ACRE 2026 France: Complete Guide to Social Charge Exemptions for Business Founders

Reviewed by Samuel HAYOT, chartered accountant (expert-comptable), Paris.

ACRE is often described as an automatic benefit for any business founder in France. In practice, the picture is more nuanced: the exemption is partial, modulated according to income level, and subject to an application deadline that admits no flexibility. This guide explains what ACRE actually covers in 2026, what it does not cover, and the structural choices we recommend depending on the legal form selected.

In brief: ACRE is a partial exemption from social contributions for the first 12 months of activity, codified at article L131-6-4 of the Code de la Sécurité Sociale. Since 2026 it is no longer automatic: every eligible founder, whether operating through a company or as a micro-entrepreneur, must request it from URSSAF no later than the 60th day after the start of activity. Its rate is cut to 25% for businesses created or taken over since 1 January 2026 (outside the micro regime) and since 1 July 2026 (micro-entrepreneurs), under decree no. 2026-69 of 6 February 2026. It can be combined with continued ARE unemployment payments and ARCE capital advance, but covers neither CSG-CRDS nor supplementary pension contributions.

The Aide à la Création ou à la Reprise d'une Entreprise (ACRE) is a partial exemption from social contributions granted for the first year of activity. It is codified at article L131-6-4 of the Code de la Sécurité Sociale (CSS) and applies to contributions for health and maternity insurance, disability and death insurance, family allowances, and basic state pension.

What ACRE is not: it is not a direct financial grant, nor a complete waiver of social charges, nor a permanent arrangement. It is a reduction applied to a limited contribution base, for a limited period.

Two distinct logics apply: general-eligibility beneficiaries (any founder or business buyer meeting one of the statutory conditions) and micro-entrepreneurs, who have been subject to specific rules since the 2019 reform.

General eligibility#

For founders who create through a company, the shareholding condition is decisive: the founder must hold more than 50% of the share capital, alone or together with their spouse, civil partner (PACS), or direct family (ascendants and descendants).

The case of SAS and SASU presidents#

Company presidents classified as assimilés-salariés (employed-equivalent directors of SAS or SASU) do not fall under the TNS social security regime but under the general scheme, which ACRE also covers. They qualify under the same conditions as other founders: belonging to one of the categories above at the date of creation, controlling the company and filing the application within 60 days.

This is one of the most frequent structural decisions we encounter: access to ACRE does not depend on the legal form (SASU, EURL, a single-shareholder limited company with TNS status, or sole trader), but on the founder's personal situation.

Micro-entrepreneurs: a reduced contribution rate#

For eligible micro-entrepreneurs, ACRE takes the form of a reduced contribution rate applied to turnover until the end of the third calendar quarter following the start of activity: 50% of the normal rate for businesses started up to 30 June 2026, then 75% of the normal rate (a 25% exemption) for businesses created or taken over from 1 July 2026 (decree no. 2026-69 of 6 February 2026). The application must be filed no later than the 60th day after the start of activity.

For TNS individuals (EI, EURL, SARL, SNC)#

For businesses created or taken over since 1 January 2026, the exemption is capped at 25% of the covered contributions where professional income does not exceed 75% of the PASS, then degressive between that threshold and 100% of PASS, and nil above it (decree no. 2026-69 of 6 February 2026). The PASS for 2026 is set at €48,060 per year (€4,005 per month) by the order of 22 December 2025, so the 75% threshold is €36,045 and the cut-off threshold is €48,060. For businesses created before 2026, the exemption was total below 75% of the PASS.

2026 thresholds computed on the 2026 PASS of €48,060 per year (€4,005 per month), set by the order of 22 December 2025.

What this means in practice: a founder whose professional income does not exceed €36,045 sees health, disability, family allowance and basic pension contributions reduced by one quarter for the first 12 months. The remaining three quarters of those contributions, CSG-CRDS (9.7%), supplementary pension contributions and the professional training levy (CFP) remain due: the saving is real, but limited.

