Leaving the micro regime in France: déclaration contrôlée, 2035 and Madelin

Leaving the micro regime means giving up the flat-rate allowance (abattement forfaitaire) to be taxed on your actual profit: your takings minus your actual costs. An auto-entrepreneur (a self-employed person under France’s micro-business regime) moves to the régime réel (the standard regime, on actual profits) because they’ve gone over the ceilings two years running, or because they choose to. Here’s when the micro regime stops, what the déclaration contrôlée (the BNC standard regime) and form 2035 (the BNC results return) are in BNC (non-commercial profits), the réel simplifié in BIC (industrial and commercial profits), what becomes deductible, where Madelin contracts (deductible insurance and pension contracts) stand, and what you lose by leaving the micro-entreprise (France’s micro-business regime).

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

When the micro regime stops

There are two ways out.

You go over the ceilings two years running

In 2026, according to the BOFiP, the ceilings are €203,100 for sales of goods and accommodation, and €83,600 for services and liberal professions. Going over once isn’t enough: you leave the micro regime on the 1 January following two consecutive calendar years above the ceiling. The rule, the calculation in the first year and the examples are in the article on the auto-entrepreneur ceiling.

You choose the réel

You can opt for a régime réel even below the ceilings. Service Public specifies:

• for an existing business, the option is made within the deadline for filing the results return for the year before the one in which it is to apply;
• for a business created during the year, the option is made the following year, during the period for filing results returns;
• the option lasts one year and renews automatically each year. You can go back to the micro regime if you still meet its ceilings.

In BNC, opting for the déclaration contrôlée needs no separate form: it can follow simply from filing a form 2035.

Opting for the réel for tax ends the micro social-security regime (régime micro-social): your contributions are no longer calculated on your turnover. It also ends the versement libératoire (paying income tax as a percentage of turnover, with the contributions) if you had chosen it. You can’t keep the micro-entreprise’s contributions and the réel’s tax.

Which régime réel: BIC or BNC

The régime réel waiting for you depends on your category. If you don’t know where you stand, the article BIC or BNC helps you decide.

Above the réel simplifié ceilings, a BIC activity falls under the réel normal; that’s rarely the situation of someone just leaving the micro regime.

In BNC: the déclaration contrôlée and the 2035

According to Service Public, the déclaration contrôlée is the real regime for non-commercial profits. You’re in it automatically if you’ve gone over €83,600 of takings two years running, or by option. The BOFiP states that some activities are even required to be in it, whatever their takings, such as public and ministerial officers (officiers publics et ministériels).

The 2035 return

Every year, on top of your income tax return, you file form 2035 (form 2035-SD) and its schedules 2035-A and 2035-B. It sums up your takings, your business expenses, your fixed assets and their depreciation, and arrives at your profit or your loss.

The BOFiP explains that it’s filed electronically, no later than 15 days after the second working day following 1 May, which in practice means mid-May. The profit it shows is then carried to your supplementary return, form 2042-C-PRO (the supplementary income return for self-employed income), as your turnover is today: the article on the 2042-C-PRO tax return explains that form.

The books to keep

Article 99 of the CGI (the general tax code) requires two documents, with their supporting documents:

• a journal (livre-journal) that records, day by day, the detail of your business takings and expenses;
• a fixed assets and depreciation register: purchase date, price, depreciation charged, and the sale price if you resell.

By default, the books remain cash-basis accounting: you count what you receive and what you pay. You can opt for accrual accounting (receivables earned and expenses incurred); you must then attach each year a statement of receivables and debts at 31 December.

In BIC: the réel simplifié

A commercial or craft activity that leaves the micro regime moves to the réel simplifié d’imposition (the simplified real tax regime). Every year, you file form 2031 and its schedules 2033-A to 2033-G, by the same deadline as the 2035 and electronically.

According to the BOFiP, the accounts are proper accrual accounts, but the réel simplifié lightens them. A sole proprietorship (entreprise individuelle, EI) can in particular keep super-simplified accounts (comptabilité super-simplifiée): it records its receipts and payments day by day, and recognises its receivables and debts only at the end of the year. Other simplifications cover stock valuation and certain expenses.

The books of the réel don’t start from nothing: your receipts book (livre des recettes) and your proof of purchases from the micro-entreprise are their basis. What you already keep, and what’s added to it, is in the article on the auto-entrepreneur’s receipts book.

What becomes deductible

This is the main reason to move to the réel. Under the micro regime, you deduct nothing: the 71%, 50% or 34% allowance replaces all your costs. Under the réel, you deduct what you really spend on your activity, provided you can prove it:

• the rent for business premises, energy, insurance;
• equipment: a computer, a vehicle or a machine is depreciated over its useful life, and each year’s depreciation is a cost;
• purchases of goods and supplies;
• training, subscriptions, software, the fees of a chartered accountant (expert-comptable);
• your mandatory social-security contributions, deductible from your profit;
• certain voluntary contributions for pension, provident cover and loss of employment, within the limits of article 154 bis of the CGI: this is what people still call Madelin contracts.

