France charges TVA, its version of VAT, at four mainland rates: 20, 10, 5.5 and 2.1 percent. This guide explains what each rate covers, how to move between HT (before tax) and TTC (tax included) prices without errors, and when a freelancer can stay out of TVA under the franchise en base.
Search intent: you want the correct France VAT rate for what you sell, the HT and TTC formulas, and to know whether you must charge TVA at all. You get all three below, with worked examples.
Rates last reviewed: October 2026. Rate categories are checked against the French General Tax Code (Code général des impôts, CGI) summaries published by the UK Government Export Hub France tax profile, and the franchise thresholds against Service-Public Entreprendre, the official French business guidance site.
What are the TVA rates in France?
Mainland France has four TVA rates: a standard rate of 20 percent on most goods and services, an intermediate rate of 10 percent, a reduced rate of 5.5 percent, and a special rate of 2.1 percent for a short list of items such as reimbursable medicines and registered press publications.
| TVA rate | Name | Typical examples |
|---|---|---|
| 20 percent | Standard (taux normal) | Most professional services, including consulting, design and development, plus clothing, electronics, alcohol, and most other goods and services |
| 10 percent | Intermediate (taux intermédiaire) | Restaurant food and food for immediate consumption, passenger transport, hotel and camping accommodation, museum and monument entry, unprocessed farm products, firewood, and renovation work on homes more than 2 years old that does not qualify for 5.5 percent |
| 5.5 percent | Reduced (taux réduit) | Most food products, books on any medium, feminine hygiene products, equipment and services for disabled people, school canteen meals, live performance and cinema tickets, energy-efficiency renovation work, and social housing |
| 2.1 percent | Special (taux particulier) | Medicines reimbursable by French social security, press publications registered with the joint press commission, and certain live performances |
As a freelancer, the rate that matters most is usually 20 percent. Professional services are standard-rated unless a specific CGI provision puts them in a lower band. The rate follows what you supply, not who you supply it to.
Watch out: Many older pages still list gas and electricity subscriptions at 5.5 percent. That changed on 1 August 2025. Under the Finance Act for 2025, the fixed subscription part of energy bills moved to 20 percent, because EU law does not allow two rates on the same supply. If a source still shows subscriptions at 5.5 percent, treat the rest of its rate list with care.
Corsica and the overseas departments use lower rates for some categories. Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion apply an 8.5 percent standard rate with reduced rates of 2.1 and 1.05 percent, while French Guiana and Mayotte do not currently apply TVA.
What is the difference between HT and TTC?
HT means hors taxe, the price before TVA. TTC means toutes taxes comprises, the price with TVA included. Businesses quote and record HT figures, while French consumer prices are normally displayed TTC, so you need to move between the two cleanly.
The three formulas are simple:
- Add TVA: TTC = HT x (1 + rate). At 20 percent, TTC = HT x 1.20.
- TVA amount: TVA = HT x rate. At 20 percent, TVA = HT x 0.20.
- Remove TVA: HT = TTC / (1 + rate). At 20 percent, HT = TTC / 1.20.
The removal step is where most errors happen. Never work out the HT price by taking 20 percent off the TTC price. A TTC price already contains TVA calculated on the smaller HT base, so the TVA inside it is less than 20 percent of the TTC figure.
Use LancerBill’s VAT calculator to add or remove TVA at any of the four French rates. LancerBill’s VAT calculator handles the divide, not subtract, method for you, which is the method the worked examples below use.
Worked example: a mixed-rate French invoice
Assumptions, named up front: you are a France-based freelance trainer, registered for TVA, invoicing a French business client in October 2026. Your invoice has two lines at two different rates, which is common and completely allowed, as long as each line shows its own rate and TVA amount.
Line 1: training day, standard rate
HT price: 800 euros
TVA at 20 percent: 800 x 0.20 = 160 euros
TTC: 800 + 160 = 960 euros
Line 2: printed course books, reduced rate
HT price: 200 euros
TVA at 5.5 percent: 200 x 0.055 = 11 euros
TTC: 200 + 11 = 211 euros
Invoice totals
Total HT: 800 + 200 = 1,000 euros
Total TVA: 160 + 11 = 171 euros
Total TTC: 1,000 + 171 = 1,171 euros
Now run it backwards, the way you would when a client gives you a TTC budget. If the client says the training day can cost 960 euros TTC at most, the HT amount is 960 / 1.20 = 800 euros, and the TVA inside it is 160 euros. If you had wrongly taken 20 percent off 960, you would have written 768 euros HT and short-changed yourself by 32 euros on one line.
