{"id":1931,"date":"2020-01-22T09:46:25","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T09:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.useme.com\/en\/blog\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2023-08-24T11:33:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T11:33:51","slug":"france-tax-rules-for-freelancers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/france-tax-rules-for-freelancers,141\/","title":{"rendered":"France &#8211; tax rules for freelancers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/france-tax-rules-for-freelancers,141\/#How_many_Frenchmen_work_remotely\" >How many Frenchmen work remotely?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/france-tax-rules-for-freelancers,141\/#Freelancer_is_required_to_register_a_business\" >Freelancer is required to register a business<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/france-tax-rules-for-freelancers,141\/#Social_contributions_in_France\" >Social contributions in France<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/france-tax-rules-for-freelancers,141\/#Tax_schemes_to_choose_from\" >Tax schemes to choose from<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/france-tax-rules-for-freelancers,141\/#Is_the_French_tax_system_competitive\" >Is the French tax system competitive?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/france-tax-rules-for-freelancers,141\/#Do_you_need_to_hire_a_French_freelancer\" >Do you need to hire a French freelancer?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>In this article, we discuss the legal and tax environment of France from the perspective of a remote employee. The latter is understood as a co-worker who is not bound by an employment contract and might have many principals at the same time. Some important questions that we answer are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>are freelancers obliged by the law to register a business?<\/li>\n<li>are they obliged to pay social charges?<\/li>\n<li>how often should income be reported and what are the tax rates?<\/li>\n<li>finally, is it a competitive system comparing it to the rest of Europe?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_many_Frenchmen_work_remotely\"><\/span>How many Frenchmen work remotely?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Freelancing is not particularly popular among the French, given the large population of the country (67 million). There are less than 0.2 remote employees registered on freelancer portals per 1,000 people, which is less than in Romania or Serbia<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/useme.eu\/en\/blog\/in-which-countries-is-freelancing-the-most-popular,128\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more: In which countries is freelancing the most popular?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Freelancer_is_required_to_register_a_business\"><\/span>Freelancer is required to register a business<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Any service for a professional activity must be invoiced. That means that a freelancer (French tax resident) who works for a company must give an invoice to his client.<\/p>\n<p>Invoices must include <strong>SIRET number<\/strong> (Syst\u00e8me d&#8217;Identification du R\u00e9pertoire des \u00c9tablissements). To obtain it, the freelancer must register either a company or sole proprietorship.<br \/>\nThere is no other way to obtain the number. Therefore, an individual cannot issue an invoice and a freelancer must register a sole proprietorship to work for a company.<br \/>\n<strong>What if I have a foreign client?<\/strong>The rules are exactly the same when a French freelancer works for a foreign company.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The income tax for remote work<\/strong>. Since the regulations do not allow any other form of freelancing than opening a business, let&#8217;s now have a look at all the charges and taxes.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Social_contributions_in_France\"><\/span>Social contributions in France<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Social contributions in France are calculated on turnover. Every sole trader must pay social security contributions to the fund called <strong>URSSAF<\/strong> &#8211; Union de Recouvrement des cotisations de S\u00e9curit\u00e9 Sociale et d&#8217;Allocations Familiales. The contributions are proportional to the income received. The value of contributions is formally calculated as 22% from 66% of turnover.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br \/>\nturnover: 2000<br \/>\n\u20ac 66% turnover: \u20ac 1320<br \/>\npension contributions: 22% from \u20ac 1,320 = \u20ac 290.40<\/p>\n<p>A remote employee pays contributions monthly or quarterly (one can choose the frequency). In the respect of social contributions, the French system is similar to the Bulgarian one.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/useme.eu\/en\/blog\/bulgaria-freelancers-tax-obligations,133\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more: Bulgaria \u2013 freelancers\u2019 tax obligations<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tax_schemes_to_choose_from\"><\/span>Tax schemes to choose from<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Freelancers have different types of taxation to choose from. Let&#8217;s take a look at them.