Accounting for liberal professions in France: BNC obligations, regimes and 2026 habits

Accounting for a liberal profession in France follows specific rules that are often misunderstood until the first tax review or the transition to the controlled declaration régime. In 2026, two thresholds have changed, the historic tax advantage linked to approved management associations (AGAs) has disappeared, and the documentary obligations under the real-cost BNC régime remain demanding. This article clarifies what applies in practice, based on your régime and your situation.

Direct answer. Liberal professions subject to BNC (non-commercial profits) fall under one of two régimes: micro-BNC (receipts below €83,600 for 2026–2028, with a flat 34% allowance) or the controlled declaration (real-cost BNC, Form 2035, actual deductible expenses). The accounting obligations are radically different under each régime. Beyond a certain threshold or level of complexity, a chartered accountant shifts from being a convenience to being a safeguard.

Liberal professions — whether regulated (doctors, lawyers, architects, physiotherapists…) or non-regulated (consultants, coaches, trainers…) — are taxed under BNC (bénéfices non commerciaux) when practised as sole traders or through a transparent structure (SCP, certain civil partnerships).

Accounting obligations vary by tax régime:

Under micro-BNC#

Obligations are minimal: you declare gross cash receipts on supplementary return 2042-C-PRO. No formal accounting is required, but you must keep a chronological receipts journal (client name, nature of service, amount, payment method). No tax return package (liasse fiscale) is required and no balance sheet is produced.

Under the controlled declaration (real-cost BNC)#

Obligations become structured:

1. Receipts journal: chronological record of every payment received (date, client identity, nature, amount, payment method).
2. Expenses register: every payment made, with supporting documentation.
3. Fixed assets and depreciation register: each professional asset, depreciation period, and depreciation schedule.
4. Retention of supporting documents: supplier invoices, expense receipts, rent receipts, social contribution notices — legal retention period: 6 years.
5. Filing Form 2035 (and annexes 2035A and 2035B) by the statutory deadline, by electronic means.

The decision is not purely about the threshold. It is primarily a trade-off between administrative simplicity and the ability to deduct actual expenses.

The micro-BNC threshold in 2026#

For 2026, 2027 and 2028, the micro-BNC threshold is set at €83,600 in annual receipts (net of VAT for VAT-registered practitioners, gross for those exempt). This threshold has been increased from the previous figure of €77,700.

If your receipts exceed this ceiling for two consecutive years, you automatically shift to the controlled declaration the following year. You may also opt voluntarily for the real-cost régime even below the threshold.

The 34% flat allowance: a worked example#

Under micro-BNC, taxable profit is calculated automatically by applying a flat allowance of 34% to gross receipts (with a minimum allowance of €305). No actual expenses are deducted.

Example: a physiotherapist on micro-BNC collects €70,000 in receipts in 2026.

• Flat allowance: €70,000 × 34% = €23,800
• Taxable profit: €70,000 − €23,800 = €46,200

If their actual expenses (rent, equipment, deductible social contributions, training costs…) represent 40% of receipts — i.e. €28,000 — the real-cost régime would be more favourable: taxable profit = €70,000 − €28,000 = €42,000. The difference of €4,200 would justify opting for the controlled declaration, subject to the associated accounting cost.

Decision framework: micro-BNC or real-cost?#

Our view. The €83,600 threshold is a high ceiling, but many liberal professions approach it gradually without preparing for the switch. An unplanned transition to the real-cost régime — without prior accounting organisation, without a fixed assets register, without expense tracking — is one of the most disruptive situations to regularise mid-year.

BNC accounting rests on a fundamental principle: cash-basis accounting. Receipts are recorded on the date of collection and expenses on the date of payment — not on the date of invoicing or commitment (which would be accrual accounting, a possible option but rarely used in individual BNC practice).

Basic weekly actions#

1. Record every receipt in the chronological journal as soon as payment is received, with mandatory details (date, client, nature, amount, payment method).
2. File every supplier invoice and expense receipt in chronological or thematic order.
3. Reconcile the bank balance against accounting records at least once a month. Unexplained differences compound quickly.
4. Allocate mixed-use expenses (vehicle, telephone, home office…) using a documented and consistent apportionment ratio.
5. Estimate social contributions to set aside each month — even before they are called — to avoid cash-flow shocks when URSSAF or specialist fund (CARPIMKO, CARMF, CIPAV, CNBF) payment calls arrive.

