Tax Accountant & Tax Advisory for Businesses in Paris

French tax law is one of the densest regulatory environments in the world. The Code Général des Impôts (CGI) runs to over 1,800 articles, supplemented by thousands of administrative doctrine publications in the BOFIP (Official Tax Bulletin), updated constantly. Each annual Finance Act modifies dozens of regimes, creates new incentives and eliminates existing provisions. And the DGFiP, equipped since 2022 with artificial intelligence tools for audit targeting — cross-referencing FEC accounting files, DSN payroll data and VAT returns to detect inconsistencies — has become a genuinely formidable counterpart for companies whose tax management is even slightly imprecise.

In this environment, having a tax-specialist chartered accountant — one who masters not just the filing obligations but also the legal optimisation mechanisms, risk management techniques and audit defence strategies — has become a strategic necessity for any serious Parisian business. Hayot Expertise, at 58 rue de Monceau, Paris 8, integrates this advanced tax dimension into all its client mandates.

A founder who has never worked with a tax-specialist accountant typically underestimates the volume and complexity of the annual tax calendar. Below is a representative selection of the deadlines we manage:

January: Corporate tax balance payment (December instalment + true-up), investment income declaration (IFU Form 2561), management fee and commission declaration (DADS-U)

March–April: Annual corporate tax return (Form 2065 + full liasse fiscale) for 31 December year-ends — including balance sheet, income statement, statutory notes, tax result determination worksheets

May–June: Personal income tax declarations for company directors (Form 2042), IFI wealth tax declaration (Form 2042-IFI) for directors with net real estate wealth > €1.3M

June: CFE (local business tax) interim payment for companies with CFE > €3,000

Monthly throughout the year: VAT returns (CA3), monthly DSN payroll report, quarterly corporate tax instalments (15 March, 15 June, 15 September, 15 December)

Managing this calendar flawlessly across all clients requires the kind of operational rigour and legislative monitoring that is our daily work.

The annual corporate tax return is the output of a year-long optimisation process. Our work spans:

Tax Adjustments and Taxable Profit Determination

Taxable profit is not identical to accounting profit. Extra-accounting adjustments (reintégrations and déductions) allow the lawful modelling of the taxable base:

• ▸Regulated provisions: profit-sharing investment provisions (PPI), commodity price fluctuation provisions (trading sector)
• ▸Accelerated tax depreciation (amortissements dérogatoires): enhanced fiscal deduction for qualifying assets — industrial equipment, IT hardware, zero-emission vehicles
• ▸Macron super-deduction: exceptional amortissement available for certain productive capital expenditure during qualifying periods
• ▸Loss carryforward management: French law allows unlimited carryforward of losses, plus carryback (report en arrière) capped at €1M per year generating a refundable IS credit receivable
• ▸Tax credits and reductions: CIR research tax credit (30% of qualifying R&D expenditure up to €100M), management training credit, cultural patronage reduction

Director Remuneration Structure — The Perennial Optimisation Question

The optimal remuneration mix for a company director is one of the most frequently asked and most technically complex questions in SME taxation. It involves:

• ▸Salary: deductible from corporate tax base, but subject to income tax at marginal rate + social charges (approximately 45–50% employer social charges + 22% employee social charges)
• ▸Dividends: paid from after-tax profit — subject to flat tax (PFU) at 30% (12.8% IR + 17.2% social contributions) or progressive income tax scale at the taxpayer's option; exempt from social contributions beyond 10% of share capital for majority managing partners in SARL
• ▸Employee savings and profit-sharing: intéressement, participation, PEE, collective PER — tax and social advantage for the company and employees, subject to non-discrimination rules between employee categories
• ▸Company car: benefit-in-kind valued on a regulatory scale; fiscal interest if professional use exceeds 75%

We model the optimal remuneration structure every year based on projected earnings, the director's marital tax regime, other income sources and long-term wealth objectives.

Tax Restructuring — Holdings, Mergers, Contributions

For directors seeking structural tax optimisation:

• ▸Share contribution to a holding (CGI Article 150-0 B ter): deferral of capital gains tax on the contributed shares, reinvestment of proceeds without immediate tax friction — subject to a 60% reinvestment condition within 2 years of the contribution
• ▸Merger preferential tax regime (CGI Article 210 A): tax neutrality of unrealised gains on transferred assets, deficit transfer under conditions
• ▸Tax consolidation (intégration fiscale): consolidation of results across 95%+ subsidiaries in a single IS return — profit/loss compensation across group entities, elimination of intragroup dividends from the tax base

VAT is often considered a pass-through tax — money collected from customers and remitted to the state. In practice, incorrectly managed VAT is one of the primary sources of tax reassessment in France. Our VAT services cover:

VAT Recovery on Capital Assets and Mixed-Use Expenses

VAT recovery is not automatic. It is subject to the déduction coefficient (product of the assujettissement, activité and admission coefficients). For businesses with VAT-exempt activities (healthcare, financial services, residential property), the prorata must be calculated precisely — a systematic error in the recovery rate can generate multi-year VAT assessments.

