Food truck in France 2026: legal status, tax and accounting

A food truck appeals through its apparent simplicity: a van, a short menu, no walls. But under the hood it is a fully-fledged catering business, with its status choices, VAT, depreciation and permits. Here is the accounting and tax guide to the food truck in France in 2026.

The food truck is one of the few catering projects where the micro-business genuinely makes sense — at the start, and under conditions. It works if the activity starts solo, with no employee, revenue stays below the €203,100 takeaway threshold, and investment is limited. Its limits appear quickly: no VAT recovery on the van and purchases, no depreciation, and a flat allowance (71% on sales) meant to cover costs that are actually higher with a big vehicle. As soon as there is a costly vehicle to depreciate, VAT to recover, an employee or significant revenue, an EURL or SASU under corporate tax becomes more attractive: deduction of actual expenses, VAT recovery, depreciation of the van and equipment, and controllable remuneration. See our article on the legal structure of a restaurant.

A specific feature of the food truck: it is a mobile commercial activity. Operating outside your registered municipality requires a mobile trader card, applied for via the business formalities centre / chamber of commerce, valid four years. Add location permits (public domain occupancy authorisation with a fee, market pitches, private sites, events), food hygiene standards (hygiene package, HACCP training, declaration to the food-safety authority) and, for alcohol, the relevant licence. These permits condition the activity and represent recurring costs to include in the forecast.

A food truck sells prepared meals for immediate consumption: VAT is 10% on food and 20% on alcoholic drinks, like restaurant takeaway (see our restaurant VAT article). Important point: a micro-entrepreneur benefits from the VAT base exemption while below thresholds — they do not charge VAT, but cannot recover it on the van, equipment and purchases either. For a project with a substantial vehicle investment, this non-recovery weighs heavily and argues for the real regime from the outset.

Under the real regime (company subject to corporate tax), the fitted vehicle and kitchen equipment are depreciable fixed assets, usually over 5 to 7 years for fit-out and equipment. Depreciation reduces taxable profit each year and reflects the real wear of the tool. In a micro-business, depreciation is impossible: the flat allowance is deemed to cover all costs, including the van's wear. For a food truck whose working tool is precisely a costly vehicle, this is often a decisive disadvantage — and the main argument for switching to a company.

The NF525 certified cash register requirement (art. 286-I-3° bis of the Tax Code) also applies to food trucks where they record customer payments via cash-register software. Mobile solutions (SumUp, Square, tablet tills) must hold the conformity attestation. The fine remains €7,500 per non-compliant software. Mobility exempts nothing.

Profitability turns on two specific variables: food cost (25–30% target in quick-service format) and yield per pitch. Not all pitches are equal: a Sunday market, a weekday lunch business park and a festival differ in volume and in net margin once the fee is deducted. Tracking revenue and margin by pitch is the key dashboard — the equivalent of margin-by-channel for a fixed restaurant.

A food truck is a mobile food production unit — it is subject to the European hygiene package on the same basis as a fixed kitchen. Concretely, this means: an activity declaration filed with the departmental food-safety authority (DDPP); implementing a food-safety management plan (PMS) based on the HACCP method, with at least one person trained in food hygiene; maintaining the cold chain (refrigerated equipment, temperature logs), particularly scrutinised in mobile catering; and traceability of all produce (invoices, labelling, use-by dates). These obligations carry a direct accounting cost (equipment, training, audits) to build into the forecast — and an inspection finding a missing HACCP plan or cold-chain failure can suspend activity, a risk a mobile business absorbs less easily than a fixed one.

On the insurance side, a food truck accumulates specific risks: professional liability (food poisoning, third-party damage), vehicle insurance in professional use (distinct from private cover), onboard equipment insurance (often costly fitted equipment), and sometimes a loss-of-trading guarantee. Under-insuring to save a few hundred euros can cost the entire business in a claim. All premiums are deductible operating expenses to provision in the cash plan.

The singularity of the food truck is that its profitability depends on a variable a fixed restaurant never faces: pitch selection. The same truck, with the same food cost, can be profitable on one pitch and loss-making on another. For each pitch, the real net margin must be read after deducting the pitch fee (market stall charge, public-domain occupancy fee, private-site rent), fuel costs and travel time. A busy Sunday market may outperform three quiet weekday lunches; a high-profile pitch with a steep fee may destroy the margin despite good volume. The key dashboard is revenue and margin per pitch per day, tracked separately in the accounting records or at minimum in a simple spreadsheet updated after each service. It is the food-truck equivalent of margin-by-channel — and where survival beyond the first year is decided. We build this pitch-by-pitch reading during the first months, then review it quarterly.

A food truck is a real catering business: micro vs company dictated mainly by investment and VAT, mobile trader card and location permits, 10/20% VAT, mandatory NF525 till, and margin-by-pitch steering. An initial review with an accountant avoids the wrong status — the costliest error to undo. To start on the right footing, see our restaurant accounting support, our business creation service and our complete 2026 restaurant accounting guide.

Updated 3 June 2026. This article sets out the general rules for food trucks; statuses, thresholds and permits must be checked against your project and the texts in force. Sources: Service-public.fr, BOFiP, French Tax Code, URSSAF.