English-speaking French CPA for liberal professions: BNC 2035, SELARL/SELAS, URSSAF/CIPAV/CARMF contributions, Madelin deductions, foreign qualification recognition. Expert accounting for expats and foreign professionals in France.
France has a distinct legal category called professions libérales (liberal professions) that does not map neatly onto Anglo-Saxon concepts. If you are a doctor, dentist, lawyer, architect, engineer, consultant, physiotherapist, or psychologist relocating to France or setting up practice here, you will almost certainly fall into this category — and French tax and social security law treats it very specifically.
A liberal profession in French law is an independent intellectual activity, exercised personally and in direct relationship with clients, typically requiring a recognised professional qualification. They divide into two groups:
For French income tax, all liberal professionals fall under BNC — Bénéfices Non Commerciaux (non-commercial profits): a distinct tax category separate from employment income, commercial income, or company profits.
Hayot Expertise is an English-speaking French accounting firm (cabinet d'expertise comptable) specialised in liberal professions, supporting foreign professionals across medicine, law, architecture, consulting, training, therapy, and more.
France offers two BNC filing options:
1. Micro-BNC (simplified): Available if annual professional revenue is below €77,700 (2026 threshold). A flat 34% deduction is applied to gross revenue — you are taxed on 66% of receipts, with no deduction for actual expenses. Simple, but disadvantageous when your real expenses exceed 34%.
2. Régime réel — déclaration contrôlée (Form 2035): You deduct all actual professional expenses. The déclaration 2035 is the core annual tax return for liberal professionals in France. Unlike a corporate tax return, there is no statutory balance sheet for individual BNC — only a revenue and expense ledger (livre-journal des recettes et dépenses) and a fixed asset register (registre des immobilisations et amortissements).
When to choose réel over micro-BNC: if your actual expenses exceed 34% of revenue — typical for regulated professions with significant overheads — the réel regime is more advantageous. Above €77,700, it is mandatory.
This is the area that surprises foreign professionals most. Unlike employees — where contributions are split between employer and employee — a self-employed liberal professional in France pays all social contributions personally, and the rates are substantial.
| Body | For Whom | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| URSSAF | All TNS (self-employed) professionals | Health insurance, family benefits, CSG/CRDS |
| CIPAV | Most unregulated liberal professions (consultants, architects, etc.) | Basic and supplementary pension |
| CARMF | Doctors (médecins) | Medical profession pension |
| CARPIMKO | Paramedical professions (nurses, physiotherapists, midwives) | Pension |
| CNBF | Lawyers (avocats) | Lawyer profession pension |
| CARCDSF | Dentists and midwives | Dental profession pension |
| CAVP | Pharmacists | Pharmacist pension |
Overall TNS contribution rate: approximately 45–48% of your net BNC income (all bodies combined). A foreign professional earning €100,000 BNC annually will pay approximately €45,000–€48,000 in social contributions before income tax. Cash-flow planning from day one is essential.
French TNS contributions are provisionally calculated on the prior year's income, then adjusted the following year. For a newly arrived foreign professional in year 1 or year 2:
We model this timeline for every new foreign client and build a monthly cash provision so the catch-up does not create a crisis.
French law (Loi Madelin) allows TNS professionals to deduct supplementary pension, disability, and health contributions from their taxable BNC income. In 2026:
Maximum Madelin pension deduction = 10% of net BNC + 15% of the portion between 1 PASS and 8 PASS (PASS = €46,368 in 2026; effective maximum ≈ €37,094/year for high earners)
A foreign professional earning €120,000 BNC can deduct up to ~€22,000 in Madelin contributions, saving up to €9,000 in income tax at the 41% marginal bracket, plus reducing the social contribution base.
The simplest entry point for a foreign liberal professional arriving in France. You register directly with URSSAF (and the relevant professional body if regulated). No share capital, no articles of association required. Taxed under the BNC regime.
Suitable when: annual BNC below €70,000–€80,000, just starting out, or exploring the French market.
When annual BNC exceeds €70,000–€100,000, a corporate structure becomes tax-efficient. France created SEL (Société d'Exercice Libéral) vehicles specifically for regulated liberal professions:
For unregulated liberal professions (consultants, coaches, trainers), standard SASU or SAS vehicles are used without the SEL constraint.
Remuneration strategy in a SELARL: the company pays IS on profits. The manager takes a salary (deductible from the IS base), then separately distributes dividends taxed at the PFU flat rate of 31.4% (17.2% social charges + 12.8% income tax). We run an annual simulation to find the optimal salary/dividend split.
