Declare and pay VAT
Verified 04 November 2025 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Sales and services are subject to the value added tax (VAT) The VAT is collected by the trader who must pay it to the tax authorities.
Depending on the tax system to which the company is subject (exemption from VAT, simplified VAT system, ordinary real system), the rules for declaring and paying VAT are different.
Exemption based on VAT
In order to benefit from the VAT exemption scheme, the company must not exceed a certain turnover threshold. This threshold depends on the company's activity.
Please note
A single exemption threshold based on VAT of €25,000 was envisaged by the 2025 budget law. This threshold, whose application had remained suspended, was finally abandoned by the law no. 2025-1044 of november 3, 2025. The VAT-based exemption thresholds therefore remained unchanged.
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Sale of goods, articles, supplies and foodstuffs to take away or consume on the spot
The company is subject to the exemption from VAT it fulfills the following cumulative conditions:
- Its turnover is less than €85,000.
- The annual amount of the VAT for which it is liable is less than €15,000.
Housing supply (excluding furnished rental)
The company is subject to the exemption from VAT it fulfills the following cumulative conditions:
- Its turnover is less than €85,000.
- The annual amount of the VAT for which it is liable is less than €15,000.
Provision of services
A company is subject to the exemption from VAT it fulfills the following cumulative conditions:
- Its turnover is less than €37,500.
- The annual amount of the VAT for which it is liable is less than €15,000.
When the company is subject to the exemption on the basis of VAT, it is exempt from VAT. This means that it does not charge VAT to its customers. Thus, it is not not subject to VAT reporting and payment obligations.
FYI
For more information on the VAT-based deductible, please consult the corresponding sheet.
Simplified real VAT regime
The turnover threshold not to be exceeded depends on the activity carried out.
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Sale of goods, articles, supplies and foodstuffs to take away or consume on the spot
The company is subject to the simplified VAT regime when its turnover (turnover) is between €85,000 and €840,000.
Housing supply (excluding furnished rental)
The company is subject to the simplified VAT regime when its turnover (turnover) is between €85,000 and €840,000.
Provision of services
A company is subject to the simplified VAT regime when its turnover (turnover) is between €37,500 and €254,000.
The VAT declaration procedures differ from the amount of VAT declared by the company in the previous year.
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Declaration of less than €15,000
The company subject to a simplified VAT system must make a annual VAT return by 2e working day after 1er May. This return must summarize all taxable transactions of the calendar year previous.
The declaration must be made online on the business account impot.gouv.fr of the company using the CA12 :
Annual VAT adjustment declaration - Simplified scheme (No. 3517-CA12)
Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)
Warning
When the company's accounting year does not coincide with a calendar year (the year is not closed on 31 December), then the VAT declaration must be made within 3 months of the end of the accounting year.
Declaration of more than 15 000 €
The company must make a VAT return every month. The exact date of filing of the declaration is indicated in the tax.gouv professional area of each company.
The declaration must indicate the total amount of sales and supplies of services subject to VAT that were made in the month. It must also specify the details of taxable transactions.
The VAT declaration must be made online on the impots.gouv.fr professional area of the company:
The date on which you have to pay VAT depends on the company's accounting year-end date.
Closing on 31 December
The company must pay VAT in several installments:
- 1er down payment en: july, the company must pay 55% of the tax due in the previous year
- 2e down payment en: December, the company must pay 40% of the tax due in the previous year
- Balance : at the time of filing of the VAT return in May of the following year
If the company considers that the amounts paid on account are equal to or greater than the amount of the tax due, then it can waive a new payment. It must then hand over to the company Tax Service (SIE) a declaration dated and signed before the date of recovery of the next installment.
The company may also request that the amount of its installments be amended if it considers that the VAT it is liable to pay is more than 10% or less than 10% in relation to the amount of the corresponding advance payment. For example, during its 2nd down payment, the company must pay €10,000 VAT, excluding according to its estimates, it is liable to pay €15,000 of VAT. It may request that the amount of this 2nd down payment be modified so as not to have too large a catch-up at the time of payment of the balance.
FYI
The company who paid a VAT amount less than €1,000 the previous year is exemption from payment of advance payments VAT for the following year.
Closed on a date other than 31 December
The company must pay VAT in several installments. The date of payment installments depend on the date on which the company made its VAT return for the previous year.
Date of VAT declaration for the previous year | Deposit payment dates |
|---|---|
January, February, March, April or May N | 1er Deposit: July N 2e Deposit: December N |
June, July, August, September, October N | 1er Deposit: December N 2e down payment: July N+1 |
November or December N | 1er down payment: July N+1 2e down payment: December N+1 |
The company must pay 55% of the tax due in the preceding year at the time of 1er down payment, then 40% on the 2e In the end, the company must pay the balance remaining at time of VAT return.
If the company considers that the amounts paid on account are equal to or greater than the amount of the tax due, then it can waive a new payment. It must then submit a declaration dated and signed before the date of recovery of the next payment to the companies' tax department.
The company may also request that the amount of its installments be amended if it considers that the VAT it is liable to pay is more than 10% or less than 10% in relation to the amount of the corresponding advance payment. For example, during its 2nd down payment, the company must pay €10,000 of VAT. However, according to its estimates, it is liable for €15,000 of VAT. It may then request that the amount of this 2nd down payment be modified so as not to have too large a catch-up at the time of payment of the balance.
Payments are to be made on the professional area impots.gouv.fr of the company:
Normal real VAT regime
The turnover threshold from which you are subject to the normal real VAT regime depends on the activity carried out.
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Sale of goods, articles, supplies and foodstuffs to take away or consume on the spot
The company is subject to the ordinary real VAT regime when its turnover is greater than €840,000.
Housing supply (excluding furnished rental)
The company is subject to the ordinary real VAT regime when its turnover is greater than €840,000.
Provision of services
A company is subject to the ordinary real VAT regime when its turnover is greater than €254,000.
The company subject to a real standard VAT system must make a VAT declaration every month. The exact date of filing of the declaration is indicated in the professional space impot.gouv.fr of each company.
The declaration must indicate the total amount of sales and supplies of services subject to VAT that were made in the month. It must also specify the details of taxable transactions.
The VAT declaration must be made online on the professional area impots.gouv.fr of the company:
Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)
FYI
Where the amount of VAT payable each year is less than €4,000, the declaration must be made every 3 months.
The company must pay the VAT it is liable for each month or quarter at the time of his VAT return.
The payment is to be made on the business account impots.gouv.fr of the company:
Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)
FYI
Where the amount of VAT payable each year is less than €4,000, the declaration and payment must be made every 3 months.
Conditions for the declaration of revenue
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