Chartered Accountant for Independent Consultants in France — Hayot Expertise

Working as an independent consultant (IT, strategy, management, marketing) offers immense freedom of action but requires rigorous tax structuring. Beyond intellectual output, the major financial issue is the optimisation of value creation and net take-home from a given TJM (Taux Journalier Moyen — average daily rate).

For an IT consultant or management consultant with a high TJM (often above €600/day), the micro-entreprise regime quickly hits its limits (€83,600 ceiling). Switching to the real BNC regime or to a company (SASU, EURL) becomes strategic to control taxation and deduct real expenses.

Working with a digital chartered accountant lets you secure your administrative management, optimise social protection and focus on your high-value-added missions.

Each consulting specialty has its own accounting profile:

• IT consultant / tech: heavy upfront equipment investment (high-performance hardware, servers, specialist SaaS subscriptions), management of intellectual property on code or architecture created, and often longer engagements (time-and-materials regie contracts).
• Strategy / management consultant: higher representation costs, frequent national or international travel, often a need for prestigious offices to host clients, and shorter fixed-price engagements.

Your chartered accountant for consultants adapts the structuring of professional expenses (expense reports, fixed assets) to the reality of your trade to secure your deductions in any future tax audit.

Whether you are a CRM, AI, data, HR, strategy or marketing consultant, you share the same accounting and tax foundation: BNC or company under IS, 20% VAT on your advisory services, and the same status trade-offs (micro, real, EURL, SASU). Each specialty adds a nuance we handle specifically:

• CRM consultant: integration and configuration work (Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics) are services taxable at 20%; SaaS licences you re-invoice to the client are an expense pass-through, not a fixed asset.
• AI consultant: the research-and-development share of your engagements can qualify for the Research Tax Credit (CIR), or even Young Innovative Company (JEI) status if R&D exceeds 20% of charges. API credits and model licences go to expenses or fixed assets depending on the threshold. Estimate your entitlement with our CIR / JEI simulator.
• Data consultant and analyst: long time-and-materials engagements create work-in-progress to match to the right financial year (accrual accounting); compute hardware is capitalised and depreciated, while cloud stays in expenses.
• Strategy consultant: high representation and travel costs to secure (named invoices, meal caps), fixed-price engagements recognised on a stage-of-completion basis, and a high TJM that often justifies moving to IS from the outset.
• Crisis management and transition management consultant: short, intense engagements, often through payroll portage or a SASU to combine ARE unemployment benefit with a corporate office. Compare the options with our portage, SASU or micro simulator.
• HR consultant: HR advisory is taxable at 20%; as soon as you move into training, the training-provider regime applies (conditional VAT exemption, activity declaration, educational and financial report), a boundary we help you arbitrate.
• Digital marketing, growth, media buyer and SEO: media space bought on the client's behalf falls under agency mandate (loi Sapin) and passes through a third-party account, outside your turnover; only your advisory fees form your revenue, taxable at 20%. See our web and media agency page.
• Independent project manager: time-and-materials billing, steering of utilisation rate and work-in-progress, with the same micro, real or company trade-offs depending on your TJM and billed days.
• Engineering consultant: a liberal BNC activity; studies and project supervision engage your professional indemnity (to provision for), and the R&D share can qualify for the CIR.
• Commercial real-estate consultant: distinguish intermediation commissions (mandate, third-party account) from advisory fees (turnover, 20% VAT); a professional card (carte T) is required as soon as you carry out transactions.

For more operational profiles (developer, designer, creative), our accountant for freelancers page goes deeper into those cases.

The choice of legal status is the most powerful optimisation lever:

1. Payroll portage (portage salarial): offers the security of employee status without the administrative burden of setting up a company. Your invoicing becomes a payslip. Trade-off: portage management fees (5-10%) and very high social charges sharply limit net income.
2. EURL (TNS): often the most financially rewarding. You are a self-employed (TNS) worker. Social charges (~45%) are calculated on your remuneration. Ideal to maximise immediate income.
3. SASU (assimilated employee): dividend taxation is very attractive (flat tax at 31.4%). Social charges on salary are high (~80%), but social protection is exceptional. This is the favoured status to combine ARE unemployment maintenance with dividend distribution.
4. Sole proprietorship (BNC): the default regime for regulated and unregulated liberal professions. The 2035 return requires meticulous follow-up, particularly on depreciation.

