SASU Accountant in France for Solo Founders and Consultants

The SASU appeals to solo founders who want a credible, investable structure and a social status close to that of an employee. But the work of a French CPA for a SASU is less about the tax return than about the trade-off between salary and dividends, and the pairing of an employee-treated chairman with dividends free of social contributions. That is what sets the SASU apart from the EURL, where a majority manager is self-employed.

A French CPA for a SASU manages corporate tax (15 % up to 42,500 € of profit, then 25 %) and the salary versus dividends trade-off specific to an employee-treated chairman. Advantage over the EURL: in an IS-taxed SASU, dividends bear no social contributions, only the flat tax at 31.4 % since 2026. The firm also secures annual obligations and statutory-auditor thresholds.

Choosing a SASU means choosing a social regime and a tax regime that durably shape your net income. Two decisions come up every year: how much to pay yourself as salary, how much as dividends, and how to move surplus cash up the chain. These decisions do not follow the same logic in a SASU as in an EURL.

Our reading: a SASU is rarely the best choice by default and rarely a bad choice on principle. It fits when the need for immediate income is moderate, when you want to keep statutory flexibility, or when a logic of moving profit up to a holding is on the table. If you need all the profit as personal income each year, the gap in social contributions versus a self-employed status deserves to be quantified before deciding. See also our company formation page for the upstream comparison between statuses.

A paid SASU chairman is an employee-treated director: they fall under the general social security regime (health, pension, etc.). They do not contribute to unemployment insurance for their corporate office. In practice, their contributions are computed like an employee's, with an employer share and an employee share based on the remuneration they pay themselves.

The point often misunderstood: with no remuneration paid, no social contribution is due for the office. There is no minimum flat-rate contribution as there is for the self-employed. This is a cash-flow advantage in the start-up phase. The counterpart is clear: no remuneration opens almost no rights (pension, daily allowances). Paying yourself zero to avoid any charge therefore carries a hidden cost in social protection, to be weighed against your coverage elsewhere.

The underestimated risk

Many chairmen set their pay on tax logic alone and forget the rights attached to it. A year with no remuneration is a year that validates no pension quarters and opens no daily allowances. Over several years, an all-dividends strategy can weaken coverage. We flag this systematically in files where personal income rests mainly on distributions.

A SASU is subject to corporate income tax (IS). The reduced rate of 15 % applies to the fraction of profit not exceeding 42,500 € per twelve-month period, for companies whose turnover excluding tax does not exceed 10,000,000 €, provided the capital is fully paid up and held at least 75 % by individuals. Above 42,500 €, the standard rate of 25 % applies (as it does on all the profit if the conditions for the reduced rate are not met).

Dividends paid to the sole-shareholder chairman are then taxed. By default this is the single flat-rate levy (PFU), i.e. 31.4 % in total since 1 January 2026: 12.8 % income tax and 18.6 % social levies. This rise comes from the CSG raised from 9.2 % to 10.6 % by the 2026 Social Security Financing Act. The former 30 % rate therefore no longer applies to dividends. The option for the progressive scale remains possible, but it is justified only case by case.

What changes versus the EURL

In an IS-taxed SASU, dividends paid to the sole-shareholder chairman are not subject to social contributions: they bear only taxation (PFU or progressive scale, plus social levies). This is the structural difference with the EURL and the majority SARL manager, who fall under the self-employed regime: for them, the portion of dividends exceeding 10 % of the share capital (increased by share premiums and current-account balances) is subject to self-employed social contributions. The SASU has no such 10 % cap.

There is no universal figure, and we are wary of ready-made rules. The trade-off is set case by case, based on your profit level, your need for income and your need for social coverage.

Remuneration is deductible from the result, so it reduces IS, but it bears the high social charges of a director treated as an employee (their amount depends on the level of pay) and it opens rights. Dividends are not deductible, since they are paid after IS, and bear no social contributions, but they suffer IS and then the PFU. The optimum therefore depends as much on your wealth plan as on an isolated tax calculation.

