Freelance developers in France usually choose between two set-ups. As a micro-entrepreneur (the status still widely called auto-entrepreneur) you register a sole business, invoice clients yourself and pay a flat 25.6% of turnover in social contributions for non-regulated IT services in 2026, up to €83,600 of turnover a year. In portage salarial, a portage company signs the contract with your client, invoices it and pays you a salary, so you keep the protection of an employee but pay employer and employee contributions plus the company’s fee. Micro is simpler and cheaper at modest turnover; portage suits higher day rates, clients who won’t contract with a sole trader, and people who want employee benefits.
This guide compares the two with 2026 figures from Service-Public Entreprendre, the Labour Code and URSSAF. It is written for software engineers, data engineers and other tech freelancers.
Micro-entrepreneur vs portage salarial at a glance
| Micro-entrepreneur | Portage salarial | |
|---|---|---|
| Your status | Self-employed sole trader | Employee of the portage company |
| Who invoices the client | You | The portage company |
| Social contributions | 25.6% of turnover (non-regulated BNC, 2026) | Employer and employee contributions on your salary |
| Extra cost | None beyond contributions and your own costs | Management fee set by the portage company |
| Turnover cap | €83,600 for services (2026) | No cap |
| VAT | Exempt up to €37,500 turnover from services | Handled by the portage company |
| Unemployment insurance | Not as an employee | Yes, as an employee, under the usual conditions |
| Paperwork | Monthly or quarterly declarations, your own invoices and accounts | Monthly activity report; the company does the rest |
| Who it suits | Lower to mid turnover, simple set-up | Higher day rates, clients that require it, wanting employee status |
How the micro-entrepreneur status works
Registering
You declare your business online on the Guichet des formalités des entreprises, the single government portal for business formalities. Registration is free for most micro-businesses. You need an ID, proof of your business address and a sworn statement of no criminal convictions (Service-Public Entreprendre). You then receive a SIRET number to put on your invoices.
Turnover caps
For income earned in 2026 the caps are €83,600 for services and €203,100 for sales of goods (Service-Public Entreprendre). Software development, consulting and similar work count as services. Going over the cap in a single year doesn’t end the regime. If you exceed it two years in a row, you move to the standard (réel) tax and social regime from 1 January of the following year, with heavier accounting (Service-Public Entreprendre).
Social contributions (URSSAF)
Contributions are a flat percentage of the turnover you declare, paid monthly or quarterly. Your first declaration can be made no earlier than 90 days after you start (Service-Public Entreprendre).
| Activity (2026) | Contribution rate | With versement libératoire (income tax included) |
|---|---|---|
| Non-regulated liberal profession (BNC): most IT consulting and development | 25.6% | 27.8% |
| Commercial services (BIC) | 21.2% | 22.9% |
| Regulated liberal profession (Cipav) | 23.2% | 25.4% |
| Sales of goods | 12.3% | 13.3% |
Freelance developers and consultants are usually classed as a non-regulated liberal profession (BNC). The category is decided when you register, based on your activity, so check what your SIRET record says. If you are eligible for the Acre start-up scheme, reduced rates apply at the beginning.
Income tax
You choose between two methods (Service-Public Entreprendre):
- Standard method: your turnover is added to your household income after a flat 34% allowance for BNC activities (minimum €305), and taxed on the progressive scale.
- Versement libératoire: you pay 2.2% of turnover (BNC) with your social contributions and have no further income tax on that turnover. You can only choose it if your household’s reference tax income two years earlier was at most €29,579 for a single person or €59,158 for a couple (more with children). Newcomers to France who had no French income two years earlier often qualify, so it is worth checking.
VAT
Micro-entrepreneurs don’t charge VAT as long as turnover from services stays under €37,500 for the previous year. You also stay exempt in the current year up to €41,250. Above €37,500 you must charge VAT from 1 January of the next year, and above €41,250 from the first day you cross it (Service-Public Entreprendre). A planned single €25,000 threshold was abandoned, and the thresholds are unchanged for 2026. Business clients can usually recover the VAT you charge them, so for B2B freelance work charging VAT rarely matters to the client.
France is also moving all business invoicing to electronic invoices; the reform has been in force since 1 September 2026, with obligations phased by company size. Check impots.gouv.fr for when it applies to you.
A worked example
A developer with €70,000 of turnover in 2026 from IT consulting (non-regulated BNC), single, no other income:
- Social contributions: €70,000 × 25.6% = €17,920.
- Income tax with versement libératoire (if eligible): €70,000 × 2.2% = €1,540.
- Income tax by the standard method: taxable income €70,000 × 66% = €46,200, taxed on the progressive scale with the rest of the household’s income.
- VAT: turnover is above €41,250, so VAT applies from the day the threshold is crossed. The VAT is passed on to the client and paid to the tax office, so it doesn’t reduce your income.
- Not included: your laptop, software, insurance, accountant if you use one, and any time between contracts.
The free simulators on mon-entreprise.urssaf.fr give a fuller estimate, including the effect of your other income.