For regulated professionals in SELARL/SELAS, a SPFPL (Société de Participations Financières de Professions Libérales) is a holding company that receives dividends from your SEL with near-zero taxation (régime mère-fille: 95% exemption, net tax friction of ~1.25%). This allows you to:
A SCM (Société Civile de Moyens) is used when two or more liberal professionals want to share costs (rent, receptionist, equipment) without merging their activities. Each professional remains independent for tax purposes (filing their own 2035), and the SCM invoices shared costs at net cost. The SCM itself is transparent for French tax — no IS at the SCM level.
Common for: multi-doctor practices, architecture offices, physiotherapy clinics, multi-partner law firms.
The EU Professional Qualifications Directive (2005/36/EC) provides for mutual recognition. EU nationals benefit from a streamlined process but must formally apply to the relevant French ordre professionnel and may need to:
Recognition is handled case by case through diploma equivalence procedures (équivalence de diplôme). Some bilateral agreements exist (Franco-American for doctors, etc.). The process can take 6–18 months. We help you structure your business and tax affairs during the transition period so you are ready to invoice from day one of legal authorisation.
| Indicator | Formula | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Net professional receipts | Gross fees – Retroceded fees | Growth > 5%/year |
| Expense ratio | Deductible expenses / Net receipts | 30–45% |
| Net taxable BNC | Net receipts – Expenses | 55–70% of net receipts |
| TNS contribution rate | Social contributions / BNC | 45–48% (TNS) |
| Overall effective tax rate | (Income tax + PS + contributions) / BNC | 55–65% (individual BNC) |
| Net disposable income | BNC – All taxes and contributions | 35–45% of net receipts |
| Cash safety buffer | Bank balance / Monthly expenses | Minimum 3–6 months |
✅ English-speaking French CPA: we explain the BNC regime, Form 2035, and SELARL/SELAS in plain English ✅ Sector specialists: doctors, lawyers, architects, consultants, physiotherapists — we know your specific contribution bodies and accounting rules ✅ Foreign professional onboarding: URSSAF registration, Madelin setup, and first 2035 declaration ✅ Structure optimisation: BNC vs SELARL simulation, salary/dividend split, Madelin maximisation ✅ Digital accounting on Pennylane: cloud-based, real-time, accessible from anywhere in the world
Background: Jennifer A., a former McKinsey consultant based in New York, relocated to Paris in 2022 with her French spouse. She set up as an independent management consultant (conseil en management), a non-regulated liberal profession.
Year 1 — individual BNC at réel regime: annual fees €95,000 (two retained clients: a private equity fund and a CAC 40 group's transformation office). CIPAV contributions: €12,400 (CIPAV base + complementary). URSSAF: €7,800. Deductible expenses (home office, business travel Paris-London-Brussels, client lunches, laptop, professional subscriptions, professional liability insurance): €18,600.
Taxable BNC: 95,000 - 12,400 - 7,800 - 18,600 = €56,200. Income tax: approximately €13,800 (with partial household deductions). Net disposable: ~€61,000. Effective tax + contribution rate: 35.8% — this surprised Jennifer coming from a New York tax environment where LLC pass-through + self-employment taxes had reached very similar levels.
Year 2 — Madelin optimisation: Jennifer maximised her Madelin pension deduction (€19,600 at 10% of BNC + 15% of PASS excess), reducing taxable BNC from €56,200 to €36,600. Income tax dropped by €8,036 (41% marginal rate). First-year Madelin cost €19,600 but net saving after tax: €8,036 + CIPAV réduction ~€2,900 = €10,936 net benefit in year 2.
Year 3 — SASU incorporation: annual fees reached €180,000. Under individual BNC, total tax + contributions approached 60% of gross. SASU with:
For consultants, trainers, architects, and advisors billing international clients from France, understanding the VAT position of each client type is essential:
Common error: French liberal professionals billing US companies incorrectly charge French VAT. This is incorrect for B2B services to non-EU businesses — the service is outside scope and no VAT should appear on the invoice. Conversely, failing to file OSS on B2C EU services above €10,000 is a compliance gap increasingly targeted by French and EU tax authorities.
| Filing | Deadline |
|---|---|
| BNC micro-2042 (income declaration) | Mid-May (online) |
| Form 2035 (réel BNC return) | Mid-May |
| CFE payment | 15 December |
| URSSAF provisional contributions | January + June + November |
| CIPAV/pension fund regularisation | October (based on prior year income) |
| DAS2 (declarations of fees paid to third parties > €1,200/year) | 1st business day of February |
| EU OSS VAT return | Quarterly (20 April, 20 July, 20 October, 20 January) |
Missing the DAS2 declaration (required when you pay more than €1,200 per year to any individual freelancer or consultant) generates a 15% penalty on the total amount not declared. Many foreign professionals have never heard of DAS2 and discover it during their first tax audit.