Key specific areas we handle:

• ▸Vehicles: VAT is non-recoverable on passenger cars (voitures de tourisme) with very limited exceptions; fully recoverable on commercial vehicles (utilitaires)
• ▸Lease financing (crédit-bail): VAT on lease payments is recoverable if the asset is used for taxable business activities
• ▸VAT regularisation on disposal: when an asset is sold within 20 years of acquisition (real property) or within 5 years (other assets), previously recovered VAT must be partially reversed on a pro-rata basis
• ▸Margin scheme VAT for second-hand goods dealers and real estate traders (marchands de biens)

EU Cross-Border VAT

For businesses trading within the European Union:

• ▸Intra-community supplies: zero-rating conditions — proof of dispatch to another member state, validity of the buyer's EU VAT number (VIES check mandatory)
• ▸Intra-community acquisitions: self-assessment (autoliquidation), simultaneous input tax recovery
• ▸B2B services: general rule applies the VAT of the buyer's country (reverse charge), with specific exceptions for real estate services, live events, transport
• ▸Fiscal representative requirement: mandatory for non-EU-established companies making taxable supplies in France without a French VAT number

A tax audit is an event most business owners dread — and that most could have better prepared for.

Tax Risk Prevention

We conduct an annual independent fiscal review separate from the liasse fiscale production: an internal audit of the company's tax position identifying potential risk areas before the DGFiP spots them. Systematically reviewed:

• ▸FEC data consistency (no duplicate entries, sequential journal numbering, justification of manual year-end adjustments)
• ▸VAT rates applied to each product/service category
• ▸Provisions for risks and charges: adequate accounting basis, demonstrated probability of outflow?
• ▸Exceptional charges: justification of amounts and operational link
• ▸Director remuneration: consistency with functions performed and group conventions

Tax Ruling (Rescrit Fiscal) — Certainty Before You Act

The rescrit fiscal is an underused but extremely valuable procedure. It allows a business to question the DGFiP on its situation before completing a transaction and obtain a binding written response that prevents any subsequent reassessment on the same point. We draft ruling requests on:

• ▸Eligibility of specific R&D expenditure for the CIR research tax credit
• ▸Tax characterisation of a proposed restructuring operation
• ▸VAT rate applicable to an innovative product or service
• ▸Tax treatment of a mixed-use asset or expense

If the DGFiP responds favourably (or fails to respond within 3 months), you are protected against any future challenge on that specific point.

Tax Audit Defence (VSGC — Vérification de la Situation Générale de la Comptabilité)

When a tax audit commences, we manage every stage:

• ▸FEC file preparation and transmission to the DGFiP inspector
• ▸Timely responses to formal information requests
• ▸Assistance in meetings with the tax inspector — ensuring your rights are respected throughout
• ▸Analysis of proposed reassessment (PDR): identifying challengeable points, drafting motivated written objections
• ▸Coordination with partner tax lawyers for disputes that reach the Tribunal Administratif

The Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière (IFI) applies to net real estate wealth above €1.3M on 1 January. It is frequently sub-optimised by directors who lack integrated wealth and tax advisory:

• ▸Business asset exemption: shares in IS-taxed companies are exempt from IFI if the holder exercises a management function and receives a normal remuneration from the company — a condition that must be actively documented
• ▸Deductible liabilities: real estate loans, property taxes, work-in-progress — a restricted list with strict allocation rules since the 2018 Finance Act
• ▸Property dismemberment: usufruct/bare ownership structures, family partition donations, Dutreil pact extended to real estate leased to an operating company

What is the difference between a tax-specialist accountant and a tax lawyer? The tax-specialist accountant handles all filing obligations, produces tax returns, optimises the recurring tax burden and assists during audits. The tax lawyer intervenes principally on complex structuring (M&A transactions, cross-border planning), litigation before administrative courts and highly contentious audit defence. The two are complementary — we coordinate with partner tax lawyers for complex matters.

How can I tell if my company is at risk of a tax audit? The DGFiP uses scoring algorithms based on multiple signals: inconsistencies between DSN and IS data, VAT anomalies, margins atypical for the sector, sharp result fluctuations, recurring losses. Our annual fiscal review assesses your risk profile and identifies correction points before they trigger a selection.

Is it worth contesting a tax reassessment? Yes, often very much so. On average, contested French tax reassessments result in a 30–50% reduction from the initial proposed amounts. We analyse every PDR received, identify which points are defensible and under which procedure (administrative claim, DGFiP mediator, Tribunal Administratif).

📍 58 rue de Monceau, 75008 Paris | Contact us

See also: Holding tax structures and IS optimisation | R&D tax credit (CIR/CII) | Business valuation expert