What is Contribution Fonciere des Entreprises and should I pay it?

By Valérie Aston on 10 November 2010 · Viewed 4896 times ·

The Taxe Professionnelle, a local tax paid by ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôºes to local authorities, was axed on 1st January 2010 and replaced by Contribution Economique Territoriale (CET). The CET tax is divided between:

  • Cotisation sur la Valeur Ajoutée des Entreprises (CVAE), i.e. a contribution based on your ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôº’ added value - ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôº with a turnover above 152 500€.
  • Cotisation Financière des Entreprises (CFE), i.e. a taxed based on your office, workshop, equipement and the town you live in.

So although the Tax Professsionnelle was cancelled, the new CET tax happens to be more or less about the same amount!! Small ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôºes based in small towns or villages with no employees may pay from 200 to 500 euros. Larger ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôºes owning buildings, workshops or factories will may much more.

Does an auto-entrepreneur pay CET or CFE?

If you are an auto entrepreneur, you will still have to pay the CET tax, unless you have opted for the income tax paid at source. The income tax paid at source is sometimes referred to as impot liberatoire or regime micro fiscal. If you have chosen this option, you will not have to pay this tax for 3 years.


Valerie Lemiere: Start Business in France

About the author: Valérie Aston

I've been helping people who want to start or already have a small ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôº set up in France since 2009. After graduating from a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, I worked as a senior marketing consultant in the UK and France for various International companies. I worked as a conseillère en création d'entreprises (senior ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôº advisor) for here in France and run this independent ÌÒÖ­Ó°Ôº on a daily basis.