Urssaf - A complete guide for entrepreneurs and the self-employed

URSSAF stands for Union de Recouvrement pour la Sécurité Sociale et les Allocations Familiales.

In other words, URSSAF is an official government body whose purpose is to collect all social security contributions from companies. This is done with a view to the proper management of the Social Security treasury.

In terms of figures, URSSAF has an extensive network consisting of a national fund, ACCOS (Agence Centrale des Organismes de Sécurité Sociale), and 22 agencies throughout France. Today, there are no fewer than 9.7 million contributors in France, with more than 486 million euros collected.

The contributions payable to URSSAF are as varied as they are different. These contributions fall into two categories: employee and employer contributions. All social security contributions, employee and employer, are calculated on the salaries of a company's employees. They cover health, old-age, unemployment, disability and death insurance, work-related accidents and illnesses, as well as family allowances.

The difference between employee and employer social security contributions is simple. Simply remember that the former is payable by the employee on his or her salary, while the latter is added to the cost of the employee's gross salary as part of the employer's overall bill.

URSSAF's missions

URSSAF's main mission is to collect all social security contributions, as well as to carefully manage the Social Security treasury. But that's not all: URSSAF is also responsible for ensuring that current regulations and payment formalities are properly applied.

From a financial point of view, URSSAF collects all social security and employer contributions generated by companies. Since the creation of Pôle Emploi in 2011, URSSAF has also been responsible for collecting unemployment contributions and income guarantee insurance.

In terms of social services and advice, URSSAF offers assistance and support to companies, helping them to comply with current legislation and administrative formalities. Its role as a corporate policeman also gives it the power to monitor and combat illegal or concealed employment and other fraud. The primary interest of this organization is to defend the rights of company employees to the full.

The list of tasks carried out by URSSAF does not end there, as it must also intervene in other types of tasks:

• Registration and affiliation of all contributors to the general scheme.
• Manage all CFE (Centre de Formalités des Entreprises) and RSI centers in France.
• Collection of CSG (Contribution Sociale Généralisée) and CRDS (Contribution au Remboursement de la Dette Sociale).
• Recovery of amounts not paid by contributors.

URSSAF contributions

A large number of workers are affected by URSSAF contributions. To put it simply, all insured persons affiliated to the RSI who carry out a commercial, liberal or artisanal activity are liable to pay contributions, regardless of whether they operate as individuals or as part of a company. The same applies to self-employed workers operating within a company such as a EURL, SARL, SCS/SCA, société civile or SNC.

Employers must submit their DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative) every month via the net-entreprise.fr website. This declaration must be completed and sent in on the 5th or 15th of the month following the work period. Note that some employers are exempt from the DSN requirement, in the case of an administration or local authority, or if they belong to a special scheme.

For the self-employed, the declaration procedure is different, as a DSI (Déclaration Sociale des Indépendants) is required to calculate social security contributions. The DSI is completed online at net-entreprise.fr, where a number of details must be entered. The closing date for online declarations is early June, on the 9th in 2017. If the self-employed person wishes to declare using a paper form, the declaration must be returned earlier, on May 19 in 2017.

Difference between RSI and URSSAF for entrepreneurs and self-employed workers

The distinction between RSI and URSSAF is often difficult to grasp for some workers.

RSI stands for Régime Social des Indépendants, or self-employed workers ' social security scheme, to which all self-employed or non-salaried company managers contribute. The organization provides social protection for company managers, shopkeepers, craftsmen and the self-employed. The RSI pays out health, maternity and old-age insurance benefits. This scheme is specific to these types of activity, and differs from the general employee scheme.

URSSAF is a public body responsible for collecting all social security contributions, as well as providingadvice and support to companies. URSSAF is responsible for collection on behalf of RSI.

Conclusion

This organization is subject to strict legislation, but this is set to change in the next few months. Indeed, the Macron government intends to do away with the RSI, replacing it with the general employee scheme.

Although URSSAF's collection role is set to remain unchanged, there is no doubt that it will be slightly disrupted in terms of formalities. To be continued...