Worked example: SASU president, income €25,000#

A SASU president who was previously a registered job seeker, benefiting from ACRE, declares €25,000 in remuneration in year one. The TNS contribution rates do not apply to his regime (he is assimilé-salarié), but had he created an EURL instead:

• Income: €25,000 (well below the 75% PASS threshold)
• Contributions concerned: health insurance (~6.5%), disability-death (~1.3%), family allowances (~2.15%), basic pension (~17.75%), approximately 27.7% of income, exempted at 25% for a business created since 1 January 2026
• Estimated saving over 12 months: approximately €1,700 in TNS contributions not owed (25% × 27.7% × €25,000, an estimate to refine with actual rates)
• Charges still due: three quarters of the contributions concerned, CSG-CRDS (9.7%), supplementary pension (~7%) and CFP (~0.25%)

This saving is real but must be anticipated in cash-flow planning: at the year-end regularisation (generally the following financial year), if definitive income exceeds the provisional basis, a catch-up demand can follow.

For micro-entrepreneurs#

The reduced rate applies until the end of the third calendar quarter following the start of activity. For liberal professions (BNC), the same reduction applies to the normal rate in force (to be checked on urssaf.fr).

These rates apply to gross revenue, not profit. The contribution base is therefore broader than for a TNS individual under the real income regime.

Founders outside the micro regime: an application is now mandatory#

For sole traders (entrepreneurs individuels), single-shareholder company managers (EURL), majority shareholders of SARL and presidents of SAS or SASU, ACRE is no longer granted automatically since 2026: the application must be sent to URSSAF no later than the 60th day after the start of activity (decree no. 2026-69 of 6 February 2026), with evidence of the eligibility category, even if ACRE was mentioned during the formalities on the INPI single-window portal (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr).

Caution: an application filed is not an application processed. The registration service must have transmitted the application correctly. We recommend verifying the URSSAF acknowledgement independently within 10 days of company creation.

Micro-entrepreneurs: mandatory application within 60 days#

Auto-entrepreneurs must file a separate application on urssaf.fr or via the form available on service-public.fr. The deadline runs until the 60th day after the start of activity. No waiver is provided for under the legislation.

Procedure:

1. Log in to your online account at urssaf.fr (Mon compte > Ma situation > ACRE)
2. Complete the ACRE application form
3. Attach supporting documents appropriate to your eligibility category (France Travail certificate, RSA proof, identity document, etc.)
4. Keep the numbered acknowledgement of receipt

URSSAF has 30 days to respond. No response within that period constitutes tacit acceptance.

The exemption period covers 12 consecutive months from the URSSAF affiliation date (not the activity start date declared at the company register). This distinction can create a gap of one to several weeks. Under the micro regime, the reduced rate runs until the end of the third calendar quarter following the start of activity.

ACRE ends:

• At the expiry of the 12-month period;
• If definitive income exceeds the PASS (€48,060 in 2026), the exemption is nil and contributions are recalculated at the regularisation;
• In the event of cessation of activity before the end of the period.

It can only be granted once per person, except where a new activity is created more than 3 years after the cessation of the previous one.

This is a point that is frequently confused in business creation files. Here is the operational distinction:

These three instruments are not mutually exclusive. A founder can benefit simultaneously from ACRE (URSSAF reduction) and maintained ARE (income supplement during the ramp-up phase). However, ARCE and maintained ARE are mutually exclusive: the founder must choose one or the other at France Travail.

The choice between maintained ARE and ARCE depends on how long the ramp-up to sustainable income is expected to take and on the need for equity capital. We generally recommend maintained ARE for projects where returning to a sufficient level of income is expected to take more than 12 months.

Even with ACRE, the following charges are owed from the first euro of income:

• CSG and CRDS: 9.7% on professional income (non-waivable)
• Supplementary pension contributions (mandatory for certain TNS statuses)
• Professional training levy (CFP): 0.1% to 0.3% of income depending on status
• The three non-exempt quarters of the covered contributions, and all of them if income exceeds the PASS

In clear terms, even a founder benefiting fully from ACRE must provision approximately 10 to 17% of income for residual charges, depending on their legal structure.

