BIC or BNC in France: micro-BIC or micro-BNC for the auto-entrepreneur

BIC or BNC: it’s the first tax question an auto-entrepreneur (a self-employed person under France’s micro-business regime) faces, and it decides almost everything else. Depending on whether your business falls under industrial and commercial profits (BIC) or non-commercial profits (BNC), you don’t get the same allowance on your turnover, the same ceiling or the same URSSAF (the body that collects social-security contributions) contribution rate. Here’s how to recognise your category, what micro-BIC or micro-BNC changes, and short answers for the trades that raise the most questions.

The rules and figures are those in force in 2026, checked on Service Public Entreprendre and the BOFiP (the tax administration’s official doctrine) on 30 September 2026.

BIC and BNC, what they are

They’re two categories of income for income tax. The micro-entreprise (France’s micro-business regime) — the administration speaks of the micro-entrepreneur, the official name of the auto-entrepreneur — treats each of them in its own way.

• BIC are the profits of commercial, industrial or craft professions: selling goods, manufacturing, repairing, transporting, providing accommodation, letting furnished property. Under the micro regime, this is called micro-BIC (article 50-0 of the CGI, the general tax code).
• BNC are the profits of non-commercial activities: the liberal professions, and more broadly the activities where your intellectual work or your personal know-how is what you sell. Under the micro regime, this is called micro-BNC, which the CGI calls the régime déclaratif spécial (special declaration regime; article 102 ter). When you read « régime spécial BNC » (special BNC regime) on a form or in the BOFiP, that’s micro-BNC.

In both cases, the principle is the same: you don’t deduct your actual expenses. The administration applies to your turnover a flat-rate allowance (abattement forfaitaire) meant to cover your costs, and the rest is added to the other income of your household (foyer fiscal).

The auto-entrepreneur’s three categories and their figures

In practice, the URSSAF and the tax office split business activity into three broad categories. Each has its allowance, its turnover ceiling, its contribution rate and its versement libératoire (paying income tax as a percentage of turnover, with the contributions) rate.

Two points:

• The allowance can’t be less than €305, whatever the category.
• Regulated liberal professions that contribute to the CIPAV (the pension fund of certain liberal professions) are indeed BNC, but their contribution rate is 23.2% in 2026, and 25.4% with the versement libératoire.

The ceilings were raised on 1 January 2026 for the period 2026 to 2028. What happens when you go over them is explained in the article on the auto-entrepreneur ceiling.

Furnished lettings have had their own rules since the law of 19 November 2024: according to the BOFiP’s update of the thresholds, in 2026, an unclassified furnished tourist let falls under a €15,000 ceiling and a 30% allowance, other furnished lettings under an €83,600 ceiling and a 50% allowance. The rest of this article is about professional activities.

The micro-BIC or micro-BNC allowance, with an example

The allowance is what makes the choice of category so concrete. Take €40,000 of turnover over the year, without the versement libératoire:

The taxable income is added to the salaries, pensions and other income of your household, and it’s the progressive income tax scale that applies to the total. You report it on the supplementary return, form 2042-C-PRO (the supplementary income return for self-employed income): the procedure is detailed in the article on the 2042-C-PRO tax return.

The allowance only affects income tax. URSSAF contributions, on the other hand, are calculated on gross turnover, at your category’s rate.

A high allowance isn’t a gift if your actual expenses are heavier. A trader who resells on a thin margin often spends more than 71% of what they take in; a consultant who works from home rarely spends 34%. The allowance is an average, not your situation.

How to tell whether your business is BIC or BNC

It isn’t you who chooses: the category follows from the real nature of your business. The APE code (the activity code) assigned by INSEE (the national statistics institute) or the description you entered at the guichet unique (the one-stop business formalities portal, run by INPI) gives an indication, but it’s what you do day to day that counts.

A few pointers to decide:

• Do you sell an item, new or second-hand, that you bought or made? That’s BIC, as sales of goods.
• Do you work with your hands on an item or a site, with your tools and often your supplies? That’s a craft activity, so BIC as services.
• Do you transport, deliver, hire out equipment or provide accommodation? That’s a commercial activity, so BIC.
• Is what the client pays for your expertise, your advice, your teaching, your intellectual creation? That’s most often BNC.

