2042-C-PRO: the auto-entrepreneur's income tax return in France

Form 2042-C-PRO is the supplementary form on which the auto-entrepreneur (a self-employed person under France’s micro-business regime) declares, every spring, the previous year’s turnover, in addition to their usual income tax return. You report a single amount per activity on it, without deducting anything: the administration applies the allowance of the micro-entreprise (France’s micro-business regime) regime itself. Who fills in which box, what changes with the versement libératoire (paying income tax as a percentage of turnover, with the contributions), the first year, a worked example and the calendar: it’s all here.

The rules and the boxes are those of the 2026 campaign (2025 income), checked on impots.gouv.fr and service-public.gouv.fr on 30 September 2026.

Why a tax return on top of the URSSAF

Every month or every quarter, you declare your turnover to the URSSAF (the body that collects social-security contributions) and you pay your social-security contributions. That declaration doesn’t cover income tax, unless you’ve opted for the versement libératoire.

So once a year, you also have to declare that turnover to the tax office. According to impots.gouv.fr, it joins the other income of your household (foyer fiscal) — your salary, your spouse’s in the case of a joint return — on form 2042 (the household income tax return), supplemented by the 2042-C-PRO. The return is made online, from your Finances publiques personal area (espace Finances publiques) on impots.gouv.fr.

Even with the versement libératoire, the 2042-C-PRO remains mandatory. You aren’t taxed a second time: the administration needs the amount to calculate the rate on the household’s other income and your reference tax income (revenu fiscal de référence).

The detail of the monthly or quarterly declaration is in the article on the auto-entrepreneur’s URSSAF declaration.

How the auto-entrepreneur’s income tax is calculated

Under the micro-entreprise regime (officially called the micro-entrepreneur regime), you don’t deduct your actual expenses. Service-Public states that the administration takes off your turnover a flat-rate allowance (abattement forfaitaire) that depends on your activity, then applies the progressive income tax scale to the rest, together with the household’s other income.

The 2026 practical brochure explains that the allowance can’t be less than €305, or €610 if you carry on two activities with different allowances. If you’re unsure of your category, the article BIC or BNC helps you decide.

These allowances assume you stay below the regime’s ceilings. For 2025 income declared in 2026, they were €188,700 for sales and €77,700 for services and liberal activities. For 2026 income, they rise to €203,100 and €83,600. What happens beyond them is explained in the article on the auto-entrepreneur ceiling.

Which boxes to fill in on the 2042-C-PRO

The practical brochure notes that each box exists in three columns: « déclarant 1 » (declarant 1), « déclarant 2 » (declarant 2) and « personne à charge » (dependant). The codes below are declarant 1’s; those of declarant 2 and of the dependant are on the same line.

Without versement libératoire

You enter your turnover or gross takings, without deducting any allowance or your URSSAF contributions.

Boxes 5NO and 5NP also exist, for the non-professional income of an activity in which you don’t take part personally. If you work in your micro-entreprise yourself, they aren’t yours.

With versement libératoire

You fill in the section at the top of the form, « Micro-entrepreneur (auto-entrepreneur) ayant opté pour le versement libératoire de l’impôt sur le revenu » (micro-entrepreneur (auto-entrepreneur) who has opted for the versement libératoire of income tax). There you report the year’s turnover, that is, the total of what you declared to the URSSAF.

Don’t put the same turnover in both sections: it’s either 5KO, 5KP or 5HQ, or 5TA, 5TB or 5TE.

The section identifying the self-employed activity, at the top of the 2042-C-PRO, must be filled in: the operator’s name, the business address, the SIRET (the establishment number) and the nature of the income.

The other lines that may concern you

• Sale or closure of the business during the year: a box to tick (5BF for declarant 1).
• Capital gains on the sale of an asset used in your business: the capital gains boxes of the micro BIC or micro BNC regime.
• Line 8UY: if you had opted for the versement libératoire without meeting its conditions, you enter there the income tax payments made during the year. They become a tax credit, and the excess is refunded to you.

What the versement libératoire changes

According to impots.gouv.fr, without the option, you pay income tax through withholding at source (prélèvement à la source): instalments calculated on the income you declared the year before, taken every month (or every quarter on request) from your bank account. The 2042-C-PRO is then used to calculate the tax actually due; the instalments are set against it, and the excess is refunded to you.

impots.gouv.fr points out that with the option, you’ve already paid your income tax during the year, to the URSSAF, with your contributions: 1% of turnover for sales, 1.7% for services, 2.2% for liberal activities. This income is excluded from withholding at source.

The profit after the allowance doesn’t disappear from your return for all that. It’s used:

• to calculate the effective rate applied to the household’s other income;
• to calculate your reference tax income;
• for the deduction ceiling on retirement savings.

