For the latest in-depth analysis, subscribe to our news service at France Insider.

If you require advice and assistance with the purchase of French property and moving to France, then take a look at the France Insider Property Clinic.

9. Taxation of Business Profits in France

9.2. Micro-Entrepreneur Business in France

This page is only a very short summary of our complete Guide to Micro-Entrepreneur Business in France.

There are four main points to note about micro-entrepreneur status:

I. Tax Status - First, a micro business is not a legal business structure – it is a specific tax status that benefits from simple tax and accounting rules.

II. Turnover Limits - The second important qualification is that micro tax status is only available if the business does not exceed certain turnover limits. These turnover limits depend on the type of business activity you pursue.

III. Pay-as-you-Go – A business adopting the tax status of micro-entrepreneur pays their social security contributions based on turnover, not profits.

IV. Exclusions - Finally, certain types of business are excluded from micro-entrepreneur status eg estate agents.

The tax regime is called Micro-Social/Fiscal under which you pay a fixed percentage of your total turnover in social security contributions and, by option, tax payments.

Whether or not you should adopt micro-entrepreneur tax status depends on a lot of factors. As a general rule, it is more suited to those businesses with a low cost structure, and those seeking to run a small business as a secondary source of earnings.

There are some disadvantages of micro-entrepreneur status that you need to consider, which we consider in our full guide.