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WORKING IN FRANCE

URSSAF: What is it, how it works, and how it affects you

if you are working as a freelancer, contractor or have set up a business in France you will need to become familiar with the social security collections agency Urssaf. Here's what it is and how it works.

Published: 19 April 2024 12:20 CEST
A woman uses her laptop computer in a park
A woman uses her laptop computer in a park. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Unions de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d’Allocations Familiales – more usually known, because that’s a mouthful, by the acronym Urssaf – are the administrators who collect social security contributions that fund a large part of France’s labyrinthine social security system, including, notably, health insurance.

It is responsible for collecting some €534.4 billion from 9.8 million users every year to help fund social security in France.

If you’re an employee in France, you will probably have nothing directly to do with Urssaf, because – for the most part – dealing with it will fall into the realms of Somebody Else’s Problem (ie your employer). 

But if you are freelance, a contractor or set up your own business you will almost definitely have to deal with Urssaf. 

Type of regime

Many people working for themselves in France use the simplified Micro Entrepreneur regime – often still referred to as auto entrepreneur – which sets up a basic sole trader-style business. 

Its advantage is (relative) simplicity but it has limits on earnings as well as other limitations like being able to write off business expenses.

Micro-entrepreneur: How to set up as a small business in France

Other options for freelancers or sole traders include the Entrepreneur individuel à responsabilité limitée (EIRL – basically a limited liability sole trader); Entreprise unipersonnelle à responsabilité limitée (EURL – another sole trader option), Société par Actions Simplifiée Unipersonnelle (SASU); or Société à Responsibilité Limitée (SARL).

These allow for higher earnings but are more complicated and may require an accountant to set up.

If you start off as a micro-entrepreneur but then your earnings go over the threshold you can switch to another regime without attracting a penalty.

How to register 

These days the whole registering a business thing can be done online. For a simple micro enterprise, you can create an account on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr, then give details of the business you intend to run, and your social security numbers. 

If you’re looking to set-up a more complex business structure such as a EURL, SARL, SASU, or SAS, you should start with the portail e-procédures at procedures.inpi.fr.

You must then send off the declaration, which is registered with the relevant Centre de formalités des entreprises;

  • For commercial businesses eg shops or bars, this is the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie;
  • For artisans, craftspeople, tradespeople and some other commercial businesses, it is with the chambre de métiers et de l’artisanat;
  • For professions libérales – including, for example, freelance journalists – it is with Urssaf.

Within 15 days of registration, you should receive your business registration number, known as the SIRET number.

Notice that you have been signed up to the relevant social security regime should follow in a few weeks. 

Since 2020, all independent workers belong to the Assurance Maladie health regime, and a few professionnels libéraux are signed up to the standard Assurance retraite for their pensions. 

How much does it cost to set up a business?

That depends on your business. Setting up as a micro entrepreneur (auto entrepreneur) costs nothing administratively and is the simplest way for freelancers to set up for themselves. 

Technically speaking it is a tax status rather than a business structure. 

Then what?

Once you’re up and running, the most regular contact with Urssaf should be when you file your earnings online, which – for micro entrepreneurs – can be done monthly or quarterly using the auto entrepreneur website.

You will then be informed how much you owe in cotisations, (social security contributions) which will be taken out of your bank account around a month later.

 If you have a French-incorporated business, such as EURL, SARL, SAS or SASU, you will use URSSAF’s main website www.urssaf.fr, or get your accountant to do so. Some business set-ups in France require you to use an accountant.

READ ALSO Ten tips for working as a freelancer in France

Banks

Note that you will need to set up a dedicated bank account for your business. As a micro entrepreneur, despite claims from banks, it does not have to be a business account (which attract larger fees). But it should be separate from your personal bank account, and just used to pay your charges, for any business expenses (which you cannot claim for, if you’re a micro entrepreneur). 

Other business regimes, such as the Entrepreneur individuel à responsabilité limitée (EIRL – basically a limited liability sole trader); Entreprise unipersonnelle à responsabilité limitée (EURL – another sole trader option), Société par Actions Simplifiée Unipersonnelle (SASU); or Société à Responsibilité Limitée (SARL), have certain advantages on allowable earnings, compared to the very basic micro-entrepreneur regime – but will incur a sliding scale of charges on set-up, and require different book-keeping and accounting systems. Some will also require you to be registered for VAT.

Do I need an accountant?

This is really a personal choice – the micro-entrepreneur regime is designed to be simple and to be used by individuals, but some people still prefer to use an accountant.

The business structures for higher earners are a little more complicated and may require an accountant to set up. Most people use accountants if they are within these structures, unless they are confident in both their French and their book-keeping abailities.

If you have an accountant you can nominate them to be your representative in any dealings with Urssaf, although note that you are still responsible for any fees and charges, even if they are incurred by your accountant making a mistake.

Okay — how much do you pay in charges?

For micro-entrepreneurs, social charges can be paid monthly or quarterly. They are calculated as a fixed percentage of your earnings, depending on the type of work.

Rates are 12.8 percent for the sale of goods, 22 percent for artisanal and commercial services, 22 percent for professions libérales attached to the standard Assurance Retraite for retirement, and 22.2 percent for a small number of professions libérales attached to Cipav. 

A levy of 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent is also charged. It goes to the CPF fund giving all workers the right to a financial contribution for training.

Note, micro-entrepreneurs are limited in the amount they can earn: for business activities and the supply of accommodation (hotels, bed and breakfasts, rural cottages classified as furnished apartments, furnished apartments), the threshold is €188,700.

