Setting up a SASU to invoice as a freelancer: smart move or trap?

Quick answer. A SASU appeals to freelancers for its image, its executive-level social protection and the flexibility of dividends (a 31.4% flat tax in 2026, with no social contributions). But it costs more in accounting and charges than a micro-enterprise while your turnover stays modest. Below roughly 50,000 to 60,000 euros of income, micro-enterprise or umbrella employment are often simpler and more profitable.

Every freelancer who starts out faces the same question: stay a micro-entrepreneur, switch to umbrella employment, or set up a SASU to invoice clients? The answer depends on your income level, your need for social protection, your image with large corporate clients and your ability to run a real company. A SASU is neither a trap nor a magic formula: it is a tool that becomes relevant at a certain stage.

We regularly advise consultants, developers, designers and trainers on this trade-off. This article gives you our concrete decision criteria, the verified 2026 figures, and the mistakes we most often see in incorporation files.

A SASU (single-shareholder simplified joint-stock company) is a commercial company with one shareholder. You are its president and sole shareholder. You invoice your clients in the company's name, not in your own name as you would under a micro-enterprise.

The game-changer for an independent worker: the president of a SASU holds the status of assimilated employee. They belong to the general social security scheme and receive protection identical to that of an executive employee, with the exception of unemployment insurance. This is one of the major differences from the majority manager of an EURL, who falls under the self-employed (TNS) scheme.

A SASU also separates your personal assets from those of the company. Your liability is in principle limited to your contributions. This legal protection often reassures freelancers who sign high-stakes engagements or who invest in equipment, subcontracting or software.

For the tax framework and formalities, our step-by-step guide to creating a SASU details drafting the articles, depositing the capital and registration.

The real issue is not the status itself, but the total cost at equivalent income. Here are the 2026 benchmarks to keep in mind.

Under a micro-enterprise, your turnover in 2026 cannot exceed 83,600 euros for services (and 203,100 euros for the sale of goods). You pay flat-rate social contributions on the turnover collected, without deducting your actual expenses. It is simple, but penalising as soon as you have significant costs.

Under a SASU, you are subject to corporate income tax. Profit is taxed at 15% up to 42,500 euros, then 25% above, subject to turnover and capital-ownership conditions. You deduct all your real expenses, you arbitrate between salary and dividends, but you bear running costs: accounting, contributions, incorporation fees.

A point that is often confused: the micro-enterprise ceilings (83,600 euros) are decoupled from the VAT exemption thresholds. The VAT exemption applies in 2026 up to 37,500 euros of turnover for services (upper threshold 41,250 euros). The single 25,000-euro threshold that had been considered was repealed. You can therefore stay a micro-entrepreneur while charging VAT if you exceed 37,500 euros.

To calibrate your day rate and know at what income the switch becomes worthwhile, read our article on how to set your day rate and manage your costs, as well as our analysis of when to switch from micro-enterprise to a company.

A SASU concentrates three families of costs that a freelancer must anticipate before starting.

1. Social contributions on remuneration. If you pay yourself a salary, the total cost (employer and employee contributions) represents a significant burden, close to that of an executive. Conversely, if you pay yourself no remuneration, you pay no contributions: but you then accrue no rights to retirement, health or contingency cover under your office. It is a false advantage.
2. Corporate income tax. It applies to profit after remuneration and expenses, at 15% up to 42,500 euros then 25%.
3. Structural costs. Accounting, bookkeeping, annual accounts, tax return, annual legal filing (approval of accounts) and professional banking fees.

The SASU lever lies in the arbitrage between salary and dividends. Dividends paid by a SASU bear no social contributions, whatever their amount. They are subject to the single flat tax of 31.4% in 2026 (12.8% income tax and 18.6% social levies, after the 1.4-point increase in CSG). This is a notable difference from the EURL under corporate tax, where the fraction of dividends above 10% of the capital is subject to the manager's self-employed contributions.

Our dedicated piece on arbitrating between salary and dividends and our analysis of the founder's remuneration mix explore this calculation, which depends on your personal tax situation.

Umbrella employment is the third route, often underestimated. You sign an employment contract with an umbrella company that invoices your clients on your behalf and pays you a salary, after deducting charges and management fees (generally 5% to 12% of turnover excluding tax).

Umbrella employment gives you employee status, hence unemployment insurance and full protection, with no administrative or accounting management. In return, the conversion cost is high: out of 100 euros invoiced, around 45 to 55 euros usually remain as net pay, management fees included. It is the most protective solution but the least wealth-building.

To go further, we detail the advantages and limits of the model on our freelancer and umbrella employment page and in our sector file on accountancy and umbrella employment.

Some circumstances change the trade-off. A freelancer in a regulated profession (health, law) may be required to use a specific legal form: the SASU is not always available. A freelancer with a single, permanent client must be especially wary of reclassification risk (see below), whatever their status.

A freelancer who combines self-employment with a salaried job, or who receives the return-to-work allowance, deals with specific cumulation rules: a micro-enterprise or a SASU with no remuneration may preserve the allowance, but each case deserves verification. Finally, a freelancer aiming for a resale or fundraising has every interest in structuring as a company from the start: a SASU easily converts into a multi-shareholder SAS.

The underestimated risk: reclassification as disguised employment. Article L8221-6 of the French Labour Code sets a presumption of non-salaried status for registered independents, but that presumption falls if you work in a permanent relationship of legal subordination towards a single client. Imposed schedules, integration into the teams, de facto exclusivity, absence of other clients: these indicators can lead to the relationship being reclassified as an employment contract, with back-payment of contributions over three years. Setting up a SASU does not protect you if the reality of the engagement looks like a job.

What the authorities look at. URSSAF and the courts analyse a concrete bundle of indicators, not the legal form. A single-client SASU, invoicing the same amount each month to the same company, with precise operational instructions, draws attention. Diversify your clients and keep your evidence of independence (quotes, several engagements, your own choice of tools).

Do not neglect social protection. Paying yourself zero salary to escape contributions may seem clever, but you then validate no retirement quarters and have no cover in the event of sick leave. For an independent who lives off their activity, it is a risky bet.

Our take. A SASU is not a start-up status. It is a consolidation status, for when your activity is stable, you have real expenses to deduct and you want to optimise the balance between remuneration and dividends. As long as your target net income stays below 50,000 to 60,000 euros, micro-enterprise or umbrella employment almost always offer a better simplicity-to-cost ratio.

A digital transformation consultant recently came to us because he had set up a SASU from his very first euro of turnover, drawn by the image of running a company. With 28,000 euros of turnover in his first year and a single client, he combined two problems: accounting costs disproportionate to his income, and a single-client profile that exposed him to reclassification risk. We secured his situation by diversifying his engagements and tightening his contracts, but a micro-enterprise would have saved him time and money at the outset.

The trade-off we recommend. Ask yourself three questions: what is my target net income over 12 months? Do I have significant real expenses to deduct? Do I need unemployment insurance? If you answer yes to high income and deductible expenses, the SASU makes full sense. If you favour security and simplicity, umbrella employment or micro-enterprise are better suited. As chartered accountants registered with the French Order, we help you model these scenarios on your real figures before choosing.

Hayot Expertise advice. Before setting up a SASU, have your total cost quantified under each of the three statuses against your income forecast. The right decision is made on a personalised comparison table, not on intuition. We offer this simulation as part of our accounting support dedicated to SASUs and our accountant for freelancers offering.