Simplified or normal tax regime in France: which to choose in 2026?

Quick answer. The simplified regime (RSI) applies between €85,000 and €840,000 of turnover for trade, and between €37,500 and €254,000 for services; above that, the normal regime applies. VAT due above €15,000 in the prior year shifts you to the normal regime, even within the RSI band. Decisive point: the simplified VAT regime ends on 1 January 2027, so it must be prepared for in 2026.

The simplified regime rests on a trade-off: lighter VAT filing obligations — one annual return instead of monthly — in exchange for less precise cash management. It suits small and mid-sized businesses that need a more flexible framework without falling under the micro scheme.

The 2025 Finance Law ends this model. From 1 January 2027, the simplified VAT regime will no longer exist: all businesses outside the VAT exemption will fall under the normal regime, with monthly or, for modest turnover, quarterly filing. Choosing between simplified and normal regime in 2026 is therefore not only a present decision: it is also preparing for that shift.

At Hayot Expertise, a firm registered with the Ordre des experts-comptables, we meet many owner-managers convinced they can "stay on the simplified regime until 2027" without grasping that the mandatory transition will have concrete effects on their software setup and cash flow. Understanding the real differences today avoids improvising tomorrow.

The simplified regime applies when turnover excluding VAT stays within a defined band: a lower bound, matching the VAT exemption threshold, and an upper bound, above which the business falls under the normal regime.

These thresholds are assessed on calendar-year turnover. A tolerance buffer exists: a business that crosses the upper bound at year-end stays on the simplified regime the following year, up to €925,000 for trade and €287,000 for services.

There is a second gateway to the normal regime, often overlooked: even within the RSI band, a business whose VAT due in the prior year exceeds €15,000 falls under the normal regime for VAT — the "mini-real" — with a monthly CA3 return.

This is the real operational difference between the two regimes.

Simplified regime (RSI)#

The business pays two semi-annual instalments and files one annual adjustment return:

1. July instalment: 55% of the prior year's VAT liability.
2. December instalment: 40% of the prior year's VAT liability.
3. CA12 return (no. 3517-S): by the second business day after 1 May, adjusting the actual VAT for the year just ended.

A business whose prior-year VAT liability is below €1,000 is exempt from instalments and pays the VAT once, with the CA12.

Normal regime (RN)#

The business files a CA3 return (no. 3310) monthly and pays the actual net VAT for the period. Where annual VAT due is below €4,000, it may opt for a quarterly CA3. There is no fixed instalment: you pay the VAT actually due.

Comparison#

At an identical tax rate, the two regimes do not carry the same tax amount; what changes is the cash-flow rhythm.

A business regularly generating a VAT credit — heavy investment, partly exempt activity, seasonality — clearly benefits from the normal regime: it can claim a refund each month, instead of waiting for the CA12 filed in May of the following year. Conversely, a business with stable, positive net VAT finds predictable cash flow in the RSI instalments, with only two due dates.

Three situations lead to the normal regime:

• Crossing the turnover threshold: above €254,000 (services) or €840,000 (sales), the change is automatic from the following 1 January.
• VAT due above €15,000 in the prior year: a shift to mini-real for VAT, even if turnover stays within the RSI band.
• Voluntary election: a business eligible for the RSI may elect the normal regime, for instance if it carries significant VAT credits or prefers monthly tracking.

This is the decisive point. The 2025 Finance Law abolishes the simplified VAT regime from 1 January 2027. No business will be able to use it.

From that date, every business outside the VAT exemption will fall under the normal regime. Filing will be quarterly, unless the monthly option is taken, where prior-year turnover does not exceed €1m (and current-year turnover €1.1m); above that, it will be monthly.

For a business currently on the RSI, this means replacing the two semi-annual instalments with regular CA3 returns, a new cash-flow calendar and a software setup to review. Two strategies present themselves in 2026: actively prepare the shift for January 2027, or elect the normal regime now to run in the processes before the legal deadline.

Two regimes are often confused: the simplified regime for taxing profits (the 2033 return) survives after 2027; it is the simplified VAT regime that disappears. A business can therefore remain on the simplified profit regime while moving to the monthly CA3 for VAT.

• New business: a new activity can choose the RSI if its projected turnover falls within the band, or elect the normal regime from the outset. Nothing forces the simplified regime.
• Mixed activity (sales and services): each threshold is assessed separately; if one is exceeded, the normal regime applies to the whole.
• Seasonal business: assessment is on actual annual turnover, not an average; a strong year can be enough to shift to the normal regime.

• VAT and profits: simplified and normal regime concern VAT first. The same business can be on the simplified regime for profits and the normal regime for VAT.
• The €15,000 threshold: the mini-real rule is often overlooked; as soon as VAT due exceeds it, the monthly CA3 applies.
• CIBS recodification: Ordinance no. 2025-1247 of 17 December 2025 moves VAT provisions from the CGI to the Code on Taxes on Goods and Services on 1 September 2026. The regime does not change, but article references evolve.

We recently advised a services SME with €320,000 of turnover preparing for 2027. On the simplified regime since inception, it paid its July and December instalments without much thought. We compared two scenarios: keeping the RSI until the legal shift in January 2027, at the risk of a missed software setup and shaky filings in the first months, or electing the normal regime in 2026 to run in the monthly CA3 before the deadline.

The business chose the voluntary election. Today it handles monthly filing comfortably, its team has absorbed the new rhythm, and the 2027 legal change will be a simple continuity. The real stake is not choosing the regime that "saves the most tax" — they are neutral on that — but the one that fits your cash flow, your software and your organisational horizon.

Hayot Expertise advice. If you are on the simplified regime in 2026 and your turnover exceeds €150,000, test a move to the normal regime now. You will steer the transition at your own pace, identify the friction points and enter the single 2027 regime calmly. The end of the simplified regime is not a distant deadline: better to prepare for it today.