The Auto-Entrepreneur

How to set up as a sole trader or start a small business in France re-selling goods or materials, or offering services. Understand the taxes due, invoicing and book-keeping obligations...

As explained in Angloinfo's Information Page on Starting a Business in France, any for-profit activity in France - regardless of the amount of revenue generated - requires a legal structure, with the business either:
  • Registered as an individual operator (sole trader), or
  • Registered as a company/corporation
The statut auto-entrepreneur simplifies the process of registering and running the smallest sole-trader businesses. This applies to those who wish to run a business under the Micro-BIC or Micro-BNC tax régimes, where annual turnover (2018) is less than:
  • €170,000 for those re-selling goods or materials, as well as hotels and rural gîtes
  • €70,000 for those offering services