Jeune entreprise universitaire JEI: definition
The purpose of the young university company status is to support the creation of companies by university students. The status offers tax and social benefits in line with the Young Innovative Company (JEI) scheme.
To qualify for young university company status, the applicant company must be created before December 31, 2025. The application must be sent to the Direction des Services Fiscaux within the first ten months of starting business. An agreement must be signed between the company and a higher education establishment. The purpose of the agreement must be specified. The agreement is for a period of three years, renewable for up to eight years.
Conditions for qualifying as a young university enterprise (JEU)
To become a university start-up, six conditions must be met.
Be a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
Companies wishing to benefit from the status of young university enterprise must :
- employ fewer than 250 people ;
- sales of less than €50 million or a balance sheet of less than €43 million.
Must have been created less than eight years ago
Companies wishing to qualify for university start-up status must have been created less than eight years before the end of the financial year on which their application is based.
Being new
University start-ups must not be created as part of a merger, business expansion, takeover or restructuring. It must be created from scratch.
Management or ownership
A university start-up must be directly managed or owned to the extent of at least 10% by students or graduates of a master's or doctorate degree within the last five years. It may also be owned in the same proportions by people carrying out research and teaching activities.
Establish a link with a higher education establishment
The main activity of a university start-up must be the valorization of research work. Managers or partners must work or have worked during their studies at a higher education establishment. An agreement must be drawn up between the institution and the university start-up. It sets out the terms and conditions of the commercialization.
Being independent
The company is independent within the meaning of Article 44 of the French General Tax Code. The capital ownership requirement must be met throughout the period of university start-up status.
Young university enterprise (JEU) projects
University start-ups develop projects in the form of :
- Fundamental research: analysis of the properties and structures of phenomena to identify established facts and organize them into interpretative theories.
- Applied research: investigating the possible applications of basic research and developing a model for a product, service, etc.
- Experimental development through prototypes ;
- Valorization of research work developed by a university or other type of higher education institution.
Tax benefits for young university companies (JEU)
The young university company is exempt from income tax for a period of two years:
- First year: total exemption
- Second year: 50% partial exemption
It is not possible to combine this tax exemption with the tax benefits provided for new businesses under article 44 of the General Tax Code, nor to benefit from the advantages of setting up in an urban free zone.
Depending on the direction taken by the local authorities, a university start-up can benefit from an exemption from property tax and business property tax (cotisation foncière des entreprises - CFE) for up to seven years.
Social benefits for university start-ups (JEU)
A university start-up is exempt from employer social security contributions. This applies to the following employer contributions: family allowances, health insurance, old age, death, disability and maternity. Contributions for industrial accidents and occupational diseases are not covered.
The exemption from employers' social security contributions is subject to two ceilings:
- Per employee: it applies to the fraction of gross remuneration below 4.5 SMIC.
- Per company: it applies up to an annual ceiling per employee and per company equal to five times the annual Social Security ceiling.
This exemption is valid at full rate for a maximum period of eight years. Only the following profiles are eligible: research employees, technicians working with researchers, lawyers in charge of industrial protection, R&D project managers and corporate officers.
Written by our editorial expert
August 5, 2024
