Accountant for Starting a Business in France

Starting a company in France is, above all, a chain of linked decisions: which legal form, which tax regime, which social security status, whether to elect for corporate income tax, how to combine France Travail support, and in what order to complete the formalities. Each decision constrains the next. A legal form chosen too quickly, without looking at the planned remuneration, the expected revenue pace and the founder's personal situation, is paid for over several years.

A French CPA for company formation helps you weigh the legal form (micro, EURL, SASU, SAS, SARL, SCI), the tax and social security regime, the election for corporate income tax and the available aid (ACRE, ARE or ARCE), then secures the formalities through the INPI single window. The goal: avoid a legal form you regret from the very first financial year.

There is no best form in absolute terms. The right reflex is to weigh four variables: the need to protect personal assets, the desired social security status (self-employed or assimilated employee), the taxation of profits and remuneration, and whether or not there are partners.

A few benchmarks we use in scoping meetings:

• Micro-entreprise: simple to start, light bookkeeping, contributions computed on cash-collected revenue. Useful to test a low-cost activity. Limits are quickly reached with significant purchases or a high remuneration target.
• EURL (single-member company): self-employed status, often lower contributions but lighter social protection. Taxed by default at personal income tax, with an option for corporate income tax.
• SASU and SAS: the chairman is an assimilated employee, with protective social status and strong statutory flexibility. Subject to corporate income tax by default. The single-member form (SASU) has its own page, see the SASU sector page.
• SARL: a tightly framed legal structure, with a majority manager under the self-employed regime, useful for partners who want clear ground rules.
• SCI: dedicated to holding real estate, not a commercial activity. The choice between personal income tax and corporate income tax there is structural and hard to reverse.

For a liberal profession (consulting, healthcare, law, engineering), the logic differs: social security status, ceilings and professional ethics weigh more. We handle those cases on the liberal professions page.

In formation files, the most frequent mistake is choosing the legal form before having quantified the target remuneration and expected profit. Yet the opposite is what secures the decision. Until you know how much the director must draw, at what pace, and how much profit the company will generate, comparing SASU and EURL stays theoretical. The director's social security status (self-employed versus assimilated employee) changes contribution costs, protection in case of sick leave, and the mechanics of dividends. We therefore start from the income plan, then work back to the legal form.

The micro regime caps revenue and applies a flat allowance for expenses. Since 1 January 2026, the micro thresholds have been raised: 203,100 euros of annual revenue for the sale of goods and accommodation, and 83,600 euros for services and liberal activities (versus 188,700 and 77,700 euros over 2023 to 2025). As long as your actual expenses stay below the flat allowance, micro remains advantageous. As soon as you invest, hire or bear heavy purchases, the actual regime is often fairer, because it lets you deduct real expenses.

This is a common and costly point of confusion. The micro thresholds (203,100 and 83,600 euros) are decoupled from the VAT base exemption thresholds. You can remain a micro-entrepreneur while still charging VAT if you exceed the exemption threshold.

In 2026, the VAT base exemption is assessed as follows: for services, a base threshold of 37,500 euros (prior-year revenue) and a higher tolerance threshold of 41,250 euros (current year); for the sale of goods and accommodation, a base threshold of 85,000 euros and a higher threshold of 93,500 euros. The single 25,000 euro threshold floated in 2025 was abandoned.

The underestimated risk: invoicing without VAT while believing you are exempt, then having to correct it after exceeding the threshold, sometimes retroactively, on invoices already issued to private customers who recover nothing.

An EURL or a sole proprietorship may elect for corporate income tax. A sole proprietorship can be treated as an EURL (article 1655 sexies of the French General Tax Code), which amounts to electing for corporate income tax without creating a new entity. Two points we systematically flag:

• Renouncing the election remains possible up to the 5th financial year following that of the election. After that deadline, the election becomes irrevocable (article 239 and article 1655 sexies of the General Tax Code).
• Under corporate income tax, the reduced rate of 15 % applies to the share of profit up to 42,500 euros per 12-month period, under conditions (revenue equal to or below 10 million euros, fully paid-up capital held at least 75 % by individuals). Above that, the standard rate is 25 % (article 219, I-b of the General Tax Code).

