Are you an auto-entrepreneur just starting out in your new business? There are a number of steps to follow. SeDomicilier will help you declare your sales online in five main stages.
Step 1: Create an URSSAF account for auto-entrepreneurs
On the URSSAF website dedicated to auto-entrepreneurs, go to "My account" and select "I don't have an account". Log in using your e-mail address or Social Security number. You will need to define a personalized password.
Please note: To be effective, your registration on the URSSAF website must follow receipt of your affiliation letter. This takes between 2 and 3 weeks to reach you.
Step 2: Declare your sales
From your personal space, click on "Declare and pay" and enter the "My current deadline" tab. The "My sales declaration" section allows you to start your declaration. A minimum period of 90 days elapses between the date of commencement of activity and your first declaration. During these three months, you have no access to the declaration system.
Step 3: Pay your social security contributions
URSSAF automatically calculates your social security contributions. They are calculated on a fixed percentage applied to your sales, not your profits. Rates vary according to the nature of your activity:
- 13.1% for merchandise sales
- 23.1% for BNC services
- 23.2% for BIC services
- 23.1% for self-employed workers affiliated to the general pension scheme
- 23.2% for regulated self-employed workers affiliated to the CIPAV for their pensions
You must take into account the professional training contribution (CFP), which contributes to your entitlement to further training:
- For a commercial activity, the CFP amounts to 0.1% of annual sales.
- For craft businesses, the CFP amounts to 0.3% of annual sales.
- For self-employed workers, the CFP amounts to 0.2% of annual sales.
Step 4: Paying income tax at source
Micro-entrepreneurs can opt for an alternative to income tax through the "versement forfaitaire libératoire". A percentage of your sales is deducted at source when you pay your social security contributions.
Payment in full discharge of income tax allows auto-entrepreneurs to pay their taxes at the same time as their social security contributions. The rate varies according to the activity carried out:
- Self-employed: 2.2
- Services and commercial activities, including furnished rentals: 1.7%.
- Sales or provision of accommodation: 1%.
The "versement forfaitaire libératoire " allows auto-entrepreneurs to smooth out their income tax throughout the year. If you have a second activity, it limits the risk of tax adjustments in the last months of the year. The disbursement rate is fixed.
An auto-entrepreneur can opt for the classic progressive tax scale. This is the default system. It requires income to be declared once a year, using CERFA form N°2042-C Pro.
Step 5: Payment of social security contributions
Once social security contributions have been calculated, two payment options are available to auto-entrepreneurs:
- SEPA direct debit ;
- Payment by credit card.
After each payment, the auto-entrepreneur can download a summary of his declaration.
Self-employed entrepreneurs and URSSAF: when should you make your declaration?
Monthly or quarterly declaration?
There are two options for declaring sales for micro-entrepreneurs:
- Each month, you declare your sales for the previous month.
- Each quarter, you declare your sales for the previous three months.
When setting up an auto-entrepreneur, you choose the periodicity that suits you best. The choice is made for one calendar year. If you wish to change it, you must submit your request before December 31 of the current year. The new frequency will apply from the start of the new calendar year. The deadline for URSSAF declarations is always the last day of the month.
When to declare sales quarterly?
Quarter 1 from January to March
Reporting deadline: April 30
Quarter 2 from April to June
Declaration deadline: July 31
Quarter 3 from July to September
Declaration deadline: October 31
Quarter 4 from October to December
Declaration deadline: January 31
What happens if I don't declare my sales?
The sales declaration is compulsory for micro-entrepreneurs, even if your sales are zero for the declaration period. In the event of late or missing declarations, a penalty of €55 per missing declaration will be applied for the year 2024.
If you fail to file a tax return by the annual due date, the tax authorities will assess your social security contributions on a flat-rate basis. The amount of each missing declaration may be increased by 5% if you have chosen the monthly payment option, and by 15% if you have selected the quarterly payment option.
What are the social security contributions for a micro-entrepreneur?
Auto-entrepreneurs are affiliated to the under the general Social Security scheme for the self-employed. Here are the social security contributions linked to auto-entrepreneur status:
- Health and maternity insurance
- Supplementary daily allowance contribution
- CSG and CRDS
- Family allowances
- Basic pension and compulsory supplementary pension
- Disability and death plan
An auto-entrepreneur does not pay unemployment contributions. If they cease trading, they are therefore not entitled to any back-to-work benefits(ARE) paid by France Travail. In addition, a micro-entrepreneur has no fund for paid vacations. Like all non-salaried entrepreneurs, they have to manage their own income to ensure they have enough vacation time.
The auto-entreprise micro social and micro tax system offers many advantages. Sales declarations are simplified. Social security contributions are calculated as a percentage of sales. No annual balance sheet or income statement is required. Micro-entrepreneurship means opting for flexibility.
Written by our expert Victor
November 13, 2024
