The micro-entrepreneur status: what your contributions buy you
One rate on turnover, but behind it a defined package of social cover, with its strengths and its blind spots.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
What your contributions pay for
Share going to your pension
67.4 %
| Basic pension | €3,564 |
| Supplementary pension | €1,613 |
| Health, sick pay | €315 |
| Disability and death | €253 |
CSG-CRDS: 25.2 % of contributions, giving no rights of its own.
The French micro-entrepreneur status, also called auto-entrepreneur, combines two simplified regimes: the micro-social regime, where social contributions are a percentage of the turnover you receive, and the micro-fiscal regime, where income tax applies to turnover minus a flat allowance. Those contributions buy real cover. Health insurance is handled by the CPAM, the local branch of the French state health insurance, and sick pay, maternity and paternity benefits are calculated on turnover after the allowance of 71 %, 50 % or 34 % depending on the activity. Since 1 January 2026 the split has changed without touching the overall rate: for an unregulated liberal profession (independent professional services such as consulting), 67.4 % of contributions fund basic and supplementary pensions, and 25.2 % go to the CSG-CRDS social levies, which give no rights of their own. On €30,000 of liberal turnover, that is €5,176 for pensions. These are estimates, not personal advice; the Urssaf sets the amounts.
One status, two simplified regimes
People speak of the auto-entrepreneur status, but it is mainly a way of calculating. On the social side sits the micro-social regime: a fixed rate on every euro received, declared monthly or quarterly (service-public, sheet F36232). On the tax side, the micro-fiscal regime: a flat allowance stands in for real costs. The two go together. The micro-fiscal ceiling, €83,600 for services and €203,100 for sales, also governs the micro-social regime: going over it two years running takes you out of both (service-public, sheet F32353). Turnover limits are detailed on the turnover ceilings page.
This page looks at the other side: what the contributions buy. The rates themselves are explained on micro-enterprise contributions.
What €30,000 of turnover pays for
The table applies the split in force since 1 January 2026 (decree no. 2025-943 of 8 September 2025) to the contributions the engine calculates for the same yearly turnover. The last row shows the income the health insurance uses to calculate sick pay.
| For €30,000 received | Sales | BIC services | Liberal BNC | Cipav |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total contributions | €3,690 | €6,360 | €7,680 | €6,960 |
| Basic and supplementary pension | €2,332 | €4,020 | €5,176 | €4,190 |
| Health and sick pay | €371 | €639 | €315 | €793 |
| Disability and death | €116 | €200 | €253 | €97 |
| CSG-CRDS, no rights of its own | €871 | €1,501 | €1,935 | €1,879 |
| Income used for sick pay | €8,700 | €15,000 | €19,800 | €19,800 |
Two things stand out. Sales pay little, €3,690, and so fund little pension in euros, even if the share is high in percentage terms. And sales also have the lowest income for sick pay, €8,700, because the 71 % allowance is the largest: a shopkeeper off sick is paid on an income far below turnover.
Health: the CPAM and sick pay
Micro-entrepreneurs belong to the CPAM for health insurance (Urssaf, key facts about the scheme). Contributions open rights to daily allowances, the French indemnités journalières, during sickness, maternity or paternity leave. The weak point is the base: turnover after the allowance. A liberal professional on €30,000 is covered on €19,800, a commercial service provider on €15,000. The lower the turnover, the lower those benefits.
Pensions: the growing share
The 2026 reform did not change the headline rate; it moved the money. The CSG-CRDS, which creates no rights, shrinks; the basic and supplementary pensions, which do, grow (Urssaf, reform of self-employed contributions). For an unregulated liberal profession, 46.4 % of contributions now go to the basic pension and 21.0 % to the supplementary one. The liberal rate had already risen in steps, from 21.1 % until June 2024 to 24.6 % in 2025, then 25.6 % in 2026.
What those euros are worth in pension rights depends on the turnover declared over the whole year; this site does not estimate the quarters validated. The simple rule: low turnover means low contributions and therefore thin rights.
Cipav professions
Architects, consulting engineers, osteopaths, psychologists, ski instructors, tour guides and some other regulated professions belong to the Cipav, a separate pension fund. Their rate is 23.2 % and the split differs: 30.7 % for the supplementary pension, more than for the basic pension (29.5 %), and 11.4 % for health. The full list is on the Cipav professions page.
Paying more: the minimum contributions option
A micro-entrepreneur who starts slowly may find the resulting rights too thin. You can ask the Urssaf to contribute on a minimum base, before 31 December for the following year or within three months of starting. You then leave the proportional calculation for the one used for other self-employed people. It is a trade-off: it raises what you pay in lean years. This site does not simulate it.
When the status is no longer enough
The status rests on capped turnover and flat-rate costs. When the business grows, or you want cover built differently, the alternatives are a sole trader on real profit, a company or portage salarial (umbrella employment), compared on choosing a freelance legal status. In the French overseas territories, reduced rates apply for three years; they are not modelled here. As everywhere on this site, the figures are estimates: the Urssaf and the health insurance set your actual rights. The overview of the scheme is on the micro-enterprise scheme.