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Your Obligations as an Auto Entrepreneur
If you have registered as an auto entrepreneur you will have a siret (Siren ) number and be ready to start your activity in France or perhaps you are already active and working for yourself.Below is a guide to what your obligations are as an auto entrepreneur and a check list of things to do once you have registered and received your Siret or professional business registration number:
What accounts to set up as an auto entrepreneur ?
1 – A bank account
Why ?
Auto-entrepreneurs are obliged to have a bank account dedicated to their income and expenses related to their business
When ?
As soon as you have a Siret number you should open a bank account related to your business activity. You have a year to get everything in order from when you declare the start date for the business, otherwise you could receive a fine.
What type of account ?
You do not have to open a professional account which can be expensive. A simple current account will suffice as long as it is dedicated to your business activity.
2 – A professional account on the government website impots.gouv.frWhy?
Now you are an auto entrepreneur , you should set up an account on the government website in order to pay the annual professional CFE tax – Cotisation Foncière des Entreprises. This is an annual professional tax that is only available online and is not sent out by post. Also if you are registered for TVA you will need to declare online .
When ?
As soon as possible – you are exonerated for the first year from paying the CFE tax but the second year you will not receive notification by the post so need to be registered online to pay
How ?
Go to the government website impots.gouv.fr and click on « Votre espace professionnel ». The click on « Créer et activer mon espace professionnel » and complete the form to receive an activation code by the post to finalise the set up
3 – An account on net entreprises.fr
Why ?
Net Entreprises is one of the most important sites for any auto entrepreneur. This is the site you need to register on to declare your monthly or quarterly turnover – even if you have nothing to declare you need to complete a ‘nil’ return otherwise again you can receive a fine .
When?
As soon as you have your siret number. Please note there is a delay of around 3 months from the start date of your activity to complete your first online declaration. So hold over your income until you can complete the first declaration but register as soon as possible after having received your siret number .
How?
Got to the website with your siret number and create an account www.netentreprises.fr
4 – An account on the site for the Sécurité Sociale des IndépendantsWhy ?
Only for artisans, commerçants and profession liberals- otherwise if you are self employed in France .
How ?
Via the SSI website - le site de la Sécurité Sociale des Indépendants (SSI) you are able to download any attestations you may need for your activity
When?
As soon as you have your siret number
How?
Click on « Créer mon compte » on the SSI website and then follow the guidelines
What declarations do you need to complete ?
1 – The initial CFE declaration
What is this ?
La Cotisation Foncière des Entreprises (CFE) is a local tax that auto entrepreneurs have to pay from their second year in activity . During the first year you will need to complete a questionnaire from your local tax office that they send to you in order to register for the CFE tax and complete details about your activity .
When ?
Before the 31st December of the year of registration of your business.
How?
A form will be sent to you via the post. This tax is calculated in terms of your turnover, office or activity space and where you live and you will need to give an estimation of what you expect to earn and where you practice your activity from (office space, work shop etc. )
From the second year of activity , you need to pay the CFE tax online via the government website before the 15th December each year.
2 – Income tax return
What is this ?
In addition to your declarations of turnover on the net entreprises website, you also need to complete a personal tax return per household each year in May for the previous calender year. And if you are in activity you will need to complete the supplementary 2042 C form . Even if you have paid income tax at source on your quarterly or monthly returns you need to include your overall income figure earned via the business in order that the french government can see your global household income.
When ?
Before mid May if you declare via post or the end of May/early June if online.
How?
If you complete your declaration by post after your second year you will receive a pre completed form via the postal service OR if you complete it online you will need to access your personal account on the government website .
3 – TVA Declaration (VAT)
What is this ?If you exceed certain income levels then you will be obliged to declare your TVA (33 200 € for artisans & professions libérales, 82 800 € for commercial activities), you will then also need to invoice TVA on your client invoices.
When ?
If you opt for the simplified way of declaring then you declare your TVA 2 days before the following 1st May – you then pay every 6 months (July and December) or if the TVA is less than 1000 € you pay it in one payment.
If you opt for TVA being calculated on your actual invoices and expenses then you need to complete a declaration online every month.How ?
On the professional government website www.impots.gouv.fr
