Versement libératoire in France: rates, conditions and whether to opt

The income tax versement libératoire (paying income tax as a percentage of turnover, with the contributions) is an option of the micro-entreprise (France’s micro-business regime) regime: instead of paying income tax on the progressive scale, the auto-entrepreneur (a self-employed person under France’s micro-business regime) pays a small percentage of their turnover to the URSSAF (the body that collects social-security contributions), at the same time as their contributions, and their income tax on that income is settled. Depending on your activity, it’s 1%, 1.7% or 2.2%. What it is, who can opt, until when, and above all whether the option pays off in your case: it’s all here.

The rules and amounts are those in force in 2026, checked on impots.gouv.fr and service-public.gouv.fr on 30 September 2026.

What the versement libératoire is

Under the micro-entreprise regime, there are two ways to pay income tax on your business income:

• by default, withholding at source (prélèvement à la source): your turnover, after the allowance, is added to the household’s other income and taxed on the progressive income tax scale. You pay instalments during the year, then the administration settles the account the following year;
• by option, the versement libératoire (the administration calls it the « versement forfaitaire libératoire »): with each monthly or quarterly declaration, the URSSAF takes a percentage of your turnover for income tax, in the same payment as your social-security contributions.

« Libératoire » means that this payment frees your business from income tax: there’s no more calculation on the scale for that income, and no balance to pay the following year. The one-year gap between when you earn and when you pay disappears.

The versement libératoire rates

According to Service-Public, the rate applies to your turnover or your takings excluding VAT, with each declaration.

This rate is added to your social-security contribution rate: you pay both in a single payment, on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr. The contribution rates are detailed in the article on the auto-entrepreneur’s URSSAF declaration.

If your turnover is zero, you pay neither income tax nor contributions. The declaration remains mandatory, with turnover at zero.

Who can opt

Three conditions, all of which must be met:

1. Come under the micro-BIC or micro-BNC regime (the two branches of the micro tax regime), so stay below the turnover ceilings (see the auto-entrepreneur ceiling).
2. Come under the micro social-security regime (régime micro-social) for your contributions, which is the case for the auto-entrepreneur.
3. Meet an income condition: your household’s reference tax income (revenu fiscal de référence) for the year before last mustn’t exceed a ceiling per tax share (part) of the quotient familial (household tax shares).

The reference tax income condition

According to impots.gouv.fr, the ceiling is equal to the upper limit of the second band of the income tax scale. For an option that applies in 2027, it’s your 2025 reference tax income (the one shown on the tax notice received in 2026) that counts, with a ceiling of €29,579 per share. It’s increased by 50% for each additional half-share and by 25% for each quarter-share.

It’s indeed the income of the whole household (foyer fiscal) that counts, not just yours. A spouse who earns a good living can be enough to close the option to you.

Your reference tax income is printed on the first page of your income tax notice, in your Finances publiques personal area (espace Finances publiques).

Until when to opt for the versement libératoire

Impots.gouv.fr states that the option is requested from the URSSAF, from your account on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr. Two deadlines:

In practice:

• if you started your business in September 2026, you have until the end of December 2026 to opt;
• to apply the option to 2027 income, you had to request it by 30 September 2026 at the latest;
• a request made after that date applies for 2028, with a deadline of 30 September 2027.

Giving up the option

Giving it up follows the same route and the same calendar: a request to the URSSAF by 30 September at the latest, for a return to withholding at source on the following 1 January.

The option also ends on its own when a condition is no longer met: you go over the micro regime’s ceilings, you opt for a régime réel (the standard regime, on actual profits), you leave the micro social-security regime, or the reference tax income of the year before last exceeds the ceiling. Your income is then taxed on the scale again.

What happens at the income tax return

Opting doesn’t exempt you from the annual return. Every spring, you report your turnover for the year on form 2042-C-PRO (the supplementary income return for self-employed income), in the section reserved for the versement libératoire: box 5TA for sales, 5TB for services, 5TE for liberal activities.

You aren’t taxed a second time. The administration applies your activity’s allowance (71%, 50% or 34%) and uses the resulting profit to:

• calculate the effective rate applied to the household’s other income;
• calculate your reference tax income, which counts for certain benefits and for the condition of the option itself.

The complete procedure is in the article on the 2042-C-PRO tax return.

The option applies separately to each member of the household. If your spouse is also an auto-entrepreneur, they choose for themselves.

Versement libératoire or not: how to tell whether it pays off

There’s no universal answer: it all depends on your household’s marginal tax rate. A simple way to compare: on the scale, each euro of turnover is taxed only for the part left after the allowance.

These percentages are pointers, calculated on your last euro of turnover. They don’t take into account the décote (the reduction that lightens the income tax of households with low tax), nor the 0% band.

What comes out of it:

• if your household isn’t liable for income tax, or almost, the versement libératoire makes you pay a tax you wouldn’t have paid on the scale;
• as soon as your household is in the 11% band or above, the versement libératoire is most often cheaper, and the gap grows with the band. The reference tax income condition reserves the option for households whose income per share was still in the 11% band two years earlier. If your business has taken off since, you can find yourself in the 30% band while keeping the option.

Example 1: your business as your only income

You’re single, in a liberal activity (BNC), with no other income, and you take in €30,000 in the year. The calculations use the scale applied to 2025 income, as the 2026 practical brochure gives it.

Here, the option costs €247 more: on the scale, the décote strongly lightens the income tax of a single person on this income.

Example 2: in a couple with a salary

Same activity, the same €30,000 of takings, but you’re in a couple and your spouse declares a taxable salary of €35,000. The household has two shares, and its reference tax income (€54,800) stays below the €59,158 ceiling.

Here, the option saves the household €1,074.

These examples are simplified: no tax reductions or credits, no other income. Before opting, do the calculation with your household’s income, for example with the income tax simulator on impots.gouv.fr or with a professional.

The other things to weigh up

• Cash flow: with the option, the income tax is paid as you go, at the same pace as your turnover. No surprise balance the following year, which is reassuring in the first year.
• Irregular income: if your turnover varies a lot, the versement libératoire follows automatically, whereas withholding-at-source instalments are calculated on the previous year.
• The option is final for the year: if your household turns out not to be liable for income tax, the versement libératoire paid isn’t refunded. Only payments made while the conditions weren’t met become a tax credit.

The versement libératoire is neither a trap nor a good deal in itself: it’s a choice you make with your household’s figures in front of you.
💜💙 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 (6)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. Service Public Entreprendre — Régime fiscal de la micro-entreprise (versement forfaitaire libératoire)
2. impots.gouv.fr — En tant que micro-entrepreneur, sous quelles conditions puis-je opter pour le versement libératoire de l'impôt ?
3. impots.gouv.fr — En tant que micro-entrepreneur, suis-je concerné par le prélèvement à la source ?
4. 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 ?
5. impots.gouv.fr — Brochure pratique 2026, régime du versement libératoire, barème et décote (revenus 2025)
6. Service Public — Barème de l'impôt sur le revenu