Freelance Accountant in France | SASU, EURL or Umbrella Company

Freelancers and Consultants: Choose the Right Setup in France - Hayot Expertise#

Every freelancer and independent consultant has a unique risk profile and life objectives. Should you incorporate (SASU/EURL) or choose the simplicity of umbrella employment (portage salarial)? At Hayot Expertise, we model the numbers to maximise your final net disposable income.

Read more: SASU vs EURL: which structure to choose?

Micro-business maximises gross income but caps at €77,700 (services) or €188,700 (sales) in annual turnover. Beyond this, incorporating becomes mandatory.

"Freelance" is not a legal status in France — it is a way of working that you can carry out under four different legal forms, each with its own trade-off between net income and protection.

1. Micro-entreprise (auto-entrepreneur). The simplest to open (online in 24 hours) and run. Social contributions are charged on gross turnover (22% for services), but real expenses are not deductible and turnover is capped at €77,700 for services in 2026. Great to start with or for a side activity; poorly suited once your costs or turnover climb.

2. EURL. A single-member SARL. The majority manager is a self-employed worker (TNS/SSI): real expenses are deductible and profit is taxed at corporate tax (15% up to €42,500, then 25%). Dividends above 10% of share capital attract social charges. Ideal for an established consultant with recurring billings.

3. SASU. The favourite of IT consultants and transition managers. The sole director-shareholder is attached to the general social-security scheme. The classic strategy: a modest salary plus dividends taxed at the 31.4% flat tax. A SASU with no salary lets a job-seeker keep their ARE unemployment benefit while getting started.

4. Umbrella company (portage salarial). You work independently but with employee status — a payslip, unemployment rights and the general scheme. The umbrella company invoices your client, takes a management fee (8–12% of billings) and pays you a salary. The conversion rate from billings to net pay is the lowest (45–50%), but simplicity and security are highest.

Umbrella employment (portage salarial) provides executive employee status, a payslip (ideal for renting an apartment or obtaining a mortgage), unemployment cover and simplicity of administration. In return, the conversion rate between billed turnover and net salary is the lowest (umbrella company management fees 8–12% + employer charges + employee contributions).

Recommended when:

• Short missions (< 12 months) with no certainty of renewal
• You need a mortgage within 12–24 months
• You want to preserve unemployment rights
• Transition period between two salaried positions

Creating a SASU or EURL enables significantly better income optimisation:

• Deduction of actual business expenses (shared office rent, IT equipment, software, client meals, travel)
• Recovery of VAT on professional purchases
• Dividend payments at a controlled tax rate (31.4% flat tax)
• Ability to reinvest cash surpluses (PER retirement plan, life insurance, property via a holding company)

Recommended when:

• Stable turnover > €60,000/year for at least 2 years
• You want to maintain your ARE unemployment benefit (possible with a SASU without salary)
• You want to reinvest profits (property, retirement)
• You have significant professional expenses (> 15% of turnover)

VAT on service fees#

Any VAT-registered consultant invoices at 20% and remits collected VAT less deductible VAT on purchases. The return is monthly or quarterly. A micro-business under the VAT exemption threshold does not charge VAT (competitive advantage with individuals, disadvantage with businesses).

Deductible business expenses#

In a company structure, business expenses are deductible from taxable profit. Main items:

• Home office: up to 10% of total rent if a dedicated office exists
• Phone and internet: 50–100% depending on professional use
• Meals: a daily meal allowance within the annual administrative limit; client meals deductible when justified
• Travel: the French mileage scale (barème kilométrique) or actual costs with receipts

Unemployment benefit (ARE) and company creation#

A job seeker receiving ARE can create a SASU without paying themselves a salary and continue receiving 100% of their ARE. Once they start drawing a salary, ARE is reduced pro rata. This strategy allows starting an activity without financial risk.

We never push you towards a particular structure. At our first free advisory meeting:

1. Personalised simulation: we calculate your net disposable income to the nearest euro comparing micro-business, EURL, SASU and umbrella employment for a given turnover.
2. Legal form selection and articles drafting by our legal team if you opt for company formation.
3. Year-round expense and remuneration optimisation via our modern accounting tools.
4. Annual review: we recalculate the optimal strategy at the end of each financial year based on actual turnover.

