VAT Guide for Businesses with Customers in France
VAT Rates in France
The standard Value Added Tax (”Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée” (TVA)) rate in France is 20%, with some goods and services exempt from French VAT, such as banking and financial transactions. Examples of supplies subject to reduced rates are listed below.
VAT rates in the French territories are as follows:
- Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion: Standard rate: 8.5%; Reduced rates: 2.1%, 1,75%, 1.05%
- Corsica (north and south): Standard rate: 20%; Reduced rates: 13%, 10%, 2.1%, 0.9%
VAT Registration Thresholds in France
- VAT registration threshold for domestic established sellers: No registration threshold
- VAT registration threshold for non-established sellers: No registration threshold
- VAT registration threshold for intra-EU distance selling of goods and B2C services: EUR 10,000 (net) per calendar year
- VAT registration threshold for non-resident, non-EU based suppliers of Electronically Supplied Services (ESS): No registration threshold
French VAT Number Format
Individuals: Numéro fiscal de référence
Businesses: Siren, Siret and N de TVA
- Siren: unique identification number of the company.
- Siret: unique identification number of each establishment of the company. A company has as many Sirets as it has physical establishments in France. This number provides a geographical indication that the Siren does not.
- N de TVA: VAT number of the company.
- For individualsFormat: 11 11 111 111 111
- For businessesFormat: 999 999 999
- OtherFormat: FR 11 999999999
VAT on Electronically Supplied Services (ESS) in France
Digital Services in the European Union (EU) are often referred to as electronically supplied services (ESS). France applies the harmonized EU VAT rules for ESS.
- For B2B supplies of such services, the general place of supply rule for services should be taken into consideration.
- For B2C supplies, the EU ESS rules should apply to foreign companies selling to French consumers (B2C).
Under the EU’s B2C ESS rules, until the sales value reaches EUR 10,000 (including distance sales of goods), the seller can charge VAT where it is resident. Once the sales exceed the threshold, the seller should register for VAT in France, or choose to account for the VAT under the EU’s One Stop Shop (OSS) regime.
VAT Rate: 20% VAT is typically applied to the sale of affected Electronically Supplied Services
Will your business need to pay VAT on digital services in France in 2023?
Learn More About VAT on Digital Services in France
Marketplace & Platform Operator Rules in France
France applies the harmonized European Union’s (EU) VAT rules for marketplace & platform operators.
Supply of goods
A marketplace is deemed to have received and supplied the goods themselves. This transaction is split into two supplies:
- A supply from the underlying supplier to the marketplace (deemed B2B supply)
- A supply from the marketplace to the final customer (deemed B2C supply).
This rule covers the following:
- Distance sales of goods imported to the EU with a value not exceeding EUR 150
- Supplies of goods to customers in the EU, irrespective of their value, when the underlying supplier is not established in the EU (both domestic supplies and distance sales within the EU are covered).
Supply of services
When electronically supplied services are sold through an intermediary, e.g. a marketplace for applications, the intermediary is deemed to have received and supplied the services themselves. Therefore, the VAT liability shifts to the intermediary from the underlying supplier.
Invoice Requirements in France
The following invoice content should be required in France:
- Document & general transaction information
- Date of issue
- Sequential number of the invoice
- Date of supply
- Supplier information
- Name, head office address, and VAT number
- Siren or Siret number
- Legal form
- Share capital
- Customer information
- Name, address, and delivery address
- VAT number if it is liable for VAT
- Financial transaction information
- Description and breakdown of the goods or services - Nature, brand, product reference, materials provided and labor for services, denomination, quantity, unit price excl. VAT, VAT rate
- VAT rate
- Total amount of the goods or services excluding VAT
- Total amount of the goods or services including VAT
- Payment information - Payment deadline and penalty rates in the event of non or late payment, discount conditions for advance payment
- Additional information that may be required:
- Billing address, if different from the head office address
- Discounts or rebates
- Purchase order number
- Reference for VAT exemption or reverse charge
- Reference if the supplier is exempted from VAT
E-Invoicing & Digital Reporting for France
B2G e-invoicing has been mandatory since 2020. Businesses should submit invoices to the Chorus Pro platform.
B2B e-invoicing as well as B2C and cross-border B2B e-reporting will be mandatory starting in 2024. It will become mandatory in phases, as follows:
- From July 1, 2024, it will be mandatory for large taxpayers to issue e-invoices and report other transactions. It will also be mandatory for all taxpayers to receive e-invoices from this date.
- From January 1, 2025, the e-invoicing and e-reporting obligation will apply to medium size businesses.
- From January 1, 2026, all taxpayers will be covered.
Learn more about E-Invoicing and Digital Reporting in France
Governmental Body Responsible for E-invoicing and Digital Reporting in France
The French Tax Authority (”Direction Générale des Finances Publique”) is responsible for e-invoicing.
VAT Payments and Returns in France
Full VAT Returns
France does not provide simplified VAT returns for VAT-registered non-resident taxpayers supplying qualifying electronically supplied services. Instead, they can avoid VAT registration in France and use the EU One-Stop Shop (OSS) return.
Penalties in case of late filings or misdeclarations
In the case of the late filing of VAT returns and payments, the French Tax Authority should enforce the following penalties:
- Late payment: 10% of the tax due
- Late submission:
- 10% of the tax due if a formal notice has not been issued yet
- 20% of the tax due if the return is filed within 30 days of the formal notice
- 40% of the tax due if the return is not filed within 30 days of the formal notice
- 80% of the tax due in the case of fraudulent activities
Interest should also be imposed at 0.2% per month.
Fonoa does not provide professional tax opinions or tax management advice specific to the facts and circumstances of your business and that your use of the Specification, Site, and In addition, due to rapidly changing tax rates and regulations that require interpretation by your qualified tax professionals, you bear full responsibility to determine the applicability of the output generated by the Specification and Services and to confirm its accuracy. No professional tax opinion and advice. Fonoa does not provide professional tax opinions or tax management advice specific to the facts and circumstances of your business and that your use of the Specification, Site, and In addition, due to rapidly changing tax rates and regulations that require interpretation by your qualified tax professionals, you bear full responsibility to determine the applicability of the output generated by the Specification and Services and to confirm its accuracy.