The conditions, the deadlines and the question of whether the option is worthwhile for you are detailed in the article on the versement libératoire.

A worked example

You’re a graphic designer in a liberal activity (BNC), single, with no other income. In 2025, you took in €32,000. The calculations use the scale applied to 2025 income, as the 2026 practical brochure on 2025 income gives it.

Without versement libératoire, you enter €32,000 in box 5HQ.

If you paid withholding-at-source instalments in 2025, they’re deducted from this €624.

With versement libératoire, you enter €32,000 in box 5TE. You’ve already paid 2.2% of your takings to the URSSAF during the year, that is €704, and there’s nothing left to pay on this income. The €21,120 of income after the allowance counts in your reference tax income.

In this specific case, the option costs €80 more. With other income in the household, the result is often reversed: that’s the whole point of the article on the versement libératoire.

With the versement libératoire, the amount to report is the total of your URSSAF declarations for the year; without the option, it’s your gross turnover for the year. If you keep your receipts book (livre des recettes) up to date as you go, you already have it: BravoLisa, for example, keeps your income and your expenses in order all year.

The first year of business

The regime applies automatically. Service-Public says that when you create your micro-entreprise, the micro tax regime (régime micro-fiscal) applies automatically in the year of creation and the following year, unless you opt for a régime réel (the standard regime, on actual profits). If you start during the year, the turnover ceiling is calculated pro rata to the number of days of activity.

Your first 2042-C-PRO comes the following spring. If you started in 2026, you’ll declare your 2026 turnover in spring 2027, with the rest of the household’s income.

No automatic instalment in the first year. The administration calculates instalments from income already declared: in the year of creation, it doesn’t know yours yet. So impots.gouv.fr asks you to create an instalment as soon as the business starts, in your espace Finances publiques, under « Gérer mon prélèvement à la source » (manage my withholding at source). The recommended method is the menu « Actualiser suite à une hausse ou une baisse de vos revenus » (update following a rise or fall in your income): you enter your new estimated income there, your rate is updated and the instalment is created.

Without an instalment in the first year, all the tax due on that income arrives at once the following year, with the balance on the tax notice. Creating the instalment early avoids this catch-up.

The versement libératoire is chosen at creation. If you want the option from the first year, you have until the last day of the third month after the month of creation to request it from the URSSAF.

The spring calendar

impots.gouv.fr states that the income tax return takes place once a year, in spring, for the previous year’s income. Here are the dates of the 2026 campaign (2025 income); those for 2027 will be published by the administration in the spring.

impots.gouv.fr explains that a balance of up to €300 is taken in one go, on 25 September. Above €300, it’s spread over four equal payments, from September to December. After signing your return online, you can still correct it until your département’s deadline.

The most frequent mistakes

• Deducting the allowance yourself. The box expects gross turnover; the administration applies the allowance.
• Taking off your URSSAF contributions. Under the micro-entreprise regime, they aren’t deductible: they’re covered by the allowance.
• Forgetting the 2042-C-PRO with the versement libératoire. The tax is paid, but the return is still due.
• Using the wrong column. If your spouse is the household’s auto-entrepreneur, their turnover goes in the declarant 2 column (5LO, 5LP, 5IQ or 5UA, 5UB, 5UE).
• Mixing sales and services. A mixed activity is declared in two boxes, each with its allowance.

Once you know which box is yours, the 2042-C-PRO takes a few minutes to fill in each spring.
💜💙 Your BravoLisa Team

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different — consult a qualified professional (tax adviser, accountant, or lawyer) for advice specific to your circumstances. BravoLisa does not accept liability for decisions made based on this information.

Last updated: September 2026. Rates and thresholds can change: always check with the URSSAF, impots.gouv or the relevant authority.

Sources (10)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. impots.gouv.fr — Comment déclarer les revenus provenant de mon activité de micro-entrepreneur ?
2. impots.gouv.fr — En tant que micro-entrepreneur, quelles sont les modalités de déclaration et d'imposition selon que j'opte ou non pour le versement libératoire ?
3. impots.gouv.fr — En tant que micro-entrepreneur, suis-je concerné par le prélèvement à la source ?
4. impots.gouv.fr — Brochure pratique 2026, déclaration 2042-C-PRO (revenus 2025)
5. impots.gouv.fr — Brochure pratique 2026, déclaration des revenus 2025 (barème, décote)
6. impots.gouv.fr — Les modalités de la déclaration de revenus en 2026
7. impots.gouv.fr — J'ai reçu mon avis d'impôt et constate une somme à payer. Quand et comment devrais-je la payer ?
8. Service Public Entreprendre — Régime fiscal de la micro-entreprise
9. Service Public — Déclaration des revenus de 2025 : quelle est la date limite dans votre département ?
10. Service Public — Barème de l'impôt sur le revenu