VAT in France 2026

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French VAT rates in 2026 have remained unchanged for many years and are:

• 20% basic rate
• 10%, 5.5% and 2.1% – reduced rates
• preferential rate, applies to selected deliveries (e.g. ICT and export)

As you can see, France stands out significantly from other EU countries in terms of the number of VAT rates. While rates in France remain unchanged, the classification of certain services and goods into specific rate categories will change in 2026. This applies particularly to the green energy/renewable energy sector (similar to Belgium) and municipal services.

The table below provides examples of products and services that are subject to specific VAT rates. Data comes from the current Tax Code French  the Loi de finances pour 2026.

Check VAT rates across the EU for 2026 (table)

The French tax system is currently undergoing a thorough modernization process aimed at simplifying regulations and fully digitizing control over trade in goods. The most significant change is the renumbering and splitting of some regulations into smaller ones within a new structure (CIBS). France is also implementing e-invoicing and e-reporting.

French law (resulting from the implementation of EU directives and the national Art. 283 bis CGI) imposes on sales platforms the role of a "tax collector" or a jointly and severally liable entity.

• Deemed supplier: If you sell goods imported from outside the EU worth up to €150 or use a warehouse in France and your company is based outside the EU, the marketplace (e.g. Amazon) becomes the "deemed supplier" and collects and remits French VAT.
• Compliance Verification: Starting in 2026, platforms are required to periodically verify that their sellers have an active VAT number and UIN (United Kingdom Tax Identification Number). Failure to provide this information will result in immediate suspension of the seller's account.
• Integration of the marketplace with the e-reporting system: Thanks to this, the French tax office will receive data on your sales almost at the same time as the VAT invoice is issued for them.

Non-residents, i.e., companies outside France that wish to conduct taxable transactions in the country, must register for VAT. Retroactive VAT registration is possible in France, but with certain restrictions and the risk of penalties and interest.

Our experience shows that a French VAT number is issued within 1-4 months, depending on the planned transactions and the correctness of the submitted application for VAT registration in France.

Below we will explain when you need a VAT number in France, how the registration procedure works and how long it usually takes.

Below is a list of situations that require you to have a French VAT number and settle VAT in France:

• Distance selling (e-commerce) to consumers, after exceeding the total EU threshold of €10,000 (if you do not use VAT OSS)
• Warehousing goods in France – this applies in particular to sellers using the Amazon FBA model or having their own logistics centers in France.
• Non-transactional deliveries and purchases of goods (transfers of goods between foreign warehouses)
• Importing goods from non-EU countries directly into France. From 2022, settling import VAT on the return (deferred VAT) is mandatory, requiring a valid French VAT number.
• Intra-Community transactions: intra-Community supplies and intra-Community supplies from/to France.
• Domestic sales or purchases
• Provision of construction servicesthat are not subject to the reverse charge mechanism (e.g. when the client is not a French VAT payer).

All transactions on the list above require tax registration in France. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us.

The French business identification system is unique and consists of several numbers that are often confused by foreign companies. So let's explore the differences

• The SIREN number is the basic identification number for every company. It consists of 9 digits and can be considered the equivalent of the Polish NIP/REGON number.

• A SIRET number identifies a specific branch or office of a French company. For example, if a company has multiple locations, each has a separate SIRET. Non-residents, even if they don't have branches in France, are also assigned a SIREN number. It is issued by the SIEE, the tax office dealing with foreign entities. It consists of 14 digits: the 9-digit SIREN number + the 5-digit NIC code, which are assigned to a specific location. The SIRET number can be found on your tax return.

• The EU VAT number (Numéro de TVA intracommunautaire) is intended for VAT and EU transactions. It consists of 13 digits preceded by the FR prefix + 2 check digits (8 digits or letters) + 9 digits of the SIREN number. (e.g., FRXX 123456789).

French VAT registration has been done electronically for many years. Foreign companies in France are served by a specialized unit of the tax office, the SIEE (Service des Impôts des Entreprises Étrangères).

After submitting your application, the office verifies the nature of your business and assigns the appropriate identification numbers (in cooperation with INSEE). Please note that since 2026, the French tax authorities have been rigorously checking capital ties and the authenticity of your businessto prevent tax fraud.

Successful registration requires the completion of a set of documents that must be credible to French officials. To obtain a French VAT number, you must submit, among other things:

1. VAT Registration Application for Non-Residents (Form EE0)
2. Company documents (company agreement, statute, etc.)
3. Extract from the commercial register
4. Confirmation of the VAT number assignment in the country of residence
5. Bank account details in EUR
6. Power of attorney – if you outsource VAT compliance services in France to a specialized company.
7. Identification document (passport or ID card)
8. Evidence of planned activity taxable in France

The need to appoint a tax representative depends on where your company is located:

• Based in an EU country: There is no requirement to have a fiscal representative. However, you can voluntarily use the services of a fiscal representative (mandataire fiscal) to ensure peace of mind and tax security in France.
• Based outside the EU: you are required to appoint a fiscal representative (représentant fiscal) who will be jointly responsible for your tax settlements in France.

