URSSAF declaration for auto-entrepreneurs in France: rates, dates, payment

The URSSAF declaration for an auto-entrepreneur (a self-employed person under France’s micro-business regime) is the task that comes round every month or every quarter: you enter the turnover you’ve received, the URSSAF (the body that collects social-security contributions) applies your activity’s rate, and you pay your contributions straight away. Here you’ll find the 2026 rates, what the famous “charges” cover, the choice between monthly and quarterly declarations, the deadlines, payment, certificates, and what happens if you forget or are audited.

The rules and figures are those in force in 2026, checked on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr, urssaf.fr and entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr on 30 September 2026.

Who makes this declaration

Every auto-entrepreneur, that is, anyone under the micro-entreprise (France’s micro-business regime) — the administration officially says micro-entrepreneur. The social-security regime that goes with it is called the micro social-security regime (régime micro-social): your contributions are a fixed percentage of your turnover, calculated at each declaration.

The declaration is mandatory even when you’ve received nothing. In that case you declare €0 and pay nothing: the URSSAF sums it up as “€0 received = €0 to pay”.

This social-security declaration doesn’t replace your income tax return. Your turnover for the year is also carried over to your personal tax return, on form 2042-C-PRO (the supplementary income return for self-employed income). Everything is explained in the guide to the 2042-C-PRO tax return.

URSSAF auto-entrepreneur rates

The rate depends on the nature of your activity. Here are the overall rates published by the URSSAF for 2026, in mainland France:

The right-hand column applies if you’ve opted for the versement libératoire (paying income tax as a percentage of turnover, with the contributions): the URSSAF then also collects your income tax, at 1% for sales, 1.7% for BIC services and 2.2% for BNC.

If you don’t know which row you fall into, the difference between BIC (industrial and commercial profits) and BNC (non-commercial profits) is explained in the article BIC or BNC in the micro-entreprise.

What changed in 2024, 2025 and 2026

Two changes overlap:

• The BNC rate has risen in steps. According to the URSSAF, it was 21.1% until June 2024, then 23.1% in the second half of 2024, 24.6% in 2025, and it has reached 25.6% since 1 January 2026. For professions under the CIPAV (the pension fund of certain liberal professions), the rate went from 21.2% to 23.2% on 1 July 2024.
• The split changed on 1 January 2026, according to the URSSAF, without touching the BIC rates. A bigger share of each euro paid goes to the pension, a smaller one to CSG-CRDS (social levies). For €100 of contributions on sales of goods, €43.45 goes to the basic pension and €19.75 to the supplementary pension, against €41.80 and €16.50 in 2025.

What these contributions earn you towards your pension is explained in the article on the auto-entrepreneur’s pension.

The vocational training contribution

On top of your rate comes a small contribution, collected at each declaration, which gives you training rights:

Craftspeople and traders also pay, from the second year, a chamber fee (to the CMA or CCI), also as a percentage of turnover. It isn’t due if the turnover of the year before last is under €5,000.

If you’re starting out and meet the conditions for the ACRE (start-up relief on contributions), your rates are reduced until the end of the third calendar quarter after the one in which you start. The application isn’t automatic: it’s all in the article on the ACRE.

What “charges” means for an auto-entrepreneur

When people talk about an auto-entrepreneur’s “charges”, they almost always mean their social-security contributions and levies, not their expenses. It’s the percentage in the table above, and, according to Service-Public, in a single payment it covers:

• health and maternity insurance, including daily sickness benefits;
• invalidity and death;
• the basic pension and the mandatory supplementary pension;
• family allowances;
• CSG-CRDS.

Two consequences worth knowing early:

• Your expenses don’t reduce your contributions. The rate applies to gross turnover. Buying equipment, a subscription or a trip isn’t deducted.
• Contributions are final. They aren’t adjusted the following year: what you pay for a month or a quarter is settled once and for all.

Monthly or quarterly declaration

By default, you declare and pay every month. You can ask to declare every quarter: the option is taken in the month after you start, applies for the calendar year and renews automatically.

Quarterly means four declarations a year instead of twelve. Monthly smooths out payments and fits an irregular activity better. If you receive unemployment benefit, the RSA (the minimum income) or another minimum social benefit, the URSSAF recommends monthly, so your figures reach the bodies that pay you these benefits every month.

To change frequency next year, don’t wait for January. Service-Public sets the limit at 31 October of the previous year, that is 31 October 2026 for a change in 2027, whereas the URSSAF portal’s FAQ says 31 January. Applying before 31 October keeps you safe either way.

URSSAF declaration dates

The rule is simple, according to Service-Public: you declare before the end of the month following the period declared.

You can declare and pay up to the deadline day, at 11:59 pm. If that day falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day.

Your first declaration

Your first declaration comes at the earliest 90 days after you start, and covers everything you’ve received since. Two examples given by Service-Public:

• monthly, starting on 6 March 2026, the first declaration is due by 31 July 2026;
• quarterly, starting on 12 April 2026, it’s due by 31 October 2026.

Your declarations are available as soon as you receive your notice of affiliation. Those you submit during these first 90 days can still be changed, unless you paid by bank card.