The monthly minimum routine#

• Confirm all receipts for the month are recorded and match bank transfers received.
• File invoices and expense receipts for the month.
• Estimate and set aside social contributions for the month.
• Calculate gross disposable income after paid expenses and social provisions.
• Identify deductible expenses not to miss (subscriptions, travel, training).

The underestimated risk. Cash-basis accounting creates the illusion that everything is fine as long as the bank balance is positive. That is not enough: the available balance takes no account of forthcoming social contributions, income tax to provision, or deferred costs. A doctor or lawyer who does not set aside CIPAV or URSSAF contributions can find themselves with an apparently comfortable cash position — followed by a severe shock in September or October.

The answer depends on your régime, your complexity, and the time you have available.

What you can manage independently under micro-BNC#

Technically, maintaining a simple receipts journal and filing the 2042-C-PRO are achievable without professional assistance, particularly for a consulting or training activity with few expenses. If your activity is straightforward, homogeneous and well below the threshold, self-management is feasible.

What generally requires professional support#

• Transition from micro-BNC to the controlled declaration (often poorly anticipated, with errors in the opening balance and first Form 2035).
• Activity with fixed assets, depreciation, or professional premises.
• Significant mixed-use expenses (company vehicle, home office…).
• Practice through a SEL (SELARL, SELAS) subject to corporate tax — director's remuneration, dividends, corporate tax return and DSN payroll filing require a much more structured organisation.
• Change of legal structure (incorporation, creation of a shared-costs SCM with colleagues).
• Social contributions that are difficult to forecast (section 2 doctors, lawyers with complex CNBF contributions…).
• Significant investments to depreciate or finance.

A note on AGAs (approved management associations)#

For many years, membership of an AGA protected BNC practitioners against a 25% surcharge on their taxable profit. This surcharge was progressively eliminated and stands at 0% for income taxed from 2023 onwards. There is therefore no longer a direct tax benefit in joining an AGA to avoid a base adjustment. AGAs retain value for their preventive support, management services and error-prevention tools, but membership is no longer a de facto fiscal obligation.

• New micro-BNC threshold: €83,600 for 2026–2028 (check impots.gouv.fr for any finance law updates).
• AGA surcharge abolished: confirmed for income taxed from 2023 onwards. AGA membership no longer provides a direct tax benefit on the BNC tax base.
• VAT: some liberal professions (healthcare, education) are VAT-exempt. Others fall under the VAT franchise threshold. Verify based on your exact activity.
• Social contributions: contribution funds vary by profession. URSSAF handles health and family contributions; specialist funds handle pension contributions. Do not confuse provisional calls and year-end adjustments.
• E-invoicing reform: the progressive rollout of mandatory electronic invoicing also applies to VAT-registered liberal professions. Check the applicable timetable for your situation.

1. Is the receipts journal complete and in chronological order?
2. Does each expense have a supporting invoice or probative document?
3. Are mixed-use expenses apportioned using a documented ratio?
4. Is the fixed assets register up to date with depreciation entries for the financial year?
5. Are social contributions (URSSAF, pension fund) correctly included in deductible expenses?
6. Are professional premises or home-office costs properly documented?
7. Do recorded receipts match reconciled bank statements?
8. Does net taxable income correspond to the expected amount on Form 2042-C-PRO?

We work with doctors, lawyers, architects, consultants, physiotherapists and non-regulated liberal professions on the full accounting and tax cycle under BNC. Our support covers implementing bookkeeping from start-up, producing Form 2035, arbitrating between micro-BNC and the controlled declaration based on your actual expense level, and monitoring disposable income after contributions and tax.

For practices structured as a SEL (SELARL or SELAS), we handle corporate tax accounting, director's remuneration, dividends and overall wealth coherence.

Explore our Liberal Professions sector page, our articles on Holiday vouchers for self-employed professionals, What is a tax return package?, Accounting monitoring and Freelance accountant for further reading.

Discover our accounting support for liberal professions — Contact us for an initial conversation

Updated 2026-05-26. This article is for information purposes and does not replace personalised advice. For your specific situation, consult a chartered accountant registered with the Ordre des experts-comptables.