A founder who is an indemnified jobseeker has two mutually exclusive options: keep the return-to-work allowance (ARE) during the launch, or claim the business start-up or takeover support (ARCE).

ARCE equals 60 % of the capital of the remaining ARE rights, paid in two instalments: 50 % at the date of creation or takeover, 50 % six months later if the activity continues (with a 3 % deduction toward supplementary pension funding). Since 1 April 2025, the second instalment requires not holding a full-time permanent employment contract. ARCE cannot be combined with keeping the ARE.

ACRE is a partial exemption from social security contributions. Beware the procedural change: since 1 January 2026, ACRE is no longer automatic. You must apply to Urssaf within a maximum of 60 days following the start of activity (Urssaf rules within 30 days, with no reply meaning approval), and not have already benefited from ACRE in the previous 3 years. The exemption is capped at 25 % of contributions for companies and sole traders created since 1 January 2026; for micro-entrepreneurs it remains 50 % for activity started up to 30 June 2026, then the reduced rate rises from 50 % to 75 % of the usual rates from 1 July 2026 (the exemption falls to 25 %).

The underestimated risk: forgetting the ACRE application within the 60-day window. Since 2026, that simple oversight forfeits the exemption, with no catch-up.

Since 1 January 2023, every business formality (creation, amendment, cessation, filing of accounts) must go through the INPI electronic single window, at procedures.inpi.fr. The validating bodies remain the commercial court registries for commercial entities and companies, the chambers of trades and crafts for craft activities, and the MSA for agriculture.

The typical sequence of a company formation follows this order: drafting the articles of association, depositing the share capital into a dedicated account, publishing the legal notice of incorporation, then filing the registration application on the single window with all supporting documents.

In practice: official 2026 legal notice fees

The flat fees for the legal notice of incorporation are set by the order of 19 November 2025, effective 1 January 2026 (mainland France, excluding tax).

These flat fees are regulated tariffs: they do not depend on the chosen medium. Beyond the legal notice, the total cost of formation includes registry and national business register fees, which vary by form and activity (see the official service-public page).

This is the most frequent trade-off for a solo founder.

• EURL: relevant if you want more moderate social contributions and accept lighter social protection, or if you start at personal income tax to offset possible launch losses.
• SASU: relevant if you favour assimilated-employee status, governance flexibility and a mixed salary-and-dividends remuneration logic. The form is analysed in detail on the SASU sector page.

The right reflex: simulate both scenarios on the same target net income before deciding.

Our role here is to inform the decision, not to replace a registration engagement. Concretely, on this phase, we:

• carry out a project scoping (target income, forecast, expenses) to anchor the choice of form;
• compare the tax and social security regimes, quantified on your assumptions;
• check eligibility and the timing of aid (ACRE, ARE, ARCE) before a window closes;
• secure the order of formalities and the structural elections (election for corporate income tax, VAT exemption).

When you wish to entrust the registration itself, we move to the dedicated engagement: company formation in Paris, with a defined scope and a quote. For lasting accounting and tax support, see our accounting services in Paris 8.

• Apply for ACRE within 60 days: the window is strict since 2026.
• Do not confuse micro thresholds with VAT exemption thresholds: monitor VAT well before the micro ceiling.
• The election for corporate income tax becomes irrevocable after the 5th financial year: a choice to assess with a forecast.
• The director's social security status should follow the income plan, not the other way around.

This page informs and orients. A decision specific to your situation requires reviewing your documents, your project and the law in force.

Content current as of 23 June 2026, reviewed by a chartered accountant. Written by Hayot Expertise (Samuel Hayot, chartered accountant and statutory auditor, Ordre des experts-comptables d'Île-de-France).