The words “service provision” aren’t enough to answer. An auto-entrepreneur providing services can be BIC (a plumber, a VTC driver (private hire driver)) or BNC (a consultant, a trainer). It’s the nature of the service that decides, not the fact of selling time.

If in doubt, look at how the URSSAF registered your business: your area on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr shows the category in which you declare your turnover. If it doesn’t match what you really do, have it corrected before you pile up declarations in the wrong box.

And if you do both

You can run a mixed activity: a craftsperson who also sells parts, a trainer who sells books. You then declare each part in its category, every month or every quarter to the URSSAF and once a year to the tax office, and each part gets its own allowance and its own rate.

On the ceiling side, you have to respect two limits at once, according to the BOFiP: €203,100 in total, of which €83,600 at most for the services part.

The trades that raise the most questions

Short answers for the activities people search for most. If your trade isn’t here, the pointers in the previous section apply.

The craftsperson auto-entrepreneur

A craftsperson under the micro-entreprise — electrician, plumber or joiner — is BIC, with the 50% allowance on their services and the 21.2% contribution rate. Their ceiling is the services one, €83,600 in 2026. If they also sell goods without fitting them, they have a mixed activity, and the previous section applies.

Allied health professions

Nurses, physiotherapists and other self-employed allied health professionals are BNC and can come under micro-BNC for income tax, but not under the auto-entrepreneur regime: the URSSAF specifies that a medical practitioner or allied health professional can’t be an auto-entrepreneur. Their contributions are those of medical practitioners and allied health professionals, and their pension comes under CARPIMKO (the pension fund of nurses and allied health professionals). It’s all detailed in the article on the self-employed nurse under the micro-entreprise.

Who can’t be under micro-BNC

Even with turnover below the ceiling, some non-commercial activities automatically fall under the régime réel (the standard regime, on actual profits), the déclaration contrôlée (the BNC standard regime). The BOFiP cites in particular:

• public and ministerial officers, such as notaries or commissaires de justice (judicial officers);
• taxpayers who habitually carry out transactions in forward financial instruments;
• partners in partnerships or in professional civil companies, for their share.

Another point often misunderstood: you no longer need to be under the franchise en base de TVA (the VAT exemption for small businesses) to stay under micro-BNC. You can charge VAT and keep your 34% allowance. The VAT thresholds are different from the micro regime’s ceilings: they’re explained in the article on VAT for the auto-entrepreneur.

What else the category changes

The category doesn’t only decide the allowance. It turns up everywhere:

• in your URSSAF declaration, where each category has its line and its rate. It’s explained in the article on the auto-entrepreneur’s URSSAF declaration;
• in the versement libératoire, if you chose it: 1%, 1.7% or 2.2% of turnover depending on the category, paid with your contributions. The conditions are in the article on the versement libératoire;
• in your pension, because your rights are calculated on your turnover after the allowance: for the same turnover, the three categories don’t earn the same rights;
• when you leave the micro regime, which doesn’t lead to the same régime réel: the réel simplifié for BIC, the déclaration contrôlée and its form 2035 (the BNC results return) for BNC. Both are described in the article on leaving the micro regime.

These rates and ceilings apply to 2026 income. The ceilings are set for 2026, 2027 and 2028; contribution rates, on the other hand, can change every year.

Knowing whether you’re BIC or BNC means knowing the rules of the game before your first declaration: the rest follows on its own.
💜💙 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 (9)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. Service Public Entreprendre — Régime fiscal de la micro-entreprise
2. Service Public Entreprendre — Imposition du micro-entrepreneur : ce qu'il faut savoir
3. Service Public Entreprendre — Cotisations sociales d'un micro-entrepreneur : ce qu'il faut savoir
4. Service Public Entreprendre — Fiscalité : quels sont les nouveaux seuils de la micro-entreprise ? (26 février 2026)
5. BOFiP — BAREME - BA - BIC - BNC - Seuils des régimes d'imposition (BOI-BAREME-000044)
6. BOFiP — BNC - Régime déclaratif spécial - Champ d'application (BOI-BNC-DECLA-20-10)
7. BOFiP — BNC - Régime de la déclaration contrôlée - Champ d'application (BOI-BNC-DECLA-10-10)
8. BOFiP — Actualisation des seuils et location en meublé (ACTU-2025-00127)
9. Légifrance — Code de la sécurité sociale, article L613-7 (régime micro-social)