This English section is written for international readers who need to apply the French guidance to a real management decision. The key point for accounting for a French liberal profession (BNC) is not to memorise every technical rule, but to connect the rule to documents, deadlines, cash impact and governance. For doctors, consultants, lawyers, architects and regulated professionals working in France, the right approach is to identify the decision to be made, collect reliable evidence, and only then choose the accounting, tax, payroll or legal treatment.

The practical decision is whether the activity should stay on simple BNC reporting, move to a company structure, or use a more complete accounting workflow. That decision should be documented before the year-end close, financing discussion, payroll run, transaction signing or tax filing concerned by the topic. When the matter is material, the file should include who decided, which assumptions were used, and which professional advice was obtained.

Evidence to keep#

• client invoices and fee notes;
• dedicated bank statements;
• expense and mileage records;
• URSSAF and pension-fund notices;
• VAT returns when applicable;

Treating a liberal profession like a standard trading business misses the link between cash collection, professional expenses, VAT, social contributions and personal income tax. A clean file also helps the company answer questions from banks, investors, auditors, tax authorities, employees or buyers. It is usually cheaper to prepare that evidence during the process than to reconstruct it after a dispute, audit or urgent financing request.

Management checklist#

Before acting, management should run a short checklist. First, confirm that the entity, period and perimeter are correct. Second, compare the accounting treatment with the tax, payroll or legal consequence. Third, quantify the cash effect, because a technically valid option may still be unsuitable if it creates a short-term liquidity issue. Fourth, make sure the decision can be explained in plain English to a shareholder, lender, employee or buyer who is not familiar with French terminology.

For French subsidiaries of foreign groups, translation is also a control topic. A term that sounds familiar in English may not have the same legal meaning in France. The safer method is to keep the French source wording in the working file, then add a short English management note explaining the decision, the financial effect and the residual risk.

How Hayot Expertise would frame the work#

In a professional review, the starting point is the business objective. Is the company trying to reduce risk, close the accounts, prepare a filing, obtain financing, retain employees, sell a business or improve reporting? Once the objective is clear, the technical analysis becomes more useful because it is attached to a concrete decision. Hayot Expertise would generally separate the work into three layers: compliance, numbers and management judgement.

The compliance layer answers whether a rule applies and which documents are required. The numbers layer measures the effect on profit, tax, payroll, cash, equity, valuation or working capital. The management layer decides whether the option is consistent with the company's strategy and risk appetite. This separation avoids a common mistake: treating a French technical rule as if it were only an administrative formality.

A fuller decision framework#

For a director who does not work daily with French accounting and tax rules, the safest framework is sequential. Start with the legal form and tax regime of the business. Then identify the income stream, expense, asset, employee benefit, transaction or reporting obligation concerned. Then test the accounting treatment, the tax treatment and the cash effect separately. Only after those three views are consistent should the company automate the process in accounting software or payroll.

This matters because French compliance is document-heavy. A bank feed, invoice, contract, payroll notice or tax form may each be correct on its own, while the overall file remains inconsistent. For example, the accounting entry may not match the tax return, the VAT position may not match the invoice wording, or the management report may not match the board minutes. English-speaking directors should therefore ask for a short reconciliation note whenever the amount is significant.

Questions to ask before closing the file#

• What is the exact French rule or accounting principle being applied?
• Which document proves the amount, date, counterparty and business purpose?
• Does the treatment affect VAT, corporate tax, income tax, payroll or social contributions?
• Is the cash impact immediate, deferred or only visible at sale, audit or financing?
• Who inside the company owns the update next year?

Why this improves SEO and real usefulness#

For an English reader, the value of this article is not a literal translation of the French version. It is the bridge between French terminology and management action. The content should help the reader understand what to verify, what to ask the accountant, and where the risk may sit in the financial statements or cash forecast. That is also the reason the English version keeps the French concepts visible while explaining them in operational language.

When to ask for help#

Professional input is useful when the topic changes the tax result, payroll cost, legal position, financing capacity, valuation or shareholder relationship. It is also useful when the company is growing quickly and the same decision will repeat every month. A small error in a one-off file is inconvenient; the same error embedded in a recurring workflow becomes expensive.