Wine producer: taxation, agricultural profits and VAT

Quick answer. A wine producer who sells the wine made from their own harvest earns agricultural profits (bénéfices agricoles), because the activity is agricultural in nature. Three tax regimes apply (micro-BA, simplified actual, standard actual) and VAT follows its own logic (flat-rate refund or simplified agricultural regime), with wine taxed at 20%.

Do you farm an estate, make your own wine and sell your production? Wine is not an ordinary commodity: it ages, it is held in stock across several vintages, and both your tax regime and your VAT regime shape your cash flow and the value on your balance sheet. This article reviews the taxation of the wine producer, how agricultural profits are calculated, and the two VAT logics that apply, so you can make informed choices.

A wine producer who sells the product of their harvest, meaning the wine made from their own vines, earns agricultural profits. This tax category is not a choice: it follows from the very nature of the activity, which consists of transforming and selling a plant-based production.

This classification has concrete consequences. It determines the applicable tax regime, the accounting obligations, the treatment of inventory and the way taxable profit is computed. It differs from industrial and commercial profits (BIC), which would apply, for instance, to trading in wines bought from third parties.

In winery files, the line between agricultural and commercial activity deserves attention from the outset, because it shapes the whole tax and accounting structure.

Agricultural profits may fall under three regimes: micro-BA, simplified actual and standard actual. The applicable regime depends mainly on the level of revenue, assessed over a multi-year average.

The micro-BA regime#

Under micro-BA, taxable profit equals the average revenue of the last three years, reduced by a flat allowance of 87% meant to represent all expenses, with a minimum allowance. This regime applies below a revenue threshold assessed on the three-year average.

Micro-BA appeals through its simplicity, but the 87% flat allowance does not always reflect the reality of a winery's costs, which can be high (equipment, labour, inputs, ageing). When your actual costs exceed the allowance, you pay tax on a theoretical profit higher than your real profit.

The simplified actual regime#

Between the micro-BA threshold and the standard actual threshold, the operator falls under the simplified actual regime. Taxable profit is then determined from real accounting: income, actual expenses, depreciation, change in inventory. Reporting obligations are lighter than under the standard actual regime.

The standard actual regime#

The operator falls under the standard actual regime by default when average revenue exceeds 391,000 EUR excl. VAT (threshold assessed as of 1 January 2026). This regime requires full accounting and the most extensive reporting obligations. It is also available by election for an operator wishing to deduct actual expenses.

The wine producer's VAT follows two very different situations, which must be well understood because they do not have the same accounting consequences.

The flat-rate agricultural refund#

Operators not liable for VAT do not charge the tax to their customers. In return for the VAT they bear on their purchases, they receive an annual flat-rate agricultural refund. This refund is income to be recorded in the operating result.

A major accounting point: under this regime, inventory is recorded including VAT (TTC), since the operator does not recover input VAT. This particularity has a direct effect on the value of wine inventory on the balance sheet.

The simplified agricultural regime (RSA)#

Under the simplified agricultural regime, the operator is liable for VAT: they charge it to customers, collect it, deduct it on purchases and report it. Their inventory is then valued excluding VAT (HT). Liability under the RSA may apply by default or result from an election.

The sale of wine is subject to VAT at the rate of 20%.

This is the most sensitive point in winery files. Wine inventory turns over slowly: a vintage may stay in the cellar for several years between vinification, ageing and sale. This slowness makes its valuation and accounting follow-up particularly delicate.

A common mistake is to overlook the consistency between the VAT regime and the treatment of inventory. Under the flat-rate refund, inventory is recorded including VAT; under the RSA, it is excluding VAT. A poorly anticipated change of regime mechanically distorts inventory value, and therefore profit and the balance sheet.

There is also the question of cost price: wine still ageing must include the production costs incurred, rather than being valued carelessly. Over large volumes and successive vintages, a valuation gap can weigh heavily on tax.

Choosing the agricultural profits regime is not only a matter of thresholds. For a winery with high costs, micro-BA and its 87% allowance may lead to paying tax on a profit higher than the real one. Switching to the actual regime, by election, restores control over the deduction of expenses, depreciation and the change in inventory.

On the VAT side, the simplified agricultural regime is often clearer for an estate that invests (equipment, cellar, bottling) because it allows the recovery of input VAT. But each estate has its own logic: volume, cost structure, investment plans, sales channels. The trade-off is made case by case.

1. Establish the three-year average revenue to position the estate against the micro-BA threshold and the 391,000 EUR excl. VAT threshold.
2. Compare micro-BA and the actual regime by weighing the 87% allowance against your real costs (equipment, labour, inputs, depreciation).
3. Decide the VAT question between the flat-rate refund and the simplified agricultural regime, factoring in your investment plans.
4. Check the consistency of inventory and VAT (TTC under the flat-rate refund, HT under the RSA) before any change of regime.
5. Formalise elections within the deadlines and keep the supporting documents.
6. Set up inventory tracking by vintage, with a documented cost price.

To structure these choices from the start, support with business creation in Paris helps set the right legal and tax framework. Ongoing follow-up then falls under bookkeeping and accounting review, and the trade-offs fall under corporate tax expertise.

In winery files, one pattern recurs regularly: a growing estate sees its three-year average revenue rise and crosses the actual-regime threshold without having anticipated the change in accounting obligations. The outcome is not dramatic in itself, but the delay in setting up real accounting complicates the year-end close, the valuation of inventory and the tax return. Anticipating the threshold crossing avoids this kind of friction.

• Revenue excl. VAT tracked and three-year average computed
• Agricultural profits regime identified (micro-BA, simplified actual, standard actual)
• VAT position clarified (flat-rate refund or RSA)
• Wine inventory counted by vintage
• Inventory valuation method consistent with the VAT regime (TTC or HT)
• Cost price of ageing wines documented
• Depreciation of equipment and facilities tracked
• Tax and VAT elections formalised and archived

• The 391,000 EUR excl. VAT threshold triggers the standard actual regime by default (assessed as of 1 January 2026): monitor your three-year average.
• The 87% micro-BA allowance can be unfavourable if your real costs are high.
• Any change of VAT regime requires revisiting inventory valuation (TTC to HT or the reverse).
• VAT on wine remains at 20%: factor it into your pricing policy and your cash flow.