France · TNS, BNC, micro-entrepreneur — which regime lets you deduct what
Three regimes, three completely different deduction rules. Pick the wrong one and you leave thousands on the table — here's the 2026 cheat-sheet.
France · TNS, BNC, micro-entrepreneur — which regime lets you deduct what
In France, the regime you pick before you invoice anyone is the single biggest tax decision you'll make. The same revenue can land you with €8,000 less in your pocket depending on whether you're under micro-BNC, régime réel BNC, or running an EURL. This is the 2026 cheat-sheet.
The three flavours, in plain French
| Regime | Who | Deductibles | |---|---|---| | Micro-entrepreneur | Solo freelancers under €77,700 (services) | None. A flat 34% abatement is applied to revenue. That's it. | | Réel BNC | Solo freelancers, any income | Deduct anything you can justify with a receipt. Real bookkeeping. | | EURL / SASU | One-person company | Corporate tax (IS), the company deducts; you pay yourself a salary. |
The micro-entrepreneur regime is the default trap: zero paperwork sounds amazing until you realise you spent €18,000 on professional expenses and the tax office only acknowledged the flat 34%.
Income tax — the 2026 brackets
The barème progressif applies on taxable profit (after deductions and the household quotient familial). Brackets per part:
0 € – 11,497 € → 0%
11,498 – 29,315 → 11%
29,316 – 83,823 → 30%
83,824 – 180,294 → 41%
> 180,294 → 45%A married couple gets two parts: split the taxable income, apply the brackets per part, multiply the tax by two. A child counts for half a part (or one full part for a single parent).
Cotisations sociales — the silent 45%
Under the régime réel TNS (Travailleur Non Salarié), expect cotisations of roughly 45% of your net professional income: URSSAF, retraite (CIPAV or SSI depending on profession), CSG/CRDS, formation professionnelle.
Micro-entrepreneurs get a flat 21.2% cotisations rate on revenue (services, 2025) — simpler, but it's on revenue, not profit, which becomes punitive once you have real expenses.
What's deductible under régime réel BNC
- Professional rent (office, coworking) — 100%.
- Home office — pro-rata of rent, electricity, internet (no flat
Pauschale like in Germany; you compute the share).
- Business meals — restaurant invoices for client meetings, 50%
deductible (the rest is considered personal).
- Travel — train, plane, hotel, mileage (barème kilométrique 2025
≈ €0.529/km for the first 5,000 km on a 4 CV vehicle).
- Vehicle — can be 100% pro if registered to the business; otherwise
pro-rata via barème.
- Cotisations — URSSAF + retraite obligatoire are deductible. Madelin
/ PER complementary retirement contributions are deductible up to ~10% of professional income (with a cap).
- Software, subscriptions, training — 100% deductible if linked to
your activity.
- Bank fees on the professional account — 100%.
What you can NOT deduct
- Amendes (parking tickets, traffic fines) — never deductible, no
matter how legitimately work-related.
- Personal clothes — even a suit you only wear to client meetings is
considered personal use unless it carries a logo or is genuinely protective gear.
- Private phone / internet — only the business share counts (and the
burden of proof is on you).
- Personal meals — eating alone at lunch isn't deductible. Add a
client to the table and 50% becomes deductible.
- Frais de déplacement domicile-travail — your daily commute to your
primary office is treated as personal.
The trap: switching regimes mid-year
You cannot retroactively switch from micro to réel BNC after the filing deadline (1 February for the previous tax year). If you crossed the €77,700 threshold or your real expenses exceed 34% of revenue, notify URSSAF early — switching after the fact means the missed deductibles are gone.
Action items
- Add up last year's professional expenses. If they exceed **34% of
revenue**, the réel BNC regime is mathematically better.
- If you're already under micro and over the threshold, file the
"option pour le régime réel" with URSSAF before 1 February.
- Run your numbers through our tax calculator
under "France · self-employed" to see the realistic net take-home under each scenario.
- Set up a dedicated professional bank account — micro-entrepreneurs
are required to within 12 months of crossing €10,000 in revenue, but it pays back in cleaner deductibles regardless.
General guidance for French freelancers under TNS / BNC, not legal or tax advice. Cotisations rates, thresholds and brackets change every year — confirm with an expert-comptable before optimising. Run your real numbers through the free tax calculator.