VAT and the French micro-entrepreneur: exemption, thresholds and switching over
Below the threshold your invoices carry no VAT; above it they do, even if you stay in the micro scheme.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
VAT exemption: where do you stand?
Your position
Tolerance: VAT from next 1 January
| Exemption threshold | €37,500 |
| Upper threshold | €41,250 |
| Room below upper threshold | €2,250 |
Thresholds apply to turnover received in the calendar year (service-public, sheet F21746).
In 2026 a French micro-entrepreneur does not charge VAT (TVA in French) as long as yearly turnover stays under €37,500 for services or €85,000 for selling goods and accommodation. The French call this the franchise en base de TVA, a basic VAT exemption. If turnover passes that threshold but stays below the upper threshold, €41,250 for services and €93,500 for goods, the exemption lasts until the end of the year and VAT starts on the following 1 January. Above the upper threshold, VAT is due from the day you cross it. A single €25,000 threshold planned in the 2025 budget was dropped, service-public confirms. These VAT limits sit well below the micro-enterprise ceiling, so a consultant can charge VAT while remaining a micro-entrepreneur up to €83,600. Social contributions are still worked out on turnover before VAT, never on the VAT you collect for the State.
The 2026 exemption limits
Many newcomers assume that a small business either registers for VAT or does not, once and for all. In France the basic exemption follows your turnover year by year: no VAT to charge or pay over while the calendar year’s receipts stay below a limit set by activity (service-public, sheet F21746). Each category has two numbers, the threshold and an upper threshold that acts as a hard stop during the year.
| Activity | Exemption threshold | Upper threshold | Micro ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Services, freelance professions | €37,500 | €41,250 | €83,600 |
| Selling goods, accommodation | €85,000 | €93,500 | €203,100 |
| Lawyers, regulated activities | €50,000 | €55,000 | €83,600 |
The last column shows the gap that catches people out: for services, €42,350 separate the upper VAT threshold from the micro ceiling. In that band you are still a micro-entrepreneur, with the same contributions and the same Urssaf return, but you charge VAT. The single €25,000 threshold voted for 2025 and then dropped is not in force.
Three bands, three outcomes
Below the threshold, nothing to do. Between the threshold and the upper threshold, you finish the year without VAT and start charging it on 1 January. Above the upper threshold, VAT is due from the day you cross it, on the sale that pushes you over and every one after. The site’s engine sorts six businesses by their 2026 receipts.
| Business | 2026 turnover | Threshold | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web designer | €36,000 | €37,500 | Exempt, no VAT |
| Trainer | €39,500 | €37,500 | VAT from next 1 January |
| Photographer | €44,000 | €37,500 | VAT from the day you cross |
| Online grocer | €82,000 | €85,000 | Exempt, no VAT |
| Second-hand dealer | €90,000 | €85,000 | VAT from next 1 January |
| Coffee roaster | €97,000 | €85,000 | VAT from the day you cross |
The trainer sits in the tolerance band: €39,500 received is more than €37,500 but less than €41,250, so nothing changes before 31 December. The photographer has passed the upper threshold: VAT applies from the invoice that takes him over, although he still has €39,600 of room before the micro ceiling.
Your first year: scaled up to twelve months
If you start mid-year, turnover is scaled up to a full year before the comparison: turnover × 365 ÷ days of activity. This works the other way round from the micro ceiling, where the limit is reduced instead. A consultant who registers on 1 September 2026 and receives €13,000 by 31 December has 122 days of activity, so a full-year figure of €38,893. Four busy months can be enough to reach a threshold.
When VAT becomes due
The exemption wording leaves your invoices. You obtain an intra-EU VAT number from the SIE (service des impôts des entreprises, the business tax office), add VAT to your prices before tax, then declare the VAT you collected and the VAT you can deduct on purchases (Urssaf, key facts about the scheme). The rate depends on what you sell; check it on impots.gouv.fr before the first invoice.
For the photographer on €44,000, social contributions stay at €11,264, worked out before VAT. What changes is the price the client sees. Keep the pre-tax rate and the final invoice grows by the VAT; keep the all-in price and your own pre-tax income shrinks. The VAT you can now deduct on business purchases, camera bodies, lenses or software, offsets part of the hit.
Lawyers and authors
Lawyers are the one profession with a distinct published threshold for their regulated work: €50,000, with an upper threshold of €55,000. Their other services fall under a lower limit. None of this moves the micro ceiling, which stays at €83,600 for freelance professions. Authors paid for their works and rights also have specific limits, listed on the same service-public sheet; if your situation is unusual, ask your business tax office before your first invoice.
Plan ahead
Track your receipts month by month against both limits. As you approach €37,500, decide whether VAT goes on top of your prices or comes out of them, and tell private clients early. The mini-calculator at the top of this page shows your band and the room left. For invoicing in general see invoicing services, and for the scheme’s own limit see the turnover ceiling.
The situations described here are estimates based on published thresholds, not personal advice; your local tax office is the authority on your own case.