📞 Request a free consultation — Hayot Expertise, 58 rue de Monceau, 75008 Paris
For more on liberal health professions, see our accountant for doctors guide for 2026 — BNC, SELARL, 2035 and CARMF.
Liberal professions in France represent over 3 million professionals, contributing approximately 12% of GDP. The sector experiences annual growth of +3.5% and encompasses varied professions: healthcare (doctors, dentists, physiotherapists), legal (lawyers, notaries), architecture, consulting, training, therapy, and chartered accounting. The micro-BNC threshold for 2026 is set at €77,700.
Micro-BNC (34% flat allowance) applies up to €77,700 in revenue. Beyond this, or if expenses exceed 34%, the real 2035 regime becomes mandatory or more advantageous. It allows deduction of all actual expenses and equipment depreciation.
The transition to a company becomes advantageous from €70,000-100,000 in BNC. SELARL (TNS manager, ~45% contributions) is preferred for regulated professions. SASU/SAS offers more flexibility for non-regulated professions.
TNS can deduct Madelin contributions (health, disability, retirement) and PER payments (up to 10% of net taxable income, limit 8 PASS). These devices significantly reduce tax and prepare for retirement.
For regulated professions, the SPFPL holds SEL shares and receives dividends in quasi-exemption (parent-subsidiary regime). For non-regulated professions, a standard holding plays the same role. Ideal for building wealth without tax friction.
Wherever you are in France, we deploy a 100% digital interface to deliver fast, highly-structured accounting and financial steering.
Samuel Hayot is a French chartered accountant and statutory auditor registered with the Paris professional bodies.
The firm is based in Paris 8 and operates with a delivery model designed for businesses located across France.
Pennylane, Dext, Silae and an automation-first setup built for visibility and speed.
Visible phone number, simple contact path, fast engagement letter and tighter qualification of the mandate.
30 complimentary minutes with Samuel Hayot to challenge your reporting and surface your priority levers.
Accounting for liberal professions in France requires more than compliance: it should also support cash flow and income visibility.
Majority or minority manager of SELARL: how to arbitrate rémunération, contributions and dividends in 2026?
SELARL and BNC in 2026: what revenues fall under the BNC, what revenues fall under the social mandate and what practical impacts?
Attractiveness, meaning, tools, management and new expectations: how the arrival of Génération Z is reshuffling the cards in the liberal accounting profession.
BNC (Bénéfices Non Commerciaux) is the French tax regime for most liberal professions. Unlike corporate tax, there is no statutory balance sheet for individual BNC — you keep a revenue and expense ledger and file Form 2035 annually. The micro-BNC simplified option (34% flat deduction) applies up to €77,700 revenue in 2026; above this threshold or when actual expenses exceed 34%, the réel regime with full expense deduction is used. Deductible expenses include professional body fees, liability insurance, equipment depreciation, and Madelin pension contributions.
As a TNS (travailleur non salarié — self-employed) liberal professional, you pay approximately 45–48% of your net BNC income in social contributions: URSSAF (health, family, CSG/CRDS) plus your profession's pension fund — CIPAV for most consultants and architects, CARMF for doctors, CNBF for lawyers, CARPIMKO for physiotherapists, CARCDSF for dentists. Contributions are provisional in year 1 (based on estimated income) and regularised in year 2, creating a cash-flow catch-up that must be planned for from day one.
The SELARL (Société d'Exercice Libéral à Responsabilité Limitée) becomes advantageous when annual BNC income exceeds €70,000–€100,000. In a SELARL, the company pays corporation tax at 15% (up to €42,500 profit) then 25%, and the majority manager takes a combination of salary and dividends — producing significantly lower total taxation than a pure BNC individual. The SELARL also limits personal liability and allows wealth accumulation via a SPFPL holding structure.
Yes, but foreign qualifications must first be recognised by the relevant French professional body (ordre). EU/EEA nationals benefit from the EU Qualifications Directive (2005/36/EC) and a streamlined process, though an aptitude test or adaptation period may be required. Non-EU professionals must go through a diploma equivalence procedure (équivalence de diplôme), which can take 6–18 months. French language competence is required for patient/client-facing professions. We help structure your tax affairs during the recognition transition period.
The Loi Madelin allows French TNS liberal professionals to deduct supplementary pension, disability, and health insurance contributions from their taxable BNC income. In 2026, the maximum pension deduction is 10% of BNC + 15% of income between 1 and 8 PASS (PASS = €46,368; effective maximum ~€37,094/year). A professional in the 41% income tax bracket can save €9,000+ in income tax annually through Madelin contributions, while building a supplementary pension on top of mandatory URSSAF and profession-specific contributions.