Setting up a French micro-entreprise (auto-entrepreneur) in 2026

This guide is written for expats and foreign founders by a French CPA, an English-speaking accountant in Paris, with practical focus on accounting in France, French corporate tax, business setup in France and French payroll.

With 1.1+ million company registrations in France in 2025 — 63% as micro-entreprise, this ultra-simplified regime remains the favourite launchpad for freelancers, consultants, artisans, regulated professions and small e-commerce operators. Its promise: start your activity in 24-48 hours, with no capital, no complex bookkeeping, and charges proportional to actual revenue.

But the regime is moving. The VAT franchise reform (2025-2026 finance acts), the rise in CA thresholds, the URSSAF rate adjustment and the full digital migration via the INPI single-window change the landscape in 2026.

This guide, written by Samuel HAYOT, an English-speaking French CPA in Paris 8th, walks you step by step through setting up your micro-entreprise in 2026, anticipating pitfalls, and choosing when to upgrade to a SASU or EURL.

See also: Setting up a SASU step by step | How much does a French CPA cost

The micro-entreprise is not a legal form but a simplified tax & social regime applied to a sole proprietorship (Entreprise Individuelle). Since the abolition of EIRL (Feb 2022 law), all sole proprietors automatically benefit from a statutory separation between personal and business assets — a major protection upgrade.

Key features#

Who is the micro-entreprise made for?#

✅ Best suited to:

• Tech freelancers, consultants, trainers, designers
• Liberal professionals starting out (psychologist, osteopath, coach)
• Artisans launching (construction, beauty, personal services)
• E-commerce operators in market-test phase
• Side-hustle activities (alongside salary, retirement, studies)

❌ Not adapted if:

• You plan to hire quickly (SAS/SASU charges become more competitive)
• Real charges exceed 30-40% of turnover (resale, agency with subcontracting)
• You intend to raise capital (SAS/SASU is the standard vehicle)
• B2B clients require VAT-charging invoices from day one
• Your activity is regulated and excludes the micro regime

Most commercial, artisanal and liberal activities are eligible. Notable exclusions:

• Agricultural activities (MSA scheme)
• Regulated medical and legal professions (doctor, lawyer, notary, pharmacist…)
• Insurance and real-estate brokerage
• Activities under Maison des Artistes / Agessa
• Property dealers, real-estate developers, certain rental activities
• Public officers and ministerial professions

Liberal professions and Cipav#

Since 2018, only certain liberal professions remain affiliated to Cipav (specific pension fund): architects, surveyors, consulting engineers, osteopaths, psychologists, occupational therapists, dieticians… All other liberal professions (consultants, coaches, trainers, marketing experts…) now fall under the general SSI scheme (independent workers' social security) with rights aligned with employees.

The deduction represents lump-sum charges: a BNC freelancer with €50,000 turnover is taxed on €50,000 × (1 – 34%) = €33,000 added to their household IR.

Final-payment income tax option (versement libératoire)#

Lets you pay income tax alongside URSSAF at flat rates:

Eligibility: household reference fiscal income N-2 ≤ €27,478 per share (2026 cap).

When to activate it? If your top tax bracket (TMI) is ≥ 30%, the final payment is generally beneficial. If TMI = 11% or you're tax-exempt, don't activate it — you'd pay more IR than under the standard scale.

Required documents:

1. ID (passport or French CNI)
2. Recent proof of address (< 3 months)
3. Auto-filled non-conviction declaration on the INPI portal
4. For artisans: professional qualification (diploma or 3 years' experience) — mandatory in regulated trades
5. For collaborating spouses: status declaration

Choosing the registered office#

• Personal home — default, free; check lease/condominium clauses (5-year statutory authorisation if forbidden)
• Domiciliation provider — €240–600/year (Sedomicilier, Kandbaz, Regus); useful to separate personal/business or get a Paris business address
• Commercial premises — required if receiving the public

Trade name#

Verify availability on data.inpi.fr (trademarks), pappers.fr (existing companies), afnic.fr (.fr domains).

Since 1 January 2023, all registrations go exclusively through procedures.inpi.fr — even for micro-entrepreneurs.

Online steps (~30 minutes)#

1. Create an INPI account
2. Select "Création d'entreprise — Personne physique"
3. Enter main activity (assistant for APE/NAF code)
4. Choose tax regime (micro by default)
5. Choose social regime (micro-social by default)
6. Optional final-payment income tax election
7. Optional VAT election (if you want to charge VAT despite the franchise)
8. Upload supporting documents
9. Electronic signature

Numbers received#

Tip: as soon as you receive the SIRET, create your account on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr to file monthly or quarterly URSSAF declarations.

Dedicated bank account#

Mandatory if turnover > €10,000 over 2 consecutive years (article L.133-6-8-4 CSS). Doesn't have to be a "pro" account: a separate personal current account dedicated to the activity is legally sufficient. Recommended neobanks:

Compliant invoicing software#

E-invoicing reform: from September 2026, receiving B2B e-invoices becomes mandatory; issuing rolls out 2026-2027. Anticipate with software certified PDP or Chorus Pro-compatible.