• Forgetting to set aside VAT: collected VAT belongs to the state — do not spend it
• Not saving for retirement: a SASU director without a salary validates no pension quarters. A PER retirement plan is essential.
• Underestimating TNS charges in an EURL: the self-employed manager pays ~45% in contributions on income, even without drawing a salary (SSI minimum contributions)
• Confusing accounting profit and available cash: corporate tax due and VAT to remit reduce your actual cash position

Most freelance journeys follow a predictable path, and the value of an accountant is timing each move:

• Starting out (< €40k): the micro-entreprise or an umbrella company keeps things simple while you validate demand.
• Stabilising (€40k–€70k): real expenses, VAT recovery and pay optimisation start to outweigh simplicity — usually the point to incorporate as a SASU or EURL.
• Established (€70k–€150k): the salary-versus-dividend mix becomes the main lever, alongside a PER to rebuild retirement rights.
• High earner (> €150k of retained profit): a patrimonial holding above your operating company lets you reinvest dividends at 1.25% and prepare property or long-term wealth.

We watch your numbers and tell you when each threshold is genuinely worth crossing — not a year too late.

Once your structure is in place, we run the full accounting cycle so you can focus on billing:

• Monthly bookkeeping on Pennylane, with automatic bank sync, expense categorisation and receipt capture through Dext.
• Tax and social filings: monthly or quarterly VAT, corporate-tax instalments, SSI declarations, the annual tax package and your personal income-tax return.
• Payroll on Silae if you pay yourself a salary — payslips, monthly DSN and certificates.
• Year-end close: balance sheet, profit-and-loss account, statutory notes and tax package.
• A monthly dashboard: cash tracking, turnover trend, projected corporate tax and an alert if you approach a threshold.

• IT consultants and developers on long missions (18+ months) with high day rates (€500–€1,200/day), for whom the SASU vs EURL choice is decisive. A SASU lets you keep your ARE during launch, then optimise through dividends.
• Creative freelancers (designers, copywriters, photographers, videographers) with more variable income — the micro-entreprise can fit up to €50–60k of turnover before EURL or SASU takes over.
• Transition managers on 6–18 month assignments with very high day rates (€1,000–€2,000/day) and a real need to build retirement savings — a SASU with a PER and, later, a holding is often optimal.
• HR, strategy and marketing consultants with mixed income (consulting, training), where the right status depends largely on keeping ARE and on turnover stability.
• Expats and foreign freelancers invoicing French or international clients from France, who need a structure that is clean for both French compliance and cross-border income.

Case 1 — IT consultant, €100,000 annual billings. Through a SASU optimised on dividends — a €30,000 salary, the balance distributed after corporate tax — net income lands around €54,600. Through an umbrella company (10% management fee, ~48% contributions on the base), net pay is around €46,800. The SASU comes out roughly €7,800 a year ahead, for an accounting cost of about €2,400 — an immediate return.

Case 2 — creative freelancer, €60,000 annual billings. As a micro-entreprise (22% contributions, income tax after the 34% allowance), net income is around €42,800. As an IS-registered EURL with ~15% real expenses, after manager pay, contributions, corporate tax and dividends, net income is around €37,400. Below €60,000, the micro-entreprise often still wins — which is exactly why a personalised simulation beats any rule of thumb.

Company formation (SASU or EURL): €900 excl. VAT all-in — articles, registry formalities and bank-account setup.

• VAT returns: monthly (réel normal) or quarterly (réel simplifié) once you pass the franchise threshold; the micro-entreprise stays VAT-exempt below it.
• SSI / URSSAF contributions: paid monthly or quarterly on professional income for TNS managers and micro-entrepreneurs.
• Corporate-tax instalments: four advance payments across the year for an IS-registered EURL or SASU, with the balance after the year-end close.
• Annual tax package (liasse fiscale): filed within the deadline following the financial year-end.
• Personal income tax: dividends reported on your return (31.4% flat tax or, on election, the progressive scale); salary is taxed at source.

Missing a deadline triggers penalties and interest, so we calendar every obligation and remind you well ahead.

• Freelance specialists: we support 150+ freelancers and consultants and know the quirks of each status and sector (IT, consulting, creative, transition).
• A modern digital stack: Pennylane for real-time accounting, Silae for payroll, Dext for receipts — full visibility from your phone.
• 10 years in Paris 8: based at 58 rue de Monceau, in person or by video, with a dedicated contact who knows your file — no call centre.
• Proactive support: we flag opportunities during the year — profit running ahead of your corporate-tax instalments, the right window for a PER contribution or a dividend distribution.