Choosing between EURL and SASU with ACRE in mind. A project founder who was previously employed and registers as a job seeker before creating a company can access ACRE regardless of the legal form chosen. Conversely, if the founder falls within no eligible category, neither a SASU nor an EURL opens access to ACRE: the legal form creates no entitlement. This is not the only criterion for choosing a structure, but it is a quantifiable one.

Anticipating the regularisation. ACRE reduces the provisional contributions paid in year one. At the regularisation (generally in year N+1), if definitive income is higher than the provisional bases, the catch-up demand can be significant. We systematically set aside a dedicated cash reserve in the early months.

Not confusing the ACRE period with the accounting year. ACRE covers 12 rolling months, not the fiscal year. A founder who affiliates on 1 July 2026 benefits from ACRE until 30 June 2027, spanning two financial years.

If income exceeds the PASS (€48,060 in 2026) over the year covered by ACRE, the exemption is lost retrospectively: it is recalculated on definitive income and becomes nil above the PASS, after tapering from 75% of the PASS. URSSAF recalculates the contributions owed and issues a regularisation demand. The trap is well known: a founder who planned for gradual income growth in fact crosses the threshold in year one, and the URSSAF catch-up then represents several thousand euros that were never provisioned.

Best practice: as soon as income projections approach 100% of PASS, notify URSSAF and begin provisioning the additional contribution.

• The PASS 2026 is set at €48,060 per year and €4,005 per month (order of 22 December 2025), which puts the 75% threshold (end of the full 25% exemption) at €36,045 and the loss threshold at €48,060
• For a business created in another year, recompute both thresholds on the PASS in force in the year of creation
• The INPI single-window reform has changed the ACRE application transmission process since 2023 — verify URSSAF confirmation independently of the INPI acknowledgement
• For micro-entrepreneurs, the start date of activity sets the ACRE rate: a 50% exemption up to 30 June 2026, 25% from 1 July 2026

• Verify eligibility before company registration (legal status, shareholding, France Travail situation)
• File the ACRE application with URSSAF no later than the 60th day after the start of activity, whatever the status (company, sole trader or micro-entrepreneur)
• Retain the numbered acknowledgement and URSSAF decision
• Check the ACRE certificate in your URSSAF online account within 30 days of the application
• Provision residual charges from month one (CSG-CRDS, supplementary pension, CFP)
• Alert your chartered accountant as soon as projected income approaches 100% of PASS
• Build the year-end regularisation into your cash-flow plan

Representative example, not a real client file. A buyer taking over an artisan SME (APE code: painting works) structures the acquisition through a SARL, holding 70% of share capital. He is also a registered job seeker receiving ARE at the date of creation, so ACRE is granted. His management fees in the first year come to €32,000, below the 75% of PASS threshold (€36,045 in 2026): for a takeover before 2026 the exemption was total on the covered contributions and the saving ran to several thousand euros over the year (for a takeover since 1 January 2026, it would be limited to 25% of those contributions). His ARE is maintained for the first months, which lets him build a cash reserve before his remuneration becomes self-sufficient. At the year-end close, the URSSAF regularisation then covers the residual charges only.

This profile (business buyer, ARE recipient, majority SARL shareholder, income below 75% of PASS) represents a close-to-optimal configuration for ACRE. But it requires coordination between France Travail and URSSAF from the very first month, and disciplined management of supporting documents.

For more on your own creation or acquisition situation, see also:

• Business creation with a chartered accountant: the complete service
• Auto-entrepreneur and subcontracting: what you need to know
• Société de fait: risks and consequences
• TNS social contributions 2026
• Business creation grants and aids 2026

Article written by Samuel HAYOT, chartered accountant registered with the Ordre des experts-comptables. This content is informational and does not constitute personalised advice. Thresholds and rates cited are those in force in 2026, published on urssaf.fr and legifrance.gouv.fr.