For the books, 211 / 1.055 = 200 euros HT, and the TVA inside is 11 euros. Each rate has its own extraction fraction, which is the shortcut in the next section.
Tip: Build the invoice line by line, never as one blended rate. A single invoice can carry several TVA rates, but a single line cannot. If you sell a package that mixes rates, split it into lines before you invoice, using LancerBill’s invoice generator to keep each line, rate and TVA amount separate and clear.
How do you extract TVA from a TTC price?
To extract TVA from a TTC price, divide the TTC amount by 1 plus the rate to get the HT amount, then subtract. Equivalently, the TVA inside a TTC price is the TTC amount multiplied by rate / (100 + rate), so at 20 percent it is TTC x 20/120, which is one sixth of the TTC price.
| Rate | Get HT from TTC | TVA inside TTC | Example: 120 euros TTC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 percent | TTC / 1.20 | TTC x 20/120 | HT 100.00, TVA 20.00 |
| 10 percent | TTC / 1.10 | TTC x 10/110 | HT 109.09, TVA 10.91 |
| 5.5 percent | TTC / 1.055 | TTC x 5.5/105.5 | HT 113.74, TVA 6.26 |
| 2.1 percent | TTC / 1.021 | TTC x 2.1/102.1 | HT 117.53, TVA 2.47 |
Check the 10 percent row by hand: 120 / 1.10 = 109.09 euros HT, and 109.09 x 0.10 = 10.91 euros TVA, which adds back to 120 euros. The 5.5 percent row works the same way: 120 / 1.055 = 113.74 euros HT, and 113.74 x 0.055 = 6.26 euros TVA. For the 2.1 percent row, the same method gives HT of 117.53 euros and TVA of 2.47 euros on a 120 euro TTC price.
Keep the fractions, not the percentages, in your notes: 20/120, 10/110, 5.5/105.5 and 2.1/102.1.
Do freelancers in France have to charge TVA?
Not always. Under the franchise en base de TVA, a business whose turnover stays below set thresholds does not charge TVA, does not file TVA returns, and in return cannot reclaim TVA on its purchases. Above the thresholds, TVA registration is mandatory and you charge TVA from the first day you pass the upper limit.
The thresholds in force since 1 January 2025, per Service-Public Entreprendre guidance under Article 293 B of the CGI, are:
| Activity | Basic threshold (prior year) | Upper threshold (current year) |
|---|---|---|
| Selling goods, food to consume on the premises, accommodation | 85,000 euros | 93,500 euros |
| Services and liberal professions (except lawyers) | 37,500 euros | 41,250 euros |
| Regulated legal work, authors and performers supplying works or rights | 50,000 euros | 55,000 euros |
Read the two columns as a two-step test. If last year’s turnover was at or below the basic threshold, you keep the franchise this year. If this year’s turnover passes the basic threshold but stays at or below the upper threshold, you generally keep the franchise until the end of this year and become liable from the following year. If you pass the upper threshold, you are liable for TVA from the first day of the overrun, and your invoices from that date must show TVA.
Tip: If you use the franchise, every invoice must carry the statement “TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI”. Without that wording, a client can assume the price includes TVA and dispute it later.
Watch out: You may see articles warning of a single 25,000 euro franchise threshold. That plan was suspended and then abolished for good by Law No. 2025-1044 of 3 November 2025. The existing activity-based thresholds above stayed in place. Do not restructure your prices around a threshold that no longer exists.
Should you stay in the franchise or register voluntarily?
Staying under the threshold is not automatically the best outcome. The right answer depends on who your clients are and how much TVA you pay on costs. Use this decision framework, which most rate guides do not give you.
| Your situation | Franchise usually suits you if | Voluntary registration usually suits you if | Watch point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clients are mainly private individuals (B2C) | You stay cheaper on the shelf price, because you add no TVA | Rarely, unless your costs carry heavy TVA | Crossing the threshold forces a price rise or a margin cut overnight |
| Clients are mainly TVA-registered businesses (B2B) | Simplicity is your only real gain | Clients reclaim your TVA anyway, so charging it costs them nothing, and you reclaim TVA on your costs | You must file returns and show your intra-Community TVA number on invoices |
| Your costs carry a lot of TVA (equipment, software, rent) | Your costs are low, so there is little to reclaim | Reclaiming input TVA can be worth more than the admin | In the franchise, input TVA is a real cost. Price it in |
| You are close to the services threshold of 37,500 euros | Growth is slow and you can plan the crossing | You expect to cross soon anyway and want a controlled start date | Liability starts on the first day you pass 41,250 euros in the current year, not at year end |
Compare this with the UK position in our guide on whether UK freelancers need to charge VAT, and with the per-rate detail in UK VAT rates 2026/27. The logic is the same in both countries: the threshold is a pricing decision, not just a registration form.
