next, read how turnover returns work and how much turnover you need.