Once a month going forward, I'll be bringing you news that could affect your business here in France. I'll be alternating between two types of updates. Sometimes it'll be In Business news, for those of you who already have a business here Other times it'll be Business Visa News, for those of you applying for a business visa or renewing one.
Today I'm focusing on the in-business side. Here's what you need to know.
Electronic Invoicing Reform: September Is a Big Month
I've been talking about this for a while now, but September genuinely is a big month for it. France is moving to what we call la facture électronique, or electronic invoicing, and the reform is taking place in two big steps. The first step is this September 2026, the next is the 1st of September 2027. You can read this article about the electronic invoicing reform in details, as I’m only covering the summary here.
You need to choose what's called a plateforme agréée, a platform that's been vetted by the tax office. Ideally, this will be the same platform you'll use going forward for your invoicing, your e-invoicing or your e-reporting. For now, all you're being asked to do is choose a platform and sign a mandate with them, so that it's declared to the tax office as your plateforme agréée.
The deadline was supposed to be the 1st of September 2026. The taxman isn't talking about penalty fees yet, they seem to be taking more of an educational approach, saying "you have to do this in September" as part of a bigger campaign. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if, by the 1st of October, the deadline was actually extended. Let's be honest, a lot of small businesses in France are still doing their invoices on paper, Excel, Word, or Canva. So for them, choosing a platform and then doing their invoicing through it afterwards is a big step.
For members of my community, Manage Your Micro-Entrepreneur, I've added a whole section to the course detailing the reform and what's happening across 2026 and 2027. I've shared four strategies depending on whether you send lots of invoices or just a few, and whether you work with clients in France or abroad. I've also given you a half-hour tour of my favourite tools Abby, Qonto and Indy, showing you how to set each one up, how to make an invoice, and how to declare your platform.
So if you're in business as a micro-entrepreneur, don't hesitate to join Manage Your Micro-Entrepreneur. It's an online course covering the whole life cycle of a micro-entrepreneur business, plus a monthly group call and a private WhatsApp group where we share tips with each other. Whether you are an artist, run a consultancy, have a gîte or a shop, it's worth taking the time to choose your electronic platform. My favourites are Abby, Qonto and Indy, but you also have other options out there like Tiime, Pennylane or Dougs.
Tax Updates: Income Tax & Property Taxes
If you're in business in France, here's the second thing you need to know.
Income tax correction: you can now update your French income tax declaration. If you filed your taxes back in May and you've since realised there's a mistake, you have until the end of November to fix it. If you've made a mistake, get in touch with your accountant to help you correct it.
Taxe foncière: if you bought a house, you'll be receiving your taxe foncière bill. As a property owner, this is a tax you pay to your local authorities. It's not a business tax, but it's good to know about, and the bills have already started going out by post. I've received mine, and the price is similar to last year. Check your bill, then log onto your personal impots.gouv.fr account to check it and validate it for payment. Basically you're confirming, "I'm okay with it, you can take the payment" and the payment will be taken later. The exact date will be confirmed on the last screen, one you‘ve validated the payment.
Taxe d'habitation: if you're renting your property, you are liable for taxe d'habitation instead, which arrives a bit later in October. This one applies if you were on a long-term lease and in that property as of the 1st of January 2026.
So, tax-wise: keep an eye out for taxe d'habitation if you're renting long-term and were there on the 1st of January, or for taxe foncière if you own the property.
Upcoming VAT Mention Reform (Good News: It's Been Postponed)
The last thing I want to share with you. And I'll admit, I kept fairly quiet about this one with my community, because I didn't want to worry anyone unnecessarily.
There's another reform coming down the line around VAT mentions. Across Europe, countries are working to clarify VAT rules and make sure businesses are paying VAT in the right country. Which is part of why we're moving to electronic invoicing in the first place. Originally, the plan was for the legal VAT mentions on invoices to change by the 1st of September 2027.
If you are a micro-entrepreneur, your current mention is simply "En franchise de TVA". This code means you are not VAT registered. If you are VAT registered, your mention depends on where your customer is based: the French rate if they're in France, the autoliquidation (reverse charge) mention if they're elsewhere in Europe, and a different mention again for exports outside the EU. Under the reform, those few mentions were set to expand into around ten different options. If you use tools like Abby, Indy, Qonto or Tiime, you'll eventually see these reflected in the dropdown menus (I do with Abby).
The good news: the Government has announced this reform is now postponed until the 1st of September 2028 - Yeah! This gives you more breathing room. Honestly, between getting ready for electronic invoicing and choosing a platform, most entrepreneurs already have plenty on their plate. Piling a VAT mention overhaul on top of that would have been too much at once. For members of Manage Your Micro-Entrepreneur, I did mention this for our live calls, but I also said not to worry about it just yet. Glad to say that's held up.
For now, let's keep the focus where it belongs: choosing your plateforme agréée, the platform you'll use to receive your suppliers' invoices, even if none of your suppliers are in France. Ideally, that's the same platform you'll carry forward to issue your own invoices and handle e-reporting from September 2027.
To Summarise
- September 2026 is step one of the e-invoicing reform : choose and declare your plateforme agréée now.
- No penalty fees yet, but don't bank on the deadline slipping forever.
- Made a mistake on your May income tax declaration? You have until the end of November to correct it with your accountant.
- Own a property? Check and validate your taxe foncière bill via impots.gouv.fr
- Renting long-term since 1 January 2026? Expect your taxe d'habitation bill in October.
- The VAT mention reform has been postponed to 1 September 2028: one less thing to worry about right now.
Want Support Getting Your Business Compliant?
If you are a Micro Entrepreneur and all of this feels like a lot to juggle, that's exactly what Manage Your Micro-Entrepreneur is for. My online course covers the whole life cycle of running a micro-entrepreneur business, with a monthly group call and a private WhatsApp community where we help each other stay on top of things like this.
➡️ Discover Manage Your Micro-Entrepreneur
Voilà, c'est tout pour aujourd'hui pour les nouvelles. À bientôt!