What must a French TVA invoice show?
A TVA-registered invoice in France must show your name and address, the client’s name and address, a unique invoice number, the invoice date, a description of each supply, the HT amount per line, the TVA rate per line, the TVA amount, and the TTC total. Your SIRET number and, for TVA-registered trade, your intra-Community TVA number (numéro de TVA intracommunautaire, starting FR) belong on the invoice too.
Three habits prevent most French invoicing problems:
- Quote HT, confirm TTC. In B2B quotes, state the HT price and the TVA rate in words, so the client is never surprised by the TTC total. A quote from LancerBill’s quote generator can carry both figures before the work starts.
- Split mixed supplies into lines. As the worked example showed, one blended rate on a mixed supply is an error waiting for an audit.
- Watch the threshold monthly, not yearly. Turnover for the franchise is measured on a rolling calendar basis. A strong autumn can push a services freelancer over 41,250 euros with no warning if nobody is counting.
Exports of goods outside the EU are zero-rated, while many health, education, insurance and financial services are exempt, which gives no right to reclaim input TVA. Cross-border B2B services often use the reverse charge, where the client accounts for the TVA. Confirm the treatment before your first cross-border invoice.
Key takeaways
- Mainland France has four TVA rates: 20 percent standard, 10 percent intermediate, 5.5 percent reduced, and 2.1 percent special.
- HT is the price before TVA and TTC is the price with it included. Add with HT x (1 + rate), remove with TTC / (1 + rate), never by subtracting the percentage.
- The TVA inside a TTC price is TTC x rate / (100 + rate): one sixth of the TTC price at 20 percent.
- Energy subscriptions moved from 5.5 to 20 percent on 1 August 2025, so older rate lists can mislead you.
- Franchise en base thresholds are 85,000 euros for goods and 37,500 euros for services, with upper limits of 93,500 and 41,250 euros. The planned single 25,000 euro threshold was abolished in November 2025.
- In the franchise, invoices must state “TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI”, and you cannot reclaim TVA on purchases.
Working across the border instead? Spain’s IVA rates (21%, 10% and 4%) follow a similar multi-rate structure for freelancers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard VAT rate in France?
The standard TVA rate in mainland France is 20 percent. It applies to most goods and services, including most freelance and professional services, unless a specific provision of the French General Tax Code places the supply at the 10, 5.5 or 2.1 percent rate.
How do I calculate 20 percent TVA on a price?
Multiply the HT price by 0.20 for the TVA amount, and by 1.20 for the TTC total. For example, 850 euros HT x 0.20 = 170 euros TVA, giving 1,020 euros TTC. To reverse it, divide the TTC price by 1.20: 1,020 / 1.20 = 850 euros HT.
What is the difference between HT and TTC?
HT (hors taxe) is the price before TVA. TTC (toutes taxes comprises) is the price including TVA. French business accounting and B2B quotes normally use HT, while prices shown to consumers are normally TTC.
When does a French freelancer have to start charging TVA?
Under the franchise en base, a services freelancer stays outside TVA while prior-year turnover is at or below 37,500 euros. Passing 41,250 euros of turnover in the current year ends the franchise from the first day of the overrun. For selling goods, the figures are 85,000 and 93,500 euros.
Which goods and services are taxed at 5.5 percent TVA in France?
The 5.5 percent rate covers most food products, books on any medium, feminine hygiene products, equipment and services for disabled people, school canteen meals, live performance and cinema tickets, and energy-efficiency renovation work. Note that gas and electricity subscriptions left this rate on 1 August 2025 and are now taxed at 20 percent.
How do I remove TVA from a TTC price in France?
Divide the TTC price by 1 plus the rate: by 1.20 at 20 percent, 1.10 at 10 percent, 1.055 at 5.5 percent, or 1.021 at 2.1 percent. Never subtract the percentage from the TTC price, because the TVA was calculated on the smaller HT base.
This guide is for general information only and is not financial, tax or legal advice.