Company Formation in France

Top 5 Advantages of company registration in France

1. One of the best reputed jurisdiction in the world
2. Very easy to open a local bank account
3. Possible to use a nominee shareholder
4. A European economic stable powerhouse
5. Possible to open a company with a single shareholder

Roadmap

How long does it take to register a company in France?

• 2-5 working days
• Can be done remotely in a week

What are the steps to register a company in France?

The registration process of a company in France is very simple. The experts of LegalBison will assist you throughout every step of it:

1. Initial consultation and agreement
2. Payment of the full invoice
3. [IF REMOTELY]: Notarization of POA by client
4. Preparation of registration documents
5. Document signed at the notary
6. Official register validity: immediately

Taxes

How high are the corporate income tax in France?

• France's tax rate in 2021 is 26,5%. It will change to 25% in 2022
• For companies whose turnover falls under 7.63M EUR, a beneficial 15% rate applies if the yearly profits are under 38,120 EUR
• A single shareholder limited company can chose to be liable on the personal income tax of its director (unless the registered shareholder is a legal person and not an individual)
• The personal income tax rate works on a bands system. 0% under 10K EUR and then:

1. 11% under 26k EUR
2. 30% under 73k EUR
3. 41% under 158k EUR
4. 45% over 158k EUR

What Double-tax treaties has France?

Many countries have bilateral conventions to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion.

Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia-and-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Centrafrican Republic, Chile, China, Cyprus, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Kuweit, Latvia, Liban, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Morrocco, Mauritania, Mayotte, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Polynesia (French), Portugal, Romania, Russia, Qatar, Quebec, Saudi Arabia, Sint Maarten, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, South Africa, South Korea, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad-and-Tobago, Tunisia, Turmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Status: End of 2020

VAT number

Without VAT number

• Company will not be eligible to receive VAT refunds, which means everything bought is 20% more expensive (important: B2B payments between two VAT exempt companies are not more expensive)
• Your company will not have to file monthly tax returns (prerequisite: no one receives a salary), which means low costs

With VAT number

• The company will be eligible to receive VAT refunds, which means you can make use of the reverse-charge mechanism
• Monthly tax returns have to be filed, even if no transactions occur
• Registering for a VAT number can be done online

Decide first

1. Do you want to buy a ready-made company or start a new one?
2. How do you want to organize the shareholdership of the company?
3. Are you familiar with the requirements to own and operate a French company?

Speak to our consultants to get a free consultation and guidance on how to choose the best jurisdiction based on your business model.

Documents to provide for company registration in France

• Passport copies (a scan) of shareholder/s and director/s, also beneficiary owner if applicable
• A Power of Attorney (in case of a remote company registration)
• Certified company documents (in case at least one of the shareholders is going to be a foreign company)

Information needed to get company registration in France

• 3 options of your desired name for the company and a company contact email address
• Names, addresses and emails of all shareholders and board members
• Short description of your company's activity

Remote incorporation

• The whole incorporation process can be conducted remotely. No travel necessary. Notarization of documents is necessary
• A Power of Attorney (POA) from (all) partners/shareholders is needed
• The POA is sent to you by us based on the services you want
• You have to certify the POA by a notary and in some cases legalize it by apostille (some countries need full legalization)
• Once you have the POA on your hands, we double-check, and you send us the original form (physical document!) via courier to our address
• France is part of the Hague Convention of the Apostille

Accounting and auditing

• Limited liability companies in France are liable to submit yearly financial states and therefore to hold books
• Audit is compulsory if the company reaches 8M EUR of yearly turnover
• Accounts have to be filed within 7 months of the end of the accounting period

Residential requirements

What are the residential requirements in France?

• Any company registered in France has to have a registered address
• The director also has to be a resident of France
• Regarding shareholders, there is no need to be a French resident if and only if the shareholder holds a European passport
• Non-European citizen need to have a residence permit. They don't have to live in France but need to have the authorization to
• Nominee shareholders are allowed but their use is firmly controlled to avoid fraud

LegalBison offers help with all of the above requirements. We assist and are local on ground. Speak now for free with one of our consultants to get your business started.

FAQs about company registration in France