Work & Business in France

Starting a Business
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Top Tips
- 3. Start-Up Advice
- 4. Business Classification
- 5. Legal Structure
- 6. Business Registration
- 7. Business Premises
- 8. Banking, Accounting & Insurance
- 9. Business Taxation
- 10. Other Taxes
- 11. Social Security
- 12. Financial Assistance

IFP Guides

Buying Property in France
- House Buying Process
- Buying Off-Plan
- Buying at Auction
Building & Renovation
- Building a New Home
- Planning System
- Financial Assistance
Finance & Taxation
- Banking in France
- French Mortgages
- Personal Taxation
- Inheritance Laws & Taxation
Public Services
- Health Care Services
- School Education
- Higher Education
Work & Business
- Starting a Business
- Letting Property
Property Rights
- Land Registration
- Property Boundaries
- Boundary Walls
- Noise Nuisance
- Rights of Way in France
Household and Motor Insurance
- Organising Household Insurance Cover
- Types of Insurance Cover

Contact

Community and News
- IFP Forums
- IFP Newsletter
- Newsletter Sign-up
Services
- Bookstore
- Metric Unit Conversion
Finance
- UCB Mortgages
- Mortgage Brokers
- Mortgages & Taxation
- Currency Services

IFP Property Search

Advanced Search

Search from our database of over 10,000 properties and find your dream home today!

5. French Legal Structures

5.1. Types of Legal Structure in France

It is not ordinarily necessary to establish a separate legal company structure to start and run a business in France.

As a general rule, you have the choice to either operate a business as a self-employed person, or to establish a limited company.

A self-employed business is called an Entreprise Individuelle, whilst the most common limited company structures have the acronyms EURL and SARL.

We can, therefore, summarise the three main business structures as follows:

Table: Business Structures in France

UK	France
Self-Employed	Entreprise Individuelle (EI)
Sole Trader	Entreprise Unipersonelle à Responsibilité Limitée (EURL)
Limited Company	Société à Responsibilité Limitée (SARL)

There are also a number of legal structures for public limited companies, partnerships, investment companies and certain professions libérales, e.g. SCP, SEL, SA, SAS, SNC, SCM! We shall not be considering these structures in these pages.

If you are proposing to rent out property then you may wish to establish a rather specialist type of property company called a Société Civile Immobiliiére. The SCI is mainly used for home purchase, but can also be used as a legal vehicle to let out unfurnished property.

Most people setting up a business in France do so on a self-employed basis. Whilst it is possible to later migrate to a limited company, there are fees and taxes associated with doing so, particularly if you are transferring business assets to the new company.

You would do well to consider a company structure at the outset if you are concerned about the absence of any limited liability, if the business needs start up capital or loan finance, or you are starting a business with others.

The type of legal structure you choose will also have implications on your fiscal status. Thus, depending on the choice you make, you may either be taxed through the personal income tax system or through the system of company tax. Similarly, you will pay social security contributions, either as a salaried employee, or as a self-employed person.

Top Tip!

Whilst there are no particular fiscal advantages from one type of structure to the other, there is greater flexibility to create advantages with a limited company.

Next: Self-Employed

Back: Regulated Activities

The IFP Guides are published for general information only.
Please visit our Disclaimer for full details.