2026 Finance Act and the Liberal Professions: What Changes

Quick answer. The 2026 Finance Act indexes income tax brackets by 0.9%, extends the differential contribution on high incomes (a minimum tax equal to 20% of the reference taxable income above 250,000 / 500,000 €), and confirms that the professional remuneration of SEL partners is taxed under the BNC category. Three measures that directly affect liberal professionals.

For a doctor, a lawyer, a consultant or a healthcare professional, the Finance Act is not just a press headline. It determines how much net income remains after tax, when an advance payment is due, and sometimes the very relevance of your operating structure. The 2026 Finance Act (Law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026) does not overhaul the framework, but it confirms and extends several measures that primarily concern high incomes and partners of professional practice companies.

Our firm, registered with the Île-de-France Chartered Accountants Association, works daily with liberal professionals operating in their own name and through companies. This article separates what genuinely changes for you from background noise, with the structuring trade-offs these measures make more or less relevant.

This measure concerns every liberal professional, whatever their income level. Article 4 of the 2026 Finance Act raises the income tax brackets by 0.9% for the taxation of 2025 income. In practice, each bracket threshold rises slightly, offsetting part of the effect of inflation on your tax bill.

Here is the applicable scale, per family quotient share:

For a liberal professional whose profit rises roughly in line with inflation, this indexation avoids being mechanically pushed into the higher bracket. For a stable income, it very slightly reduces the tax due. Be aware, however, that the 41% marginal rate kicks in from 84,577 € of taxable income per share, a threshold many practitioners and lawyers reach quickly. The scale is set out in Article 197 of the French Tax Code.

Hayot Expertise tip. The scale drives your marginal rate, and therefore the trade-off between taking income now and deferring it. Before year-end, look at where your last euro of profit falls: at 30%, an investment or a retirement savings plan does not have the same tax efficiency as at 41%.

This is the point to watch for high-earning liberal professionals. The differential contribution on high incomes (CDHR), codified in Article 224 of the French Tax Code, was created by Article 10 of the 2025 Finance Act. The 2026 Finance Act extends it. Its principle: ensuring that the wealthiest tax households bear a minimum tax equal to 20% of their reference taxable income.

Who is affected?#

In practice, the CDHR tops up income tax and the exceptional contribution on high incomes when the household's effective tax rate, calculated on its reference taxable income, falls below 20%. This typically occurs when a significant share of income is taxed under the single flat-rate levy (dividends, capital gains), whose income tax component is below 20%.

2026 points of attention. The contribution due for 2026 gives rise to a 95% advance payment, due between 1 and 15 December 2026. This timetable is demanding: you must estimate your reference taxable income before year-end, rather than waiting for the following spring's return. For a liberal professional whose annual profit is not yet finalised, this requires a serious year-end projection.

The underestimated risk. Many business owners and liberal professionals think only in terms of their marginal income tax rate and forget that the CDHR can apply even when part of their income has already borne the flat tax. A specialist doctor drawing dividends through a holding company, or a partner lawyer receiving significant investment income, can be caught unexpectedly. The mechanism is triggered at household level, not at the level of the liberal activity alone.

This is the structural change with the heaviest consequences for liberal professionals operating through a company. Since the taxation of 2024 income, the remuneration received by a partner of a professional practice company (SELARL, SELAS) for carrying out their liberal activity within the company is taxed under the non-commercial profits (BNC) category, and no longer under salaries and wages.

The former doctrine, known as "Cousin", which attached this remuneration to salaries and wages, is withdrawn from 2024 income onwards. The new regime is detailed in the BOFiP guidelines (BOI-RES-BNC-000136). Only the part corresponding to management duties (corporate office) remains taxed under Article 62 of the French Tax Code, where it can be distinguished from the technical remuneration.

What this means in practice#

The shift to BNC is not just a matter of ticking a box on the return. It brings new obligations:

1. Keeping BNC accounts (cash basis, receipts and expenses), separate from the company's accounts.
2. Filing a form no. 2035 for the technical remuneration falling under the BNC category.
3. The option for the controlled declaration regime, allowing actual professional expenses to be deducted.
4. Calculating self-employed social contributions on the resulting profit.
5. A rigorous split between technical remuneration (BNC) and management remuneration (Article 62), where both coexist.

This split is the sensitive point. Remuneration that is not distinguished, or poorly documented, exposes you to reassessment and uncertain classification. The allocation must rest on objective evidence: articles of association, minutes, and the reality of the duties performed.

We cover this topic in detail in our dedicated analysis of the SEL reform and the move to BNC, which usefully complements this summary.

A liberal professional can practise in their own name, under the micro-BNC regime, or through a company. The choice depends on income level, the need for social protection and wealth objectives. Here are the key lines:

Trade-off. In your own name, taxation is simple but the entire profit is taxed at your marginal rate every year. Through a company, you gain in remuneration management and wealth-structuring capacity, at the cost of greater complexity and, since 2024, a dual filing mechanism for the partner. The switching threshold is not universal: it depends on your tax bracket, your need for available income and your medium-term plans.

Our business and director taxation support systematically factors in this structuring trade-off, alongside structuring your personal wealth.

The SEL partner#

This is the situation most exposed by the reform. Recently, a specialist doctor practising through a SELARL consulted us: their remuneration had never been split between technical activity and management, and they were still declaring it as salaries and wages. Putting things right meant reconstructing the management share from the articles of association and the actual activity, then setting up BNC accounts and a form no. 2035 return. The lesson: the better the split is documented upfront, the smoother the transition.

The high-earning liberal professional#

Specialist doctor, business lawyer, high value-added consultant: as soon as the reference taxable income exceeds 250,000 € (or 500,000 € for a couple), the differential contribution on high incomes enters the equation. The classic trap is combining moderate remuneration with dividends subject to the flat tax, which can push the effective rate below 20% and trigger the contribution. A year-end projection is essential, particularly for the December advance payment.

Micro-BNC or controlled declaration?#

For a liberal professional starting out or with low expenses, the micro-BNC regime offers genuine simplicity. But as soon as professional expenses become significant (rent, staff, equipment, contributions), the controlled declaration allows actual costs to be deducted and is often more advantageous. Our reading: the micro regime is a start-up convenience, not an end in itself; the right moment to switch is measured with actual expenses in hand, not by guesswork.

• Estimate your reference taxable income before December if you are approaching the CDHR thresholds.
• Check the technical / management remuneration split if you are a SEL partner.
• Confirm that your regime (micro-BNC or controlled declaration) remains consistent with your expense level.
• Anticipate the CDHR advance payment due between 1 and 15 December 2026 where applicable.
• Update your marginal rate projection to arbitrate year-end retirement savings contributions and investments.

For the overall framework of the law, see our summary of the 2026 Finance Act, and for the filing timetable, our 2026 income tax return guide. Healthcare professionals will find a dedicated section on our self-employed doctor page, and all liberal professionals on our liberal professions hub. A useful complement on social benefits: holiday vouchers for liberal professions in 2026.