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>&#8220;Imp\u00f4t sur les revenu&#8221;, or taxation of family income<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In this approach, all freelancer\u2019s revenues are added, including those from any full-time employment.<br \/>\nThe tax rates are progressive and dependant on income (2020):<br \/>\nUp to \u20ac 10,064: 0%;<br \/>\nFrom EUR 10 064 to EUR 25 659: 11%;<br \/>\nFrom \u20ac 25,659 to \u20ac 73,369: 30%;<br \/>\nFrom \u20ac 73 369 to \u20ac 157 806: 41%;<br \/>\nOver 157 806 \u20ac: 45%.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The &#8220;Versement lib\u00e9ratoire&#8221; \u2013 a low tax on turnover<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It is an advantageous scheme for sole proprietors. In this option, the tax rate is only 2.2%, and it is calculated on 66% of turnover. However, certain conditions must be met.<br \/>\nFirstly, the maximum income is \u20ac 70,000. Secondly, the income in the next year of operation cannot exceed a certain amount, depending on many factors, such as family income, number of children, etc.<br \/>\nLike in the case of pension contributions, here the entrepreneur can choose the frequency of settlements (monthly or quarterly).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_the_French_tax_system_competitive\"><\/span>Is the French tax system competitive?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>French tax schemes for freelancers have their advantages. These certainly include the fact that, apart from property tax, there are no other flat fees unbound to the turnover.<br \/>\nThe biggest plus is probably a high tax-free allowance (\u20ac 10,064) or a very low tax (2.2%) if you don&#8217;t earn more than \u20ac 70,000 a year.<\/p>\n<p>The disadvantages include the fact that pension contributions are compulsory. In our opinion, any system that forces an entrepreneur to pay pension contributions is contrary to the idea of entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, the social burden for the self-employed French is not very severe. First of all, contributions are calculated on turnover, so with zero revenues we won&#8217;t pay anything. Secondly, it\u2019s not as expensive as it could have been &#8211; the effective rate is around 14.5% on income, and therefore much less than on the employment contract.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, French tax law for self-employed employees is neither particularly favorable nor extremely dissuasive. It is somewhere in the middle, ranking lower than Great Britain or Germany, but above e.g. Romania, where the system basically forces freelancers to open limited liability companies.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/useme.eu\/en\/blog\/taxes-for-freelancers-in-romania,138\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more: Taxes of freelancers in Romania<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Are you eager to know more?<br \/>\nThere\u2019s more to find out. Particularly about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the only legal way to avoid registering a company by a freelancer, or<\/li>\n<li>how costly is the compulsory property tax.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/useme-prod-public.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/download\/Useme+report+-+taxes+for+Freelancers+in+France.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download a full report about taxes for freelancers in France.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_you_need_to_hire_a_French_freelancer\"><\/span>Do you need to hire a French freelancer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Do you have a remote worker from France or are you pondering how to legally hire one? Consider Useme &#8211; with us the whole HR process is completely non-engaging and thus simple and trouble-free for both sides. We can help you work with freelancers not only from France, but from around the world which is a great step when thinking about<a href=\"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/go-global-with-your-business\/\"> going global with your business. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Propose your remote co-worker to <a href=\"https:\/\/useme.eu\/en\/secure-payment\/start\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issue an invoice as an individual<\/a> or use our API to account a whole team of Freelancers. Useme will take care of the formalities, payment security, transaction history, file storage and more.<\/p>\n<p>Any questions? Contact us at <a href=\"mailto:info@useme.eu\">info@useme.eu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, we discuss the legal and tax environment of France from the perspective of a remote employee. The latter is understood as a co-worker who is not bound by an employment contract and might have many principals at the same time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,25],"tags":[47,50,58,59],"class_list":["post-1931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-freelancers","category-for-employers","tag-travel","tag-job-market","tag-france","tag-taxes"],"modified_by":"Zuza","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1931"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3041,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931\/revisions\/3041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/useme.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}