Association chart of accounts: the essentials

Updated April 2026 — The chart of accounts for a French association is not a version of the standard commercial company chart. The non-profit sector operates under specific rules defined by ANC Regulation 2018-06 — rules that reflect the distinctive financial logic of associations: earmarked resources, designated funds, public grants, membership contributions and voluntary contributions. Structuring the accounting correctly also means protecting governance and relationships with funders.

See also Donations and sponsorship by companies to associations, What is a balance sheet? and How to read a balance sheet simply.

Unlike commercial companies, French law 1901 associations are not universally required by law to maintain formalised accounting. However, this absence of a universal obligation is misleading: in practice, the vast majority of associations with significant financial flows face accounting obligations through indirect legal routes.

Obligations arise specifically when:

• the association receives public subsidies (annual accounts required above certain thresholds);
• the association employs staff (social obligations requiring rigorous payroll accounting);
• the association exceeds the thresholds triggering statutory audit requirements;
• the ANC 2018-06 regulation applies (see below).

Maintaining proper accounts from the outset is strongly recommended for any association with financial flows, if only for transparency towards members and funders.

ANC Regulation 2018-06 of 5 December 2018 constitutes the accounting référence framework for French associations, foundations and other non-profit entities. It applies in particular to associations that:

• receive fiscally déductible donations (publicly recognised utility associations, or general interest associations under article 200 of the CGI tax code);
• manage significant funds or employ a material number of staff;
• are subject to the statutory audit obligation.

This regulation adapts the general chart of accounts (PCG) to non-profit sector specificities. It governs in particular the treatment of designated funds (fonds dédiés), voluntary contributions in kind (contributions volontaires en nature) and the présentation of annual accounts.

The account structure of an association differs from a company in several essential respects.

Class 1 — Equity and association funds. Where a company records its share capital, an association records its association funds (fonds associatifs) in account 102. This account represents the initial endowment or assets placed at permanent disposal. There are no shareholders, no dividend distribution: surplus or déficit is carried forward (account 11) with no possibility of distribution to members.

Account 19 — Designated funds (fonds dédiés). This is one of the most specific accounts in non-profit accounting. It records earmarked resources received from funders (grants, restricted donations) for a specific project or mission. Until the funds are used in accordance with their intended purpose, they remain on the liability side of the balance sheet. Each year, the fraction actually deployed is transferred to income (account 75) to cover the charges of the corresponding project.

Class 7 — Association resources. An association's income has diverse origins:

• Membership contributions (account 756);
• Operating subsidies (account 74);
• Donations and bequests (account 754);
• Revenue from activities (account 70 for economic activities);
• Voluntary contributions in kind (account 87).

Voluntary contributions in kind (CVN). Associations frequently rely on volunteer work and donated goods. These contributions must be valued and recorded simultaneously as employment (class 8, charges side) and as resources (class 8, income side) when material. This treatment, specific to the non-profit sector, makes the real value of mobilised resources visible in the accounts.

Grants are often the primary funding source for associations. Their accounting treatment depends on their nature.

Operating subsidies (account 74x): granted to finance current operations (payroll, rent, activities). Recognised as income in the period to which they relate.

Investment subsidies (accounts 13x): intended to finance fixed assets. Recorded as a liability and taken to income in line with the depreciation of the financed asset.

Project-restricted subsidies (designated funds): received with a specific usage condition. They pass through account 194 (fonds dédiés) and are only recognised as income as the project is carried out.

Analytical tracking by project and by funder is essential to justify the use of subsidies in the event of review or audit.

Membership contributions paid by members are recorded in account 756 — Cotisations. Their tax treatment depends on the association's status:

• If the association is non-profit, contributions are not subject to VAT and do not enter the corporate tax base.
• If the association carries out lucrative activities, contributions related to those activities may be subject to commercial taxes.

A membership receipt does not in itself constitute a fiscal receipt allowing tax deduction for the donor — unless the association meets the conditions of article 200 of the CGI and issues a compliant receipt (Cerfa form 11580).

For associations managing multiple projects or receiving earmarked funding, analytical accounting is an indispensable tool. It allows:

• allocation of charges and income to each project or activity;
• production of financial reports meeting funder requirements;
• calculation of the self-financing coverage rate per project;
• identification of déficit-generating activities versus surplus-generating ones.

Setting up an analytical plan from the association's creation avoids costly restatement work at year-end.

VAT and corporate income tax do not automatically apply to associations. The baseline rule: non-lucrative activities are outside the scope of commercial taxes. But as soon as an association carries out accessory lucrative activities, the "4P" criteria from BOFIP apply to determine the tax treatment:

• Product: does it compete with commercial sector offerings?
• Public: is the target audience different from that of commercial companies?
• Price: are they significantly lower than market rates?
• Publicité (promotion): does the association use commercial marketing techniques?

If lucrative activities exceed the €91,000 franchise threshold (article 207-1-5° bis CGI for corporate tax, €72,600 for VAT), the association must sectorise its activities and declare commercial taxes on the lucrative portion.

Appointing a statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes) is mandatory for associations meeting at least one of these criteria:

• Receipt of more than €153,000 in public subsidies per year (art. L612-4 Code de commerce);
• Receipt of more than €3,000,000 in cumulative public funds;
• Simultaneous exceedance of two of the three following thresholds: 50 employees, €3,100,000 balance sheet total, €3,100,000 in annual resources.

The presence of a statutory auditor strengthens the association's credibility with public and private funders and facilitates applications for significant grants.

Hayot Expertise advice: in an association, accounting does not only serve to close the financial year. It serves to account for the use of resources to funders, members and governance bodies — and to protect the organisation in the event of a subsidy review, an audit or a governance dispute. The quality of the account structure directly determines the transparency and defensibility of that reporting.

A well-structured association accounting framework should from the outset:

1. Adopt the ANC 2018-06-compliant chart of accounts — not a retrofitted commercial chart;
2. Track earmarked resources by source and purpose — especially for public or private grants with usage conditions;
3. Configure the treatment of designated funds so that year-end balances are correctly carried forward and justified to funders;
4. Present the income statement clearly showing the origin of resources and catégories of expenditure.

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