Artist-author: taxation (tax return, TVA and CFE)

Verified 20 February 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / (Prime Minister)

As an artist-author, you receive artistic income associated with creation of works of the mind, whether in the field of writers, music composers, graphic and visual arts, cinema and audiovisual, photography, or even software.

Such income shall be reported either in non-commercial profits (BNC), or salaries and wages (TS). This statement will determine your tax system.

You have declared your activity as an artist-author. Thus, you are subject to theincome tax (IR) and must declare your income to taxes on the tax administration website, via your Public Finance area.

Taxes: access your Public Finance area

Copyright is taxable in the category of salaries and wages when they are fully declared by third parties (e.g. publishers, producers, collective management organizations).

Please note

You can opt out of the wage and salary plan and declare all your income in BNC. This option is valid for the year in which it is exercised as well as for the following 2 years.

The other artistic income the artist-author (e.g. sales of works, award of a prize, award of a scholarship, miscellaneous income) are taxable in the category of non-commercial profits (BNC).

Your tax system depends on your turnover (₩).

For profits generated in 2025, this threshold is €77,700.

For 2026 profits, it is set at €83,600.

For more information, please visit: What consequences for a micro-entrepreneur who exceeds the turnover thresholds?

Since 1er in january 2026, the threshold for switching from one regime to another is set at €83,600.

less than €83,600

You can choose one of the 2 tax regimes following:

  • Micro-BNC diet : this is a simplified reporting method, you only report your gross revenue (excluding TVA) and the tax administration calculates your taxable income by applying a abatement from 34% for professional expenses.
  • Controlled reporting regime : this plan requires detailed accounting of your expenses and business income. Your taxable profit (or deficit) corresponds to the net profit realized during the calendar year taking into account actual income and expenses paid in the same year. This scheme is mandatory above €83,600 HT revenue.
more than €83,600

Above €83,600 HT revenue per year, you are obligatorily subject to the controlled declaration procedure.

This plan requires you to keep detailed accounts of your expenses and business income. Your taxable profit (or deficit) corresponds to the net profit realized during the calendar year taking into account actual income and expenses paid in the same year.

Applicable TVA rates

The TVA rate to be used varies depending on the nature of the transaction :

  • Sale of an original work by the author or his beneficiaries: 5.5%
  • Assignment of copyright (right of representation, reproduction, adaptation, exploitation and interpretation): 10%
  • For all other operations : 20%

The creation aid or grants paid by various public or private bodies are exempt from TVA. Thus, the TVA level is 0% unless the consideration is a supply of goods or services or is the supplement to the price of a taxable transaction.

TVA rates for miscellaneous income depend on the service concerned. For example, when they are paid directly by students, course given in the artist-author's studio or workshop and the workshops artistic or writing practices, are exempt from TVA.

Franchise based on TVA

The TVA-based franchise exempt from TVA declaration and payment on your artistic revenue (copyright, sales of works...).)

Your right to benefit depends on the turnover () derived from your artistic activities in the previous year (N-1):

less than €50,000

You benefit from a TVA-based franchise on your artistic recipes. In this context, you must issue your duty-free invoices to your customers with the words " TVA not applicable – CGI Article 293 B ».

However, if your current year turnover (N) exceeds the " tolerance threshold ’ fixed at €55,000, you no longer benefit from the TVA basic deductible from 1er day of month of overrun.

more than €50,000

When you cross the threshold €50,000 in a given year, you no longer benefit from the TVA basic deductible from 1er January of the following year.

In addition, if your current year turnover (N) exceeds the " tolerance threshold ’ fixed at €55,000, you no longer benefit from the TVA basic deductible from 1er day of month of overrun.

