Micro-Entrepreneurs and French E-Invoicing: What Changes in 2026-2027
- 18 août
- 8 min de lecture
If you trade as a micro-entrepreneur (still widely called an auto-entrepreneur), the French e-invoicing reform applies to you. The DGFiP says so in plain terms: franchise en base does not take you out of the reform. You remain a VAT taxable person (assujetti), even when you are not liable (redevable) and never add VAT to a client invoice.
This guide is written for English-speaking founders, freelancers and side-business owners who need the practical map: what happens on 1 September 2026, what waits until 1 September 2027, how B2B differs from B2C, and why a PDF by email is not the compliant channel once issuing applies.
FrenchNotaires matches you free of charge with vetted bilingual notaires, typically within about 48 hours, in person or by video call. Your accountant owns VAT and e-invoicing compliance; a bilingual notaire helps when the same person also buys, lets or holds French property through an SCI or in their own name.
Key takeaways
Yes: micro-entrepreneurs and auto-entrepreneurs are in scope as taxable persons, including under franchise en base.
1 September 2026: you must be able to receive electronic invoices via a Plateforme Agréée.
1 September 2027: micro-enterprises must issue structured e-invoices for in-scope domestic B2B and transmit e-reporting data for B2C and other out-of-channel flows.
Franchise does not change: keep invoicing without VAT, with the statutory non-applicability mention (Article 293 B CGI).
A casual PDF email is not a compliant e-invoice once issuing applies to your domestic B2B clients.
Yes, you are concerned: the official answer
The DGFiP FAQ titled for franchise-en-base, micro-entrepreneur and auto-entrepreneur operators answers with a single word first: yes.
The reasoning is consistent across reform materials:
anyone who carries out an independent economic activity on a habitual basis is a VAT taxable person;
the reform applies to taxable persons whether or not they are liable for VAT;
franchise-en-base operators are assujettis non redevables: they do not mention VAT on customer invoices and do not pay output VAT, yet they remain inside the VAT system for reform purposes.
DGFiP fiche 2 repeats the same point with examples: a clothing boutique under the franchise threshold, or an artisan plumber under the services threshold, must still be able to issue electronic invoices (by 2027 at the latest) for sales and services to French professionals with a SIREN. Those invoices continue to carry the franchise mention.
For the vocabulary behind that conclusion, read Assujetti vs Redevable.
Micro-entreprise, auto-entrepreneur, franchise: three labels, one reform gate
English speakers often treat these words as synonyms. French tax and company practice separates them:
Label | What it usually means | Reform relevance |
Auto-entrepreneur / micro-entrepreneur | Common names for a natural person trading under the micro-enterprise regime | In scope as a taxable person once you carry on an independent economic activity |
Micro-entreprise | Simplified income-tax / social-charges regime (and, in size language, the smallest company band for the e-invoicing calendar) | Reception 2026; issuing and e-reporting generally 2027 |
Franchise en base | VAT relief under CGI Article 293 B: no VAT charged on invoices while thresholds and conditions hold | Does not create an e-invoicing exemption |
You can be micro for income tax and still become VAT-liable if you leave franchise. You can also be a franchise operator who is not a classic "auto-entrepreneur" brand. The e-invoicing gate is taxable-person status, not the marketing name on your LinkedIn profile.
Your calendar: 2026 reception, 2027 issuing and e-reporting
For almost every micro-entrepreneur, the practical diary looks like this:
Date | Duty | What it means for a micro |
1 September 2026 | Reception | Be able to receive structured e-invoices from suppliers through a Plateforme Agréée. Large companies and mid-sized firms start issuing on the same date, so supplier traffic arrives early. |
1 September 2026 | Issuing (GE / ETI only) | Not your issuing deadline if you are a micro-enterprise. Do not confuse their go-live with yours. |
1 September 2027 | Issuing + e-reporting | Issue structured e-invoices for in-scope domestic B2B; transmit e-reporting data for B2C and other flows listed under CGI Article 290. |
Reception is the urgent 2026 item. Many micros will feel the reform first as buyers: telephone, software, energy, insurance brokerage or marketplace suppliers will route invoices through approved platforms. If you have not designated a PA, those invoices have nowhere reliable to land.
For the three-duty vocabulary (receive / issue / e-report), see E-Invoicing vs E-Reporting.
Trading as a micro and buying in France?
Keep the compliance tracks separate: accountant for invoices and VAT labels; bilingual notaire for purchase, SCI or title questions. FrenchNotaires can open the notaire track within about 48 hours.
B2B versus B2C versus foreign clients
The mixed-client FAQ on impots.gouv.fr is the cleanest official map for freelancers with both corporate and private customers:
Private individuals (France or abroad): you transmit transaction data through e-reporting. You do not send those clients a Factur-X e-invoice under the B2B channel.
Professionals established in France: for operations inside French VAT, with French invoicing rules, you issue an electronic invoice through your chosen Plateforme Agréée.
Professionals established outside France: no obligation to issue a French e-invoice under that domestic B2B duty; you still transmit data under e-reporting.
Domestic e-invoicing itself applies where operations are between taxable persons established in France, fall within French VAT, and French invoicing rules apply (CGI Article 289 bis framework). E-reporting covers the Article 290 list: typically B2C and other flows that do not travel as domestic e-invoices.
Many micro-entrepreneurs are mostly B2C (beauty, tutoring, home services, craft sales to individuals). Their 2027 workload is therefore heavier on e-reporting than on Factur-X issuing, but the 2026 reception duty still stands whenever they buy from French taxable suppliers.
What franchise en base still means on the invoice
E-invoicing changes the format and channel, not the VAT regime. Under franchise en base you continue to invoice without VAT.