Moving from income tax (BNC) to corporate tax (IS) completely changes a consultant's tax paradigm. Under IS, your personal tax base is no longer the company's profit but only the compensation you decide to pay yourself. This allows you to "pilot" personal taxation, to retain profits in the company (to reinvest or prepare retirement) and to smooth income over time.

To optimise the journey from invoicing to take-home, granular management of mission expenses is essential:

• Meal expenses: deductible within statutory caps with named invoices.
• Travel and mileage allowance: the mileage scale is often advantageous thanks to the hybrid scale, but a company vehicle (especially electric) can be a powerful tax-optimisation tool (depreciation, removal of TVS company-car tax).
• Home office: setting up a partial sublease agreement to pay yourself a tax-free rent (proportionate to professional surface used).

Our digital platform lets you photograph receipts in real time. No more paper accumulated at the end of the quarter — deductibility is secured instantly.

In France, “consultant” and “freelance” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they often describe distinct profiles:

In both cases, tax obligations (IS or BNC) and social charges (URSSAF, retirement) are comparable. The main difference is the scale of the stakes and the optimal structuring architecture.

Three pillars of the consultant framework:

• Tax regime → micro-BNC (< €83,600), real BNC, or IS via company (EURL/SASU). Switch from micro to real/company when TJM × days > €100k/year.
• VAT franchise en base → exemption if previous-year revenue does not exceed €37,500 (services 2026) and as long as current-year revenue does not exceed €41,250. Above: mandatory VAT registration at 20%.
• Social contributions → TNS (URSSAF + SSI) in EURL/EI, assimilated employee (URSSAF, ~80% of gross) in SASU, micro-social abatement in micro-entreprise.

2026 tax regimes and thresholds#

• Micro-BNC: turnover < €83,600 net, 34% flat deduction for expenses, taxed on 66% of turnover. No real-expense deduction. Suited to start but limited.
• Real BNC (2035 return): above €83,600 or by election. Deduction of real expenses (equipment, travel, subcontracting, training). Cash or accrual accounting.
• EURL under IS: TNS, SSI social charges on remuneration, IS on profits (15% up to €42,500, 25% beyond), dividends after IS taxed at the 31.4% flat tax (above 10% of capital, they also bear TNS social contributions).
• SASU under IS: assimilated employee, social charges on remuneration (~80%), dividends at the 31.4% flat tax with no social charges whatever the amount (the 10% rule only applies to premium + current account), possibility of maintaining ARE unemployment benefits.

VAT: franchise or registration#

The independent consultant is on VAT franchise if previous-year net revenue does not exceed €37,500 (services); the exemption ends mid-year as soon as revenue exceeds €41,250. Above, mandatory VAT at 20%, with an annual return (CA12) under the simplified regime or monthly or quarterly returns (CA3) under the normal regime. For B2B missions in France: French VAT 20%. For B2B intra-EU: reverse-charge by the client. For B2B outside EU: outside French VAT scope. For B2C: French VAT 20% in all cases.

ACRE and start-of-activity exemptions#

ACRE (Aide à la Création/Reprise d'Entreprise) grants partial social-contribution exemption in year 1 for founders meeting conditions (former job seekers, ARE, RSA, under 26, etc.). For a consultant in a SASU/EURL created since 1 January 2026, the exemption is capped at 25% of the contributions concerned over 12 months (tapering above 75% of the PASS, nil above the PASS), on application to Urssaf within 60 days (decree no. 2026-69 of 6 February 2026).

Many tech consultants work with European or non-European clients. Invoicing logic, VAT treatment and documentation therefore need to be reviewed carefully rather than handled as a standard domestic setup.

For B2B services to a VAT-registered client in another EU member state, the reverse-charge mechanism applies: you invoice without French VAT, the client self-accounts for it, and each invoice must carry the correct mention and feed a monthly European Services Declaration (DES). For business clients outside the EU, the service generally falls outside the scope of French VAT, provided you can document where the client is established. Getting these mentions and filings right from the first invoice avoids painful regularisations later.

