Buying a taxi licence (ADS): price, accounting and amortisation in 2026

A taxi licence, or parking authorisation (ADS), can only be bought if it was issued before 1 October 2014: those ADS are transferable. The purchase is often financed by a bank loan, recorded under account 205 (intangible asset) at its acquisition cost, and is not amortised, but may be subject to an impairment.

This is the first point we clarify with a driver who wants to set up, because it governs everything else. Since the Thévenoud Act (Act no. 2014-1104 of 1 October 2014, codified in article L3121-2 of the Transport Code), there are two ADS regimes with nothing in common in accounting and tax terms.

In practice: if you buy a licence, it is necessarily an "old" ADS, transferable, whose holder is entitled to present a successor for consideration. An ADS issued after that date cannot be sold: it is obtained free of charge from a waiting list at the municipality and remains attached to the person.

There is no single price. The value of a transferable ADS depends on the municipality and the local market: a Paris licence, a regional metropolis licence and a small-town licence are not negotiated at the same levels at all. Competitive pressure from VTC ride-hailing also weighs down values in some areas.

We therefore recommend never reasoning from a "market price" heard by word of mouth, but starting from the price actually agreed in the deed of transfer and recent local comparables. That acquisition price, and that price alone, will serve as the accounting basis.

An ADS is an intangible asset, not a vehicle: it is not financed like equipment. In the files we support, the purchase most often goes through a dedicated bank loan, sometimes backed by a pledge. Points we check upstream:

• repayment capacity against the forecast turnover from fares;
• consistency between the loan term and the operating horizon before retirement or resale;
• total cost (including interest) relative to the net margin per fare;
• the cash needed in parallel for the vehicle, equipment (meter, roof sign) and insurance.

This is the mistake we most often correct in files taken over. A purchased ADS is recorded as an intangible asset, under account 205, at its acquisition cost. The right to present a successor is, in its economics, akin to a goodwill.

As a result, in principle an ADS is not amortisable. Its useful life is not limited in time as long as the profession exists, which rules out a standard amortisation schedule. On the other hand, an impairment is possible and sometimes necessary if the licence's market value falls durably, for example under the effect of VTC pressure on the local market.

The two notions must therefore be strictly distinguished: amortising would mean spreading the cost over a limited period of use, which does not match the nature of the asset. For a specific file, the tax treatment of an intangible asset whose beneficial effects are, on the contrary, limited in time is assessed under article 39, 1, 2° of the French Tax Code (CGI): this is a case-by-case analysis that warrants a review of your actual situation.

A driver takes over a transferable ADS in a regional metropolis and finances it with a loan. We record it under account 205 at its acquisition cost, with no amortisation schedule. Three years later, with local values having clearly fallen, we examine with him the case for an impairment, not a retroactive amortisation, to reflect the loss of value in the accounts without distorting their reading.

The underestimated risk is not the purchase price: it is the accounting treatment. An ADS wrongly amortised distorts profit, the tax base and the resale value shown. Conversely, ignoring a justified impairment gives an overly optimistic balance sheet. We calibrate this treatment at acquisition, then review it at each year-end. If you are preparing to buy or take over a licence, our page dedicated to the accounting support for taxis and drivers sets out how we secure the operation, from financing through to year-end close.

• Check the ADS issue date (before or after 1 October 2014).
• Confirm that the transfer conditions are met (effective and continuous operation: 15 years, or 5 years since the first transfer).
• Obtain recent local comparables rather than a word-of-mouth price.
• Frame the financing (loan, term, repayment capacity).
• Plan for recording under account 205, with no amortisation.
• Anticipate monitoring any impairment at each year-end.