Filing a VAT return in France is only possible electronically, using the CA3 form on the Impots. VAT must be paid upon submission. And here's an important note: unlike in other EU countries, in France, it's not possible to pay VAT by traditional bank transfer from a foreign account.

The frequency of submitting VAT returns depends on the scale of your business and the amount of tax generated.

• Monthly declarations in France are standard for most foreign entities. The deadline for submitting the declaration is 19th day of the month after the billing month.
• Quarterly declarations in France are possible for a taxpayer whose VAT output has not exceeded the threshold 4000 EUR in the previous year. Once this threshold is exceeded, you must immediately revert to monthly reporting. To switch to quarterly declarations in France, you must apply to the French tax office (SIEE).
  
  The deadline for filing a quarterly declaration in France is 19th day of the month following the settlement quarter.
• CA3 declarations also include information on EU transactions.

In France, you won't pay VAT via traditional bank transfer, as in most EU countries. The payment system is based on a télé-règlement, meaning payment must be made after the CA3 declaration has been approved.

There are therefore two solutions for non-residents who must pay VAT in France:

• Payment via SEPA Direct Debitrequires a bank account accredited by the French tax authorities for this procedure. In this case, the authorities will deduct the VAT due from your account immediately after submitting your VAT return.

• Cooperation with a tax representativewho will submit a VAT declaration in France on your behalf and then the office will collect the VAT due from his account via SEPA (which you will previously transfer to his bank account).

🚨Attention: The French tax office does not accept transfers from foreign bank accounts unless the payment has been made upon express request and payment details provided by SIEE.

We warn against trying to pay VAT in this way, as clarifying it with the office is time-consuming and does not guarantee success in recording the paymentTherefore, assigning a payment to a submitted CA3 declaration (if ultimately successful) after the deadline results in the imposition of late payment interest.

In France, there are three types of penalties for failure to comply with tax obligations, which are calculated automatically:

1. Late payment interest on VAT is charged automatically, regardless of your fault or good faith. The rate is 0.20% of the VAT due monthly.
2. The penalty for late submission of a VAT return, depending on the seriousness of the offence, may range from 10% to 80% of the VAT amount due.
3. The penalty for late payment of VAT due to, for example, lack of available funds in the account in the SEPA procedure is 5% of the tax amount.

Let’s look at different scenarios for calculating penalties and interest depending on the type of offense:

🚨Attention: Tax offices in different countries communicate with each other to detect and combat tax fraud, which they themselves we witnessed this at one of our clientsAdditionally, offices can also obtain data from marketplace platforms, which is why it is so important to properly fulfill your tax obligations in France.

As of 2022, France no longer has an automatic obligation to submit INTRASTAT declarations after exceeding a threshold. Statistical declarations are submitted only at the request of the French administration by entities of its choosing.

The French goods reporting system has undergone a fundamental change in recent years. no longer exists, which reported both statistical data on the flow of goods and information on EU sales for VAT purposes,

Following the implementation of the changes in 2022, statistical and tax obligations were clearly separated. Intrastat statistical data is reported on the EMEBI, while data on EU sales is reported on the TVA Etat Récapitulatif (Summary Information).

The table below illustrates the separation of duties:

databases in 2026.DGDDI) and tax (DGFiPBoth statistical declarations and summary information are submitted electronically via the DEBWEB2.

In the EMEBI , you must provide detailed information such as: commodity code (Nomenclature NC8), net weight, value, country of origin, contractor’s VAT number, nature of the transaction and mode of transport.

In 2026, data from EMEBI declarations will be compared to data reported in the e-reporting system, which will come into effect on September 1. If the office detects discrepancies between tax data and data submitted in EMEBI declarations, it will initiate an audit in both the statistical and fiscal areas.

🚨Attention: The office may ask you to report not only the operations you actually perform (e.g. import), but also exports from France – even though you don't do it and you sell all your goods locally in France.

France rigorously guards the interests of its budget, therefore the rules for representing foreign companies before the tax office (DGFiP) are much more formalized here than in other EU countries. The choice between a tax representative and a tax attorney is not a matter of convenience, but rather directly depends on the location of your company and the type of transactions carried out.

As in other EU countries, the refund of French VAT is possible both for companies registered for French VAT and those who make occasional taxable purchases without having a French tax identification number.

So let's take a look at these two procedures.

Any excess VAT resulting from purchases taxed in France is not lost. You can carry it forward to subsequent settlement periods in your VAT return (similar to Poland) or request a refund to your bank account.

If you want to get a VAT refund in France, you or your representative must indicate the amount to be refunded on line 26 of your CA3 declaration. You must also remember to include a mandatory appendix – form n° 3519– which is the actual refund application.