For service and professional activities, the threshold is €77,700.

Micro entrepreneurs will be obliged to step up to another business regime if they break these earnings thresholds.

For other business types, these maximum earnings thresholds do not exist, but bosses will have other requirements, for example, they may need to use the services of an accountant, and will have to be audited once they cross a certain earnings threshold.

Taxes

It’s important to note that Urssaf deductions are only part of the story – there are also other taxes to consider.

Personal income tax is covered in the annual income tax declaration, while businesses taxes fall under a range of tax regimes, depending on your type of business.

Commercial, industrial, or manual/trades/crafts businesses fall under the Bénéfices Industriels et Commerciaux (BIC) system. Professional businesses fall under the Bénéfices non Commerciaux (BNC) system. Agricultural businesses use the Bénéfices Agricole (BA) system.

Don’t forget, either, the Contribution Fonciere des Entreprises (CFE) property levy, a local tax payable by any company or self-employed person earning more than €5,000 per year, even if they conduct their business at home, at the kitchen table. This one is due every December.

What if I have a problem?

You can contact Urssaf staff online via the website, or arrange an appointment for a face to face meeting at their offices, if you prefer. Contrary to popular opinion, they’re there to help you.

Urssaf, in the past, had a poor reputation. But, as with all French bureaucracy, it’s better to work with it rather than try to fight or resent it.

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For members

AMERICANS IN FRANCE

Americans in France: Will my tax situation change if I get French citizenship?

If you're thinking of applying for French citizenship, then you might be curious whether there will be any tax ramifications to becoming a dual national.

Published: 2 May 2024 16:44 CEST
Americans in France: Will my tax situation change if I get French citizenship?

Gaining French citizenship can have plenty of benefits for Americans living in France, from the right to vote in French elections to freedom of movement in the EU – as well as a more intangible sense of belonging in the country you now call home. 

However, Americans living abroad always have to contend with the United States’ system of citizenship-based taxation, which requires US nationals to report their global income to the IRS yearly, however long they have been out of the country.

This may result in making two tax declarations every year if they move to a country – like France – which requires yearly declarations from all residents.

As a result, Americans have to think about possible tax consequences before making decisions to move, invest, or perhaps take on a second nationality.

To help answer the question of whether there are special tax ramifications for French-American dual nationals living in France, The Local spoke with tax expert Jonathan Hadida from HadTax.

Hadida said: “There is really no impact. You still have yearly reporting requirements to both countries, and from the French side you will still continue to give you the benefits of the tax treaty”.

Key items, such as your US-based pension, would continue to be taxed in the US and not France regardless of whether or not you take on French nationality too.

READ MORE: Ask the expert: What Americans in France need to know about 401(k) and other pensions

Unfortunately, many of the limitations Americans in France experience would also remain in place. French investment options, such as the Assurance Vie, would still unwise for dual nationals, as the IRS sees them as PFICs (Passive Foreign Investment Company).

While the Assurance Vie is a great tool for being tax efficient for non-Americans, and can offer alternatives to the regimented, traditional French inheritance process, for Americans living in France (including those with dual nationality) it can lead to lengthy and complicated dealings with the IRS. 

“To the US tax authorities, you are still American first, second, third and fourth place. They don’t really care that you are also French,” Hadida said.

“The only real change to your tax situation would be giving up your American citizenship, but keeping your US citizenship in addition to French citizenship does not really change anything.”

What happens tax-wise if I renounce my American citizenship?

Renouncing US citizenship is not as simple as scheduling an appointment at a US embassy or consulate, paying the applicable fee, and declaring that one does not want to be American.

There are several factors to consider, and depending on your situation, in the long-run it might be more advantageous to hold onto your US citizenship to continue benefiting from certain parts of the US-France dual taxation treaty (PDF).

For others, keeping US citizenship might be onerous with its yearly reporting requirements, as well as the difficulty it can pose with putting money into French investment vehicles due to citizenship-based taxation and FATCA (US legislation that passed in 2010 to track money laundering). 

While renouncing your American citizenship undoubtedly pushes you further out of the reach of the IRS, you should consider that you might owe an exit tax, if you are deemed a ‘covered expatriate’. Usually, this is only required of high-net worth individuals (worth more than $2 million).

According to the US expat tax site 1040 Abroad, this also includes people who failed to comply with tax obligations in the five years preceding their renouncement, as well as people who had “an average annual net income tax liability exceeding a specified threshold” (as of 2022, this number was set to $178,000).

People renouncing US citizenship can also be subject to a special inheritance tax on gifts made to US citizens or residents, following their renunciation. 

READ MORE: How to renounce American citizenship in France – and why you might want to

You should also think about your US-based investments.

“You would no longer benefit from the tax treaty in the same way if you give up your US citizenship. For example, Article 24 of the treaty covers investment income, making it taxable in the US and giving you a deemed credit in France.

You would lose this benefit if you renounce, and this could make a big difference if the taxation level is lower in the US, as it often is with dividends or capital gains.

“Your IRA and pension plans will continue to be taxed in the US because this is based on where the pension is earned, not nationality, but you might have to start filing a non-resident tax return to the US after renouncing citizenship,” Hadida said.

The tax expert said that renouncing citizenship should be decided on a case by case basis.

“Every situation is different, and for some people it might not make sense to give up certain benefits from the US-France tax treaty. You should speak with a financial advisor before deciding”, he said.

READ MORE: Divorce, stress and fines: How citizenship-based taxation affects Americans in France

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