Our method in practice: model several scenarios (salary only, dividends only, combinations), compute the net actually available after IS, charges, income tax and social levies, then factor in the social rights generated and your personal cash needs. The decision is then documented by the sole shareholder's decision minutes. The official URSSAF income simulator for a SASU director is a good starting point, to be refined together.

A standalone SASU must appoint a statutory auditor (CAC) if, at the close of a financial year, it exceeds at least two of the three following thresholds: total balance sheet of 5,000,000 €, turnover excluding tax of 10,000,000 €, an average of 50 employees (Decree No. 2024-152). These 5 / 10 / 50 thresholds are those of the standalone company.

There is a special case often overlooked: the SASU at the head of a small group. Independently of the 5 / 10 / 50 thresholds, a SASU that controls subsidiaries must appoint a CAC if the group it forms with the controlled companies exceeds two of the three following thresholds: balance sheet of 2,500,000 €, turnover excluding tax of 5,000,000 €, 25 employees. Do not confuse the two sets of thresholds. If you build a structure with dividends moving up to a holding, this point must be anticipated.

Conversely, the SASU benefits from relief while it stays small: the chairman is exempt from preparing a management report as long as the company does not exceed, at the close, two of the three small-enterprise thresholds (total balance sheet 450,000 €, net turnover excluding tax 900,000 €, an average of 10 employees).

Our reading of this table: the SASU costs more in social charges at equal salary income, but it is clearer and more flexible for distributing profit as dividends with no social friction. The EURL can be more efficient when the director wants to maximise current income at a more contained social cost.

In files of consultants or tech freelancers who have moved into a company, the most common sticking point is not IS taxation, but calibrating the chairman's remuneration in the first year: too low, it deprives of social rights and personal borrowing capacity; too high, it loads charges without net benefit. The second recurring point is confusion between the CAC thresholds of the standalone company and those of a small group as soon as a holding appears. These points are handled upstream, not at year-end.

Our SASU support includes bookkeeping and review, preparation of annual accounts and the tax return, VAT management and deadlines, the chairman's payroll if you pay yourself, a quantified model of the salary/dividends trade-off, and monitoring of the thresholds triggering a CAC or a management report. We also handle structuring operations (contribution of shares, setting up a holding). See the detail of our accounting service.

Points to watch in 2026

Two parameters have changed and deserve to be built into your trade-off: the PFU rose from 30 % to 31.4 % on 1 January 2026 (CSG increase via the 2026 Social Security Financing Act), and social levies on dividends are now 18.6 %. The social-charge rates of an employee-treated chairman, however, depend on many parameters and must be quantified on your real file: we calibrate them case by case rather than applying a blanket ratio.

This page is informational and does not replace analysis of your situation. A decision on remuneration, dividends or the appointment of a statutory auditor requires reviewing your documents and the law applicable at your closing date. Last updated: June 2026.

To compare upstream with other statuses, see our company formation page. If a group logic is considered, our holding support covers dividend up-streaming and tax consolidation. For day-to-day bookkeeping and closing, see our accounting service in Paris 8.

An online accountant for a SASU costs between €70 and €250 per month (excl. VAT) depending on document volume, payroll frequency and the level of advice you need. At Hayot Expertise: €89/month for a SASU with no employee and revenue under €150k, €149/month with the president's payslip and one employee, €249/month for a SASU with structured dividends and holding support. Every plan includes the 2065 tax return, VAT filings, annual accounts, the president's payslip and a yearly advisory review.

The underlying platform shapes your day-to-day experience and the level of advice you get. Our reading, after migrating more than 80 client SASUs over four years:

Our default recommendation: Pennylane Pro for 90% of SASUs. For all-in-one freelancers under €80k of revenue, Indy can be enough if you accept minimal advice.