And if your costs exceed your takings, the réel records a loss, which the micro regime can never do.

The Madelin law today

The “Madelin law” (loi Madelin) means the deduction, by a self-employed worker taxed under the réel, of their voluntary contributions to pension insurance, supplementary provident cover and loss-of-employment cover. It still exists, in article 154 bis of the CGI, but the landscape has changed.

• Madelin pension contracts have not been sold since 1 October 2020, according to impots.gouv.fr. Those opened before then remain deductible. The product that replaces them is the individual retirement savings plan (PER individuel), to which a Madelin contract can be transferred.
• A self-employed worker can choose to deduct their payments into an individual PER from their professional income (BIC or BNC) rather than from their overall income, as impots.gouv.fr explains.
• Supplementary provident and loss-of-employment contracts remain deductible from profit within the limits of article 154 bis.

The limits are calculated on taxable profit and on the PASS (the annual social security ceiling), set at €48,060 in 2026 according to Service Public:

The minimum amount is the fixed part of the calculation (10%, 7% or 2.5% of the PASS), applied to the 2026 PASS. The three limits are independent of one another.

Under the micro regime, the Madelin deduction doesn’t exist: your profit isn’t calculated from your costs, so there’s nothing to deduct your contributions from. An auto-entrepreneur can, on the other hand, pay into an individual PER and deduct the payments from their overall income, like any taxpayer.

Your contributions under the réel

On leaving the micro social-security regime, you pay contributions like a “classic” sole proprietor. Service Public notes that since 2026 the base for your contributions is your professional income, less certain business expenses, to which the URSSAF (the body that collects social-security contributions) applies a flat-rate allowance of 26%.

Two differences from the micro-entreprise are felt straight away:

• contributions are provisional: those you pay in 2026 are calculated on your 2025 income, then adjusted when your actual income is known;
• minimum contributions remain due when your income is low or nil, so that you keep your social protection. Under the micro regime, no turnover, no contributions.

What the micro keeps and the réel loses

The réel isn’t a promotion. It trades simplicity for precision, and that choice is made on figures.

The starting calculation is simple: compare your actual costs with your allowance. A BNC consultant with €60,000 of takings has an allowance of €20,400; if their actual costs are €8,000, the micro regime is more favourable to them. A craftsperson with €60,000 of turnover has an allowance of €30,000; if they spend €38,000 on materials, a vehicle and tools, the réel becomes worthwhile. Then add the cost of heavier bookkeeping and the effect on your contributions.

If you’re thinking of opting, have an accountant run the simulation before the option deadline: it takes your tax, your contributions and your pension payments into account together, which no single figure does.

VAT follows its own rules: leaving the micro regime doesn’t make you lose the franchise en base de TVA (the VAT exemption for small businesses), and staying in it doesn’t protect you from losing it. The thresholds are in the article on VAT for auto-entrepreneurs.

Leaving the micro regime is often a sign that your business has grown: take the time to do the sums, and choose the regime that suits it today.
💜💙 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 (16)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. Service Public Entreprendre — Régime fiscal de la micro-entreprise
2. Service Public Entreprendre — Quelles conséquences pour un micro-entrepreneur qui dépasse les seuils de chiffre d'affaires ?
3. Service Public Entreprendre — Bénéfices non commerciaux (BNC) : régime réel d'imposition
4. Service Public Entreprendre — Bénéfices industriels et commerciaux (BIC) : régime réel d'imposition
5. Service Public Entreprendre — Cotisations sociales de l'entrepreneur individuel : ce qu'il faut savoir
6. Service Public Entreprendre — Sécurité sociale : quel sera le plafond annuel en 2026 ?
7. BOFiP — BAREME - BA - BIC - BNC - Seuils des régimes d'imposition (BOI-BAREME-000044)
8. BOFiP — BNC - Régime de la déclaration contrôlée - Champ d'application (BOI-BNC-DECLA-10-10)
9. BOFiP — BNC - Régime de la déclaration contrôlée - Obligations déclaratives (BOI-BNC-DECLA-10-30)
10. BOFiP — BIC - Réel simplifié - Obligations comptables (BOI-BIC-DECLA-30-20-20)
11. impots.gouv.fr — Formulaire n°2035-SD, revenus non commerciaux, régime de la déclaration contrôlée
12. impots.gouv.fr — Je cotise à un contrat Madelin. Quel est mon avantage fiscal ?
13. impots.gouv.fr — Épargne retraite
14. Légifrance — Code général des impôts, article 154 bis
15. Légifrance — Code général des impôts, article 99
16. Légifrance — Code de la sécurité sociale, article L613-7 (régime micro-social)