Choice and switch of status#

We compare the options (micro-BNC vs real vs EURL vs SASU vs payroll portage) with quantified simulations on your TJM and number of billed days. The right structure is not a matter of fashion but of optimisation between immediate income, social charges, personal taxation and patrimonial trajectory.

TJM and utilisation steering#

Beyond headline TJM, we track your utilisation rate (billed days / available working days), average customer basket, commercial concentration (% revenue from top 3 clients), and sustainable owner drawings. These indicators determine your real net income and your commercial freedom.

Compensation + dividend optimisation#

For SASU/EURL under IS, we calibrate the salary + dividend mix to maximise your take-home while securing your social cover (health, retirement, provident). In SASU, you can combine ARE with dividends during the unemployment period.

Securing deductible expenses#

Professional expense reports, mileage allowance, home office (sublease agreement), company vehicle (TVS abolished 2024 but benefit-in-kind to value), continuing professional training. Every deduction must be justified and proportionate to survive a tax audit.

1. Staying in micro when TJM exceeds €600#

Beyond €50,000-€60,000 of turnover, EURL or SASU almost systematically beats micro-BNC. An annual TJM vs structure review is essential.

2. Confusing invoiced TJM and net income#

A €800 TJM over 200 billed days = €160,000 of turnover. But after IS (or social charges), URSSAF and personal tax, take-home is often below €80,000. Steering must focus on net, not on invoiced.

3. Misbalancing the salary / dividend mix#

Too much salary = massive social charges. Too much dividend = no social cover and no retirement vesting. The optimum depends on your age, wealth, family situation and long-term vision.

4. Not declaring VAT after crossing the threshold#

Beyond €41,250 of current-year revenue (services), VAT is due from the day the threshold is exceeded; beyond €37,500, from the following 1 January. Failing to register on time triggers a VAT catch-up plus penalties.

5. Mixing business and personal accounts#

In EURL/SASU, mixing personal and business flows risks requalification as misuse of corporate assets and a tax reassessment. Open a dedicated business bank account from day one.

A founder-focused approach, not just compliance#

Our approach goes beyond producing the tax pack: we deliver quarterly or half-yearly decision-oriented reporting, with TJM analysis, utilisation rate, salary/dividend optimisation and actionable recommendations.

Knowledge of the modern consultant's tooling#

We work daily with Pennylane, Tiime, Indy and consultant-side CRM tools (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Notion, Cal.com, Toggl). This industrialises the accounting flow and frees time for your client missions.

A responsive Paris firm for growing consultants#

Based in Paris 8th (58 rue de Monceau), we support consultants in Île-de-France in person and consultants across France through structured remote engagements. Our 24-hour response commitment is valuable during a status switch, a tax-optimisation review or a growth structuring step.

Free quote within 24 hours, first diagnostic meeting on the house — review your structure, your TJM economics, your salary/dividend mix and your VAT position, with quantified scenarios for the next 12-24 months.

A management consultant leaves a corporate role with two years of ARE unemployment rights and a target TJM of €1,000. Starting in micro-BNC, they would be taxed on 66% of turnover with no expense deduction, and would lose ARE if they declared self-employed income.

By creating a SASU instead and taking no director salary, the consultant keeps their ARE (around €4,000/month net in this example) while invoicing through the company, up to 60% of the rights remaining at the date of creation (for contracts ended since 1 April 2025); beyond that, continued payment requires the approval of the regional joint body. Profits are retained in the SASU and taxed at 15% IS up to €42,500 then 25%, far below the personal marginal rate. At the end of the ARE period, the retained profits are distributed as dividends (31.4% flat tax in 2026; SASU dividends bear no self-employed social contributions, unlike majority-manager SARL dividends above 10% of capital).

Over the two-year ARE window, this structure typically generates €30,000-€60,000 of additional net income compared with operating as a sole trader from day one. We model this scenario for every consultant joining the firm during an unemployment-rights period.