Recommended for micro: Indy (€10-30/mo), Tiime (free–€15/mo), Henrri (free), Freebe (€10-20/mo).

Professional liability insurance#

Mandatory for regulated professions; recommended otherwise. €200–600/year.

URSSAF declarations#

Choose monthly (recommended) or quarterly. Zero declaration mandatory even with no turnover.

2026 rates (excl. final-payment IR):

Annual income tax filing#

Form 2042-C-PRO appended to your IR return (May/June year N+1). Even with the final-payment option, you must declare turnover.

VAT franchise and 2026 thresholds#

Crossing the base threshold → start charging VAT from the 1st day of the month exceeding it. Below the top threshold for 2 years → no automatic switch. Above the top threshold → immediate VAT liability.

CFE local business tax#

• Exempt the year of creation
• From year N+1: between €100 and €1,200/year depending on commune. Full exemption if turnover ≤ €5,000 in N-2.

Three signals to upgrade to SASU or EURL:

1. Turnover ceiling exceeded for 2 consecutive years → automatic switch to réel BIC/BNC.
2. Real charges > flat-rate deduction → you're paying tax on phantom profits.
3. Structuring project: fundraise, hiring, holding setup, sale, dividend optimisation, ARE preservation, asset protection.

See our complete SASU setup guide with side-by-side numbers.

1. Skipping zero-turnover declarations (loss of social rights, URSSAF surcharges).
2. Mixing personal and pro accounts.
3. Forgetting VAT after threshold crossing.
4. Final-payment IR with non-eligible income.
5. Not budgeting CFE in year N+1.
6. Running a micro and an EURL on the same activity (forbidden).
7. Failing to consult a CPA at threshold crossings.

Ideal if: projected turnover < 50% of cap, real charges < 30%, solo activity, no fundraising horizon, cumulative with employment / retirement / studies / ARE.

Avoid if: charges > 40% of turnover, hiring planned within 12 months, B2B clients require VAT from day one, high asset-protection needs, structured exit plan.

Our Paris 8th firm offers 3 levels of support for foreign founders:

Request your free audit — answer within 24 hours.

• URSSAF — Auto-entrepreneur
• Service-public.fr — Micro regime
• Bpifrance — Micro-entrepreneur
• INPI single-window
• impots.gouv.fr — Micro tax regime

Hesitating between micro-entreprise, EURL and SASU? Contact Hayot Expertise for a free, numbers-based audit of your situation.

Foreign founders often assume one number governs the micro regime. In fact two distinct sets of limits run in parallel, and confusing them is a frequent source of trouble.

The first set is the turnover ceiling that keeps you inside the micro regime at all: €203,100 for the sale of goods and accommodation, or €83,600 for services and BNC (liberal) activities. The second set is the VAT franchise, which only decides whether you charge VAT. The franchise threshold sits much lower: €85,000 for goods (top threshold €93,500) and €37,500 for services and liberal professions (top threshold €41,250). The 25,000 single threshold floated for 2025 was not retained; the differentiated thresholds above are what apply.

The practical consequence is that you can remain a micro-entrepreneur and still have to charge VAT. Crossing the base franchise threshold makes you liable for VAT from the first day of the month in which you exceed it, even though your activity continues under the micro regime. As long as you stay below the top threshold across two years, there is no automatic switch the following year. Go past the top threshold and VAT applies immediately.

This matters for budgeting. A service freelancer near €37,500 who lands one large invoice can become VAT-liable mid-year, which means re-pricing, issuing compliant VAT invoices, and filing returns, all unplanned. Watching the franchise threshold, not just the micro ceiling, is the discipline that prevents penalties and a VAT recovery claim reaching back over three years.

The micro regime taxes you on a fixed share of turnover after a flat-rate deduction (71% for BIC sales, 50% for BIC services, 34% for BNC). That deduction is meant to stand in for your real costs. It is generous only while your real costs stay below it.

Consider a BNC consultant invoicing €70,000 with €25,000 of genuine business costs: travel, subcontracting, training and equipment.

Under the micro regime, the 34% deduction means income tax is calculated on €46,200. The consultant is therefore taxed on €23,800 of profit that does not exist, because the real margin is €45,000.

Switch to the réel BNC regime, or to a SASU, and tax is computed on the actual €45,000 of profit. If those real costs were instead €35,000, the case for leaving micro becomes clearly favourable: you would be paying tax on phantom profit every year you stay.

This is one of the three exit signals. The others are crossing the turnover ceiling for two consecutive years, which forces an automatic move to the réel regime on 1 January, and any structuring project: hiring, a fundraise, a holding, a future sale, dividend planning, or preserving ARE unemployment rights in full. When one of these appears, the SASU or EURL usually becomes the natural next vehicle, and it is better chosen deliberately than triggered by an unplanned threshold breach.

See also: Setting up a SASU step by step | How much does a French CPA cost