How portage salarial works
The Labour Code defines portage salarial as a three-way arrangement: a commercial contract between the portage company and your client, and an employment contract between the portage company and you, the salarié porté (L1254-1). In practice:
- You find the client and agree the day rate and the work yourself.
- The portage company signs a service contract with the client and invoices it.
- Each month you report your days worked. The company deducts its management fee, then pays employer and employee social contributions, and pays you a salary with a normal French payslip.
Who can use portage
The law sets conditions (L1254-2, L1254-3, L1254-4):
- You need expertise, qualifications and autonomy that let you find your own clients and negotiate your own terms. Senior developers and consultants usually qualify.
- The client can only use portage for occasional work outside its normal permanent activity, or for a one-off task needing expertise it doesn’t have.
- One assignment can last at most 36 months.
- The portage company doesn’t have to find you work.
Minimum pay
You must receive a minimum salary. It is set by the branch collective agreement for portage salarial of 22 March 2017 (Code du travail numérique). Without a branch agreement, the Labour Code’s default is 75% of the monthly social security ceiling for full-time work; the ceiling is €4,005 a month in 2026 (Service-Public), which puts that default at about €3,004 a month. In practice this means portage only works for assignments with a day rate high enough to fund that salary plus contributions and fees.
What portage costs
Two things come out of your invoiced turnover:
- The management fee charged by the portage company. It isn’t fixed by law; companies set it, usually as a percentage of turnover. Compare several offers, and check what the fee includes (insurance, payment guarantee if the client pays late, expense handling).
- Social contributions on your salary, both the employer’s and the employee’s share, as for any employee. These are much higher than the micro-entrepreneur rate, but they buy full employee protection: health, pension at employee rates, and unemployment insurance under the usual conditions.
To see the effect, run your expected monthly salary through the gross-to-net simulator on mon-entreprise.urssaf.fr, or ask two or three portage companies for a written simulation based on your day rate. Our salary after tax calculator shows the income tax side once you know the gross salary.
Which one should you choose?
Choose micro-entrepreneur if:
- your yearly turnover will stay under €83,600;
- your clients accept invoices from a sole trader;
- you want the lowest cost and can handle simple declarations;
- you don’t need unemployment insurance between contracts.
Choose portage salarial if:
- your day rate is high and you expect turnover above the micro cap;
- a client, often a large company, only contracts through companies;
- you want employee status, a payslip and unemployment insurance;
- you want to test freelancing without creating a business.
Some freelancers start in portage and move to a company (such as a SASU or EURL) once turnover is high and stable. Company structures are outside the scope of this guide.
Freelancing on a visa
Your residence permit decides what work you may do. A permit issued for salaried work, such as the Talent passport “qualified employee” or the EU Blue Card, is based on a job with an employer and a salary threshold. It doesn’t by itself let you set up as a micro-entrepreneur. The Talent passport has a separate “project holder: business creation” route, which requires a master’s degree or 5 years’ experience, a real and serious project, at least €30,000 of funding and resources at least equal to the annual minimum wage (Service-Public).
Portage makes you an employee of the portage company, but whether a given permit can be based on a portage contract depends on the conditions of that permit. Ask the prefecture or check on ANEF before you sign anything. Our French Tech Visa and Talent permit guide explains the salaried routes.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens don’t need a permit and can choose either set-up from day one.
Finding freelance work
Most jobs on France Dev Jobs are permanent employee roles, but some are freelance or contract. On 16 October 2026 a search for “freelance” returned 29 job ads. You can also look at remote jobs, since many international clients hire contractors remotely. For tax on a regular salary, see our tax basics guide, and for typical pay levels the software engineer salaries guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is micro-entrepreneur the same as auto-entrepreneur?
Yes. Auto-entrepreneur is the old name and is still widely used. The official term is micro-entrepreneur, a sole trader taxed under the micro-enterprise regime.
What does a micro-entrepreneur pay to URSSAF in 2026?
For non-regulated liberal professions, which covers most freelance developers, 25.6% of turnover, or 27.8% including income tax if you choose the versement libératoire. Commercial services pay 21.2%.
What is the maximum turnover for an auto-entrepreneur in France?
€83,600 a year for services and €203,100 for sales of goods, for income earned in 2026. VAT applies earlier, above €37,500 of service turnover.
What is portage salarial in English?
There is no exact English equivalent. It is sometimes translated as “wage portage” or “umbrella employment”: a portage company employs you, invoices your clients and pays you a salary, while you find the clients and set the terms yourself.
Is portage salarial worth it for a developer?
It depends on your day rate. Portage costs more than micro-entrepreneur status because of employer contributions and the management fee, but it has no turnover cap, gives you employee protection including unemployment insurance, and some large clients require it. Ask for written simulations before deciding.
Can I be a micro-entrepreneur on a Talent passport?
Not on a salaried Talent passport alone; it is linked to your employment. The Talent passport has a separate business-creation route with its own conditions. Check with the prefecture before you register.
This guide is general information, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rates and thresholds change, often on 1 January. Check the official pages linked above and get advice for your situation.