The withdrawal from the TVA-based franchise scheme will have the following effects:

  • Submission to the TVA of operations carried out as from 1er the day of the month of the exceedance. So you have to declare the TVA and charge it to your customers. Invoices issued in the overrun month, before the overrun day, must be corrected to include the TVA. For example, an entrepreneur exceeds the TVA threshold on December 15. He then has to charge the TVA in December. If he has already issued invoices between 1er and on december 15 without TVA, he must amend them to add the TVA.
  • You are now entitled to TVA deduction on your business purchases. You can ask the tax authorities to deduct the TVA paid on your business purchases at the time of your TVA declaration of 1er month overrun.
  • You must apply for intra-community TVA number and indicate it on your invoices. To obtain your intra-community TVA number, you must contact your company tax department (SIE) on your business account on the website impots.gouv.fr and inform it of your departure from the TVA franchise system:

Online tax account for professionals (EFI mode)

Please note

For income from ancillary activities (workshops, courses, public meetings), you benefit from the TVA basic franchise when your turnover of the previous year (N-1) does not exceed €35,000 and if it does not exceed €38,500 for the current year.

Option for TVA payment

Whatever the amount of your annual turnover (even less than €50,000), you can opting for TVA payment and charge your customers. This allows you to recover deductible TVA on professional expenditure.

The request for an option must be made in writing to the company tax service (SIE) you depend on.

Who shall I contact

The option takes effect to 1er day the month in which it is declared.

The option must cover a period of 2 years renewable (including the application). Thus, an option formulated on 1er November of year N will produce its effects until 31 December N+1.

TVA withholding tax on certain copyright

The TVA withholding tax system will help you exemption from declaring TVA when you collect copyrights from publishers, producers or collective management organizations (Adagp: titleContent, SAIF: titleContent, Sacem: titleContentetc.).

Broadcaster declares and acquits TVA for your account and then makes a TVA withholding payment on the copyright it pays you.

This exemption applies both to artists-authors eligible for the basic franchise and to artists-authors liable to the TVA.

FYI  

Where copyright is paid by a publisher, the TVA withholding tax shall apply only in respect of the copyright paid in the context of a publishing contract. Therefore, if you charge copyright to a publisher (i.e. outside a publishing contract), it is up to you to declare and pay the TVA tax, there is no withholding tax.

General scenario

This deduction is equal to the amount of TVA calculated at the rate legally applicable to copyright (10%) less a right to deduct fixed at a flat rate at 0.80%, or a net retention of 9.20%.

Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion

This deduction is equal to the amount of TVA calculated at the rate legally applicable to copyright (10%) less a right to deduct fixed at a flat rate at 0.40%, or a net retention of 9.60%.

You can abandoning the withholding tax system, at any time. In this case, you pay and declare the TVA to the tax authorities.

The waiver must be formulated in writing and sent by registered letter to company Tax Service (SIE)). You must then immediately send a copy of the waiver sent to the tax department to all publishers, royalty collection and allocation businesses and producers whose royalties you collect or are entitled to collect.

This waiver applies for a period of 5 years.

Who shall I contact

The company property tax (CFE) is a local tax payable by professionals who habitually pursue a self-employed professional activity in 1er January of the taxation year, whatever their legal status, activity or taxation regime.

The following artist-authors are exempt :

  • Painters, sculptors, engravers and draftsmen considered as artists who create graphic and plastic works and sell only the product of their art. This includes graphic designers provided that their activity is limited to the creation of graphic works. Rather, it excludes graphic designers who execute works based on designs provided by third parties, or operate an establishment in which industrial work is predominant and secondary artistic work.
  • Art photographers for their activity relating to the taking of photographs, the transfer of their works of art and the transfer of their property rights relating to their photographic works
  • Authors of literary and dramatic, musical and choreographic works, as well as co-authors of an audiovisual work produced in collaboration and authors of a radio work
  • Lyrical and dramatic artists

On the other hand, software authors are not eligible of that exemption.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Company Tax Service (SIE)

  • By phone

    Monday to Friday: from 9am to 5pm

    0 806 804 208 (price of a local call)

    By courier

    http://www.secu-artistes-auteurs.fr/contact

    By post

    60 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière

    75010 Paris

  • By email (email)

    https://www.artistes-auteurs.urssaf.fr/aa/accueil

    By post

    Urssaf Limousin

    Pole artists-authors - TSA 70009

    93517 MONTREUIL CEDEX