Opening a company in France: locals, foreigners, freelancers and digital nomads

At a glance: SAS/SASU or SARL/EURL from 1 euro capital, no notary, INPI guichet unique in 1 to 5 days for about 53 euros plus a legal notice, corporate tax 25 percent (15 on the first 42,500 euros), micro-entrepreneur regime for freelancers, no nomad visa. Legal forms. Sole trader: entreprise individuelle (EI), most often under the micro-entrepreneur regime. SARL (single-member EURL) and SAS (single-member SASU): no minimum capital, 1 euro works; 20 percent (SARL) or 50 percent (SAS) of cash contributions paid at formation, the rest within five years. SA: 37,000 euros, half paid. Registration. One channel for everything: the INPI guichet unique (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr), which feeds the RCS and the national register. No notary unless real estate is contributed. Fees: 53.16 euros for a SARL/SAS, 21.74 for a commercial EI, zero for a micro-entrepreneur; legal notice 120 to 200 euros; capital deposit certificate from a bank or notary. Registration takes one to five business days once the file is complete; typical total 250 euros yourself, 750 to 1,750 with an accountant. Taxes 2026. Corporate tax 25 percent, 15 percent on the first 42,500 euros for SMEs under 10 million euros turnover held mostly by individuals. Residents pay 30 percent flat on dividends; non-resident individuals 12.8 percent withholding, companies 25 (zero for EU parents). VAT 20 percent; franchise thresholds 85,000 euros for goods and 37,500 for services (the planned single 25,000 threshold was abandoned in November 2025). Top income tax 45 percent above 181,917 euros plus 3 to 4 percent high-income surcharge. Freelancers and the self-employed. Micro-entrepreneur: free registration, declare turnover monthly or quarterly on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr even at zero; ceilings 203,100 euros for sales and 83,600 for services and liberal professions; contributions are a percentage of turnover only (12.3 percent sales, 21.2 services, 25.6 liberal professions from 2026), so no income means no contributions; optional income-tax flat rates of 1 to 2.2 percent. ACRE relief in the first year drops from 50 to 25 percent for businesses created from July 2026. Above the ceilings you move to the real regime or a company; portage salarial is a common alternative for consultants. Foreigners. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens need nothing beyond the formalities. Non-EU founders: the "talent - porteur de projet / creation d'entreprise" card (master's degree or five years' experience, 30,000 euros of project financing, resources at least the annual minimum wage of 22,404 euros, up to four years, fee 350 euros, family cards) or the one-year "entrepreneur / profession liberale" permit for a viable activity earning about the minimum wage. No resident director requirement, 100 percent foreign ownership allowed, a French registered office (domiciliation companies accepted). Capital-deposit accounts are the bottleneck for non-residents; a refusal can be appealed to the Banque de France. New arrivals recruited from abroad can use the impatriate regime (30 percent of pay exempt for eight years). Branch of a foreign company. Register the succursale through the INPI portal with certified translated articles, a register extract under three months old, proof of premises and the representative's identity; fee about 60 euros; a representative in France is designated, no residency condition. Taxed at 25 percent on French profits plus a 25 percent branch tax on profits deemed distributed to non-EU head offices (treaties reduce or waive it). Most groups form a SAS subsidiary instead. Digital nomads. No digital nomad visa. Visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur, one year renewable, resources about the minimum wage, no French clients; remote work for a foreign employer is tolerated) or the entrepreneur / profession liberale visa, then the talent card. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. Changed recently. VAT franchise reform abandoned (law of 3 November 2025); micro liberal-profession rate 25.6 percent (January 2026); ACRE cut (July 2026); talent card renamed and repriced at 350 euros (2024 law); INPI portal the sole channel for branches too (2025). Figures checked October 2026 from service-public.fr, URSSAF, impots.gouv.fr and French advisers; ceilings and rates move with each finance law. Confirm with a licensed adviser in France before you file.