France

The basics

VAT in France is known as TVA (Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée). The standard rate is 20%. A first reduced rate of 10% applies to certain products and services including food, pharmaceutical products, pay and cable TV, and hotel accommodation. A second reduced rate of 5.5% covers books, non-alcoholic beverages, medical equipment, and admission to sports events. A super-reduced rate of 2.1% applies to newspapers and periodicals, television licence fees, and admission to certain cultural events. Medical and dental care sits outside the rate structure altogether: it is exempt from VAT rather than taxed at zero, which means no VAT is charged and no input VAT can be recovered on the related costs.

VAT registration

If your business is not established in France, no threshold applies. A foreign company must obtain a French VAT number as soon as it carries out its first taxable transaction in the country — there is no turnover allowance to use up first.

The thresholds often quoted for France belong to a different regime: the franchise en base de TVA, the small-business exemption available to businesses established in France. For 2026 those thresholds are €85,000 for the supply of goods and €37,500 for services, with tolerance ceilings of €93,500 and €41,250 respectively. Since 2025 a business established elsewhere in the EU can also claim the French franchise if its EU-wide turnover stays under €100,000 and it notifies its own member state first.

On 1 July 2021, country-specific distance selling thresholds were replaced with a single EU-wide threshold of €10,000, applicable to all EU member countries. This means that if a business’s annual turnover for cross-border trade with an EU country exceeds €10,000, it becomes liable for VAT there. Storing products in France or joining an FBA programme (Fulfilled-by-Amazon) that includes France creates an immediate obligation regardless of that threshold, because the goods are then supplied from French territory.

Foreign companies without an establishment in France do not register with the local Service des Impôts des Entreprises (SIE) that serves resident businesses, but with a dedicated office: the Service des Impôts des Entreprises Étrangères (SIEE), part of the Direction des Impôts des Non-Résidents (DINR). The application is free of charge but must be made in French, and the process typically takes six to eight weeks.

Fiscal representative

Whether you need a fiscal representative depends on where your business is established, and the answer is more favourable than most guides suggest.

Businesses established in the EU never need one. Businesses established outside the EU are required to appoint a représentant fiscal, jointly liable for the French VAT — but article 289 A of the Code général des impôts exempts those established in a non-EU country that has a mutual assistance agreement with France comparable to the EU’s own recovery and cooperation rules. The list is set by the arrêté of 15 May 2013 as amended, and it includes the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, India, Turkey, Mexico, Norway, Iceland, Australia and New Zealand, among others.

The practical consequence is worth stating plainly: a Japanese, Indian, Turkish or British seller registers in France without a fiscal representative, while a seller established in a country outside that list — mainland China is the significant case for marketplace sellers — must appoint one.

VAT returns and penalties

A business not established in France files monthly, electronically, through the SIEE, and the return is due on the 19th of the month following the relevant period. A nil return is still due for a month with no taxable transactions. Quarterly filing is possible where the French VAT due is less than €4,000 per year; there is no annual return in the sense used in some other member states.

For resident businesses the filing regime depends on turnover: above €840,000 for goods or €254,000 for services in 2026, the régime réel normal and its monthly CA3 return apply.

The penalty for late filing is 10% of the VAT due if the return is submitted within 30 days of a reminder, plus 0.2% interest per month. If filed after this 30-day window, the fine rises to 40% of the VAT due, and to 80% in the event of failure to file altogether. Late payment incurs a penalty of 5% plus 0.2% monthly interest for each month of delay.

Intra-EU reporting: EMEBI and the recapitulative statement

France no longer has a single Intrastat declaration. On 1 January 2022 the old Déclaration d’échanges de biens (DEB) was split into two obligations that are easy to confuse, because only one of them has a threshold.

The état récapitulatif TVA — the recapitulative statement for intra-EU supplies of goods — is a tax obligation with no threshold: it is due for every intra-EU supply, by the 10th working day of the month following the transaction.

The Enquête mensuelle statistique sur les échanges de biens intracommunautaires (EMEBI) is a statistical survey, and you file it only if the customs administration designates your business by letter. Businesses whose annual intra-EU trade stays below €460,000 are exempt from the statistical formality. The deadline is the same 10th working day, and late filing can result in penalties of up to €1,500.

Reverse charge

The reverse charge mechanism in France applies to certain supplies by non-established businesses and to certain domestic goods and services. Under this system, the customer calculates and declares both input VAT and output VAT in their own VAT return, effectively neutralising the VAT liability for the supplier.

Where it applies, the reverse charge removes the need to charge French VAT on that particular transaction. It does not exempt a foreign business from registration in general: holding stock in France, selling to French consumers, or importing goods all create obligations of their own, and each case has to be assessed on its facts.