The minimum amounts for VAT refund are:

• EUR 760 – when you submit an application with your monthly or quarterly declaration
• EUR 150 – when you submit your application at the end of the calendar year in the December declaration

The French tax authorities process VAT refunds within 6 months. In our experience, the process typically takes between 1 and 3 months, unless there are additional checks or questions from the authorities.

If your company is not registered for VAT in France, but you occasionally make taxable purchases (e.g. you bought fuel there during a business trip), you can use the VAT-REF procedure under two directives: 8 and 13.

• EU procedure (8th Directive):

1. For companies based in another EU country
2. You submit your application by September 30 of the following year via the portal of your home tax office, which sends it to France.
3. Minimum refund amounts: €400 (quarterly claim) or €50 (annual claim).
4. Non-EU procedure (13th Directive):

1. For companies based outside the EU
2. The application is submitted directly to the specialist tax office in Noisy-le-Grand (Service de Remboursement de la TVA).
3. Critical requirement: Non-EU companies are required to appoint a tax representativewho will submit the application on their behalf and take responsibility for the accuracy of the documentation.

From 2021, distance sales to France exceeding the EU threshold of €10,000 can be settled through the One Stop Shop (OSS). This is a significant simplification, but it does not completely eliminate other tax obligations.

There are certain situations where, even though you are using OSS, you still need to register for French VAT.

The EU's OSS (One Stop Shop) procedure allows businesses to sell across the EU without having to register for VAT in the country of delivery. At the same time, French VAT rates apply, and all sales are reported in a single, quarterly VAT-OSS return.

You can settle sales to France via VAT OSSif:

• You ship goods from Poland directly to a customer in France
• You don't have a warehouse in France
• Goods are not moved between EU warehouses
• You sell to consumers (B2C)

Sounds complicated?

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Adrian Andrzejewski, CEO Taxenlight

The reverse charge mechanism shifts the obligation to settle VAT in France from the seller to the buyer. Pursuant to Article 283-1 of the French Tax Code (CGI), reverse charge in France applies to both goods and services. In this respect, the country clearly stands out from other EU countries, as evidenced by the following examples:

• You import goods into France and sell them locally in France to a French VAT-registered entity – you use reverse charge
• You are registered for VAT in France, you buy taxable goods in that country and sell them to a French company – this is a reverse charge sale
• You provide services to a French VAT-registered taxpayer and you do not have a FR VAT number - you use reverse charge
• If you employ subcontractors to provide services to a French taxpayer in a B2B relationship, you must have a VAT number and simultaneously apply reverse charge. This is known as domestic reverse charge and is only possible in specific cases.

The reverse charge mechanism is intended to simplify VAT settlement in France and combat tax fraud. When issuing an invoice to a French company, the reverse charge mechanism only includes the net amount, the "N/A" VAT rate, and a note about the reverse charge.

The construction industry has specific reverse charge rules in France. Pursuant to Article 283-2 of the CGI, this mechanism applies when:

1. The works concern a property located in France (construction, renovation, cleaning, maintenance, demolition).
2. There is a B2B relationship: Contractor – Subcontractor.
3. The contractor (client) is registered for VAT in France.
4. If a subcontractor employs additional subcontractors, they must register for VAT and apply reverse charge. The general contractor (client) remains responsible for settling the tax in their VAT return.

🚨Please note: The reverse charge mechanism in France does not apply if you provide services directly to an investor (end customer) who is not a VAT payer (e.g., a private individual or a VAT-exempt taxpayer). In this case, you must have a French VAT number and charge the French VAT rate on the sales invoice.

Possible scenarios for settling VAT in France with the use of reverse charge are illustrated in the table below:

France is one of the most accommodating countries when it comes to deferring French import VAT. This way, you don't tie up your financial resources in tax, which you later have to claim back. Unlike Poland, for example, where deferral is optional, France mandates deferral of import VAT for importers.

Revolutionary changes to import VAT were implemented in France in 2022. At that time, VAT collection on imports was transferred from the customs administration (DGDDI) to the tax administration (DGFiP). This introduced a number of simplifications and benefits:

• No cash payment: When clearing customs in France, you do not physically pay VAT to the customs office.
• Tax neutrality: You account for import VAT solely on your VAT return. You report it as both output and input tax (deductible).
• Cash-flow: Thanks to this mechanism, you do not freeze your financial resources at the border, which is of paramount importance for financial liquidity in the case of large containers of goods from China or the USA.

To benefit from the deferred payment of import VAT in France, you must have a French VAT number. Without it, your goods will be detained at the border, and you will be forced to pay the VAT in cash without the possibility of easy recovery.

The French VAT system in 2026 is unforgiving of formal errors, but it offers a range of tools and simplifications that can significantly improve your company's cash flow. However, constantly changing regulations require knowledge and compliance. It's worth using the services of a tax representative in France, who will keep you up to date on the changes being implemented and the obligations to be met.

We encourage you to read the frequently asked questions about VAT in France 2026 below (FAQ). We're confident you'll find the answers to your questions there. And if this article hasn't answered your questions, we encourage you to contact us for a free consultation.