What turnover to declare

You declare the turnover received during the period, excluding tax. Three rules follow:

• An invoice sent but not yet paid isn’t declared. It will be declared in the month or quarter the money arrives. The only exception: if you keep accrual accounts (comptabilité d’engagement), you declare on delivery or at the end of the service, even without payment.
• A deposit is declared when you receive it, even if the service hasn’t been done yet (except with accrual accounting).
• Nothing is deducted: not platform commissions, not costs, not purchases. And if you charge VAT because you’ve gone over the franchise en base de TVA (the VAT exemption for small businesses), the VAT isn’t part of the amount declared.

If you carry on several activities, for example sales and services, you split your turnover across the matching boxes, each with its own rate.

The safest way is to start from your receipts book (livre des recettes), which records each payment received with its date and payment method: the sum of the month’s lines is the figure to declare. How to keep it is explained in the article on the receipts book.

Keep the regime’s ceilings in mind: turnover above them two years running takes you out of the micro-entreprise. The amounts are in the article on the auto-entrepreneur ceiling.

How to declare and pay

Everything is done online, on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr or in the AutoEntrepreneur Urssaf mobile app. Online declaration has been mandatory since 1 January 2019.

1. Log in to your area with your SIRET (the establishment number) and your password.
2. Open « Déclarer et payer » (Declare and pay) and enter the turnover received for each activity category, or €0.
3. Check the amount calculated: contributions, the training contribution and, where relevant, the versement libératoire.
4. Pay in the same flow. With online payment, you can submit several days in advance and be debited no earlier than the day after the deadline.

After each declaration, proof of declaration and payment is available as a PDF in your area. You can also see the calendar of your next deadlines there.

The URSSAF certificate

Your online area lets you download several certificates:

• the certificate of registration (of affiliation);
• the tax certificate;
• the attestation de vigilance (certificate that you’re up to date with the URSSAF);
• the turnover certificate;
• the vocational training contribution certificate.

The attestation de vigilance is the one you’ll be asked for most. According to the URSSAF, you must give it to your client for any contract of at least €5,000 excluding tax, on signing and then every six months until the end of the contract. It shows that you’re up to date with your declarations and payments. Your client can check that it’s genuine with the security code it carries.

The dedicated bank account

You must have a bank account reserved for your business, separate from your personal accounts, as soon as your annual turnover exceeds €10,000 two calendar years running. Below that it isn’t mandatory, but the URSSAF advises it.

This account can be a business account or a simple personal account dedicated to the business. It carries the mention « Entrepreneur individuel » (sole proprietor) or « EI » next to your name, like your quotes and invoices.

Even before €10,000, a separate account saves you time: your payments received for the month are readable at a glance, and your declaration is ready in a few minutes.

If you forget or are late

A missing declaration costs more than a declaration a few days late:

• a penalty of €60.10 per missing declaration;
• a surcharge on your contributions: 5% per missing monthly declaration in the year, 15% per missing quarterly declaration;
• contributions calculated on a flat-rate base set by the URSSAF, often well above what you would really have owed.

You’re told by registered letter. You can still declare your real turnover to put things right: the penalty then drops to 3% of the contributions due.

A good-faith mistake, on the other hand, falls under the right to make a mistake (droit à l’erreur): if you correct it yourself, or within the time the URSSAF gives you, the surcharges don’t apply, provided in particular that you haven’t paid late in the last 24 months. The right to make a mistake doesn’t cover a declaration forgotten or made late.

The URSSAF audit

The system is declarative and based on trust, so the URSSAF checks. For a self-employed person, the audit is often done on documents, at the URSSAF’s premises: you send the documents requested. An on-site audit is announced by a notice sent at least 30 days before the visit, and it covers three calendar years.

What you’ll be asked for, in practice: your receipts book, your invoices, your bank statements and your turnover declarations. Differences between what came into your account and what you declared are the first thing looked at. Hence the value of the dedicated account and tidy documents.

You can also ask for an audit yourself: errors found are corrected, including in your favour, with no penalty if you’re acting in good faith.

What doesn’t apply to you

• The annual balance sheet. An auto-entrepreneur doesn’t file a balance sheet or an income statement. Your bookkeeping is limited to a register of income and purchases, kept in chronological order, and to keeping your invoices and supporting documents.
• The annual social-security income declaration of self-employed people on the régime réel (the standard regime, on actual profits): your contributions are settled at each turnover declaration, with no adjustment.
• Deducting expenses. It exists neither for contributions nor for tax: the regime’s flat-rate allowance (abattement forfaitaire) takes its place.

Where to make your declaration

Your declaration is made on the official portal, autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr, or in the AutoEntrepreneur Urssaf app. It’s free, and it’s the only place where it counts. Be wary of websites that offer to do it for you for a fee.

A URSSAF declaration takes a few minutes when your payments are recorded as they come in: it’s a small habit that saves you big surprises.
💜💙 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. Autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr — L'essentiel du statut
2. Autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr — Une importance accrue de la part des cotisations contributives à compter du 1er janvier 2026
3. Autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr — Questions fréquentes
4. Urssaf.fr — Évolution des taux de cotisations sociales des auto-entrepreneurs
5. Urssaf.fr — Vous souhaitez devenir auto-entrepreneur (diaporama, avril 2026)
6. Entreprendre Service Public — Cotisations sociales d'un micro-entrepreneur : ce qu'il faut savoir
7. Entreprendre Service Public — Micro-entrepreneur : quand déclarer son chiffre d'affaires ?
8. Urssaf.fr — Obtenir et vérifier une attestation de vigilance
9. Urssaf.fr — Le contrôle Urssaf
10. Urssaf.fr — Le droit à l'erreur