DGFiP fiche 2 states that electronic invoices for franchise operators will continue to bear the mention "TVA non applicable, article 293 B du CGI". Keep that legal reference accurate on every invoice your PA or billing software generates. Do not invent a VAT line "just to look professional": that can break the franchise conditions.
What also does not change:
you still do not recover input VAT on business purchases while in franchise;
you still do not file ordinary periodic VAT returns merely because e-invoicing starts;
you still keep the micro record-keeping duties that already apply (including the chronological receipts book where required).
The reform is a data and transmission reform layered on top of existing VAT status, not a silent switch to the real VAT regime.
Choosing a Plateforme Agréée (and what the PPF is not)
Day-to-day issuing and receiving run through a Plateforme Agréée (PA): a private operator registered for the reform. Many micros will meet that duty through an invoicing or accounting tool that is itself a PA, or that connects to one.
When you compare tools, ask four questions that matter more than marketing badges:
Is the product (or its partner) on the official PA list?
Can it receive from September 2026, not only issue later?
Does it handle e-reporting if you sell to individuals or foreign clients?
Can you export your data if you change provider?
The State public infrastructure (often discussed as the PPF / directory layer) concentrates directory and tax-data hub functions. It is not a free personal inbox that replaces a PA for everyday supplier and client flows. Plan on designating a PA from the official list: Plateformes agréées.
A free-text PDF attached to an email is not the compliant domestic B2B e-invoice once issuing applies to you. Structured formats cited across the ecosystem include Factur-X, UBL and CII, travelling through the approved channel.
If you leave franchise while staying micro
Franchise thresholds and micro-entreprise turnover ceilings are different machines. It is possible to leave franchise en base (and start charging VAT) while remaining inside the micro income-tax regime, or to tip into a real VAT regime for other reasons (option, threshold breach, activity type).
When that happens:
you become redevable on the relevant supplies;
invoices must show VAT correctly;
your PA or software must support VAT rates, returns and the fuller data set, not only a franchise mention;
e-invoicing and e-reporting still follow the size calendar, but the commercial and compliance stakes rise because VAT accounting is live.
Treat a franchise exit as a project with your accountant before the first VAT-bearing invoice goes out, not as a setting you flick after a client asks for a "proper invoice".
When the same person also holds French property
Many English-speaking readers run a micro for consulting or creative work and let a French flat, or hold shares in an SCI. Keep the analyses separate:
the micro trading activity is usually a clear taxable-person case for e-invoicing;
residential letting under Article 261 D CGI is assessed on its own facts (often no issuing / e-reporting of those rents; reception may still arise if taxable-person status and, for furnished landlords, a SIREN are recognised).
Do not assume one SIREN or one PA automatically covers every activity you personally touch. Ask your adviser how registration, SIREN and platforms map across trading income and property income.
Property deep dives: Rental Income hub, SCI and E-Invoicing, LMNP and LMP.
Practical readiness checklist
Step | Action |
1 | Confirm you are a taxable person and whether you are in franchise or VAT-liable. |
2 | Map your clients: French B2B, B2C, foreign. That decides issuing versus e-reporting mix. |
3 | Choose and designate a Plateforme Agréée (or a tool connected to one) before 1 September 2026. |
4 | Test reception with a supplier invoice well before the go-live date. |
5 | Diary 1 September 2027 for structured B2B issuing and e-reporting go-live. |
6 | Lock the correct franchise (or VAT) wording into invoice templates. |
7 | If you also let French property, run a separate status check with your tax adviser. |
Where the notaire fits in
Does: property purchase and sale, SCI constitution and amendments, clarifying who owns what when a micro-entrepreneur also holds French real estate.
Does not: usually select your PA, configure Factur-X, or issue the formal VAT status opinion for your trading activity.
Frequently asked questions
Are auto-entrepreneurs really included in French e-invoicing?
Yes. The DGFiP confirms that franchise-en-base, micro-entrepreneur and auto-entrepreneur operators are concerned as taxable persons, at least for reception, and for issuing and data transmission according to the rules that apply to their flows.
I only invoice private individuals. Do I still need a platform in 2026?
Yes for reception of supplier e-invoices from 1 September 2026. For your own sales to individuals, the B2B e-invoice channel does not apply; from 2027 you transmit those sales through e-reporting instead.
Does franchise en base disappear because of e-invoicing?
No. You continue to invoice without VAT and keep the Article 293 B non-applicability mention. The reform changes how invoices and data travel, not the franchise itself.
Is a PDF invoice by email enough after September 2027?
Not for in-scope domestic B2B invoices once issuing applies to you. Those must go through a Plateforme Agréée in a structured format. B2C customer documents remain a separate track alongside e-reporting.
When must micro-enterprises start issuing e-invoices?
Generally from 1 September 2027, together with e-reporting duties. Reception for all in-scope businesses starts one year earlier, on 1 September 2026.
I sell to French companies and to tourists. Which duties apply?
Both. French-established professional clients: e-invoicing. Private individuals: e-reporting. Foreign-established professional clients: e-reporting rather than domestic e-invoicing, per the mixed-client FAQ.
Will I still need VAT returns?
E-invoicing does not, by itself, create VAT returns for franchise operators. If you are not liable for VAT, you still do not file ordinary VAT returns merely because you use a PA. If you become liable, return obligations follow the VAT regime, separately from the e-invoice channel.
Related guides
Get the micro calendar right, then choose the platform
Reception in 2026, issuing and e-reporting in 2027, franchise wording unchanged: that is the core story for most auto-entrepreneurs.
Find a bilingual Notaire within 48 hours · Free matching · In person or video · e.g. Paris or Lyon