Below the threshold, you invoice without VAT. Crossing it changes your invoice, your price and your obligations: better not to discover it in June.
What the scheme changes concretely
Three differences, visible on every invoice.
Under the exemption scheme, you do not charge VAT to your clients, and the corresponding statement has to appear on the invoice.
In exchange, you do not reclaim VAT on your purchases: equipment, software, accessories, everything costs you the displayed price.
And your reporting obligations are lighter, which is the scheme's main attraction at the start.
One often misunderstood consequence: the exemption is not an absolute advantage. A creator investing heavily in equipment may be better off leaving the scheme, and that trade-off is made with an accountant, not by feel.
Why the threshold is watched all year
Three practical reasons.
The crossing happens in the middle of a year, never at a convenient moment.
One single large order can tip over a creator who thought they would stay below.
And the consequences are not retroactive in the same way in every case, which makes anticipation more useful than reaction.
One habit costing five minutes a month: check the running total on the first of each month, and note the date at which the projection reaches the threshold if the pace holds.
The effect on your prices
That is the point creators discover last, and it is purely commercial.
Two very different situations.
Your clients are VAT-registered businesses: they reclaim the VAT, so your move to the standard regime changes almost nothing for them. The price before tax stays the reference, and your net income is identical.
Your clients are private individuals or bodies that do not reclaim: your price becomes mechanically more expensive for them, and you have to decide whether you absorb the difference or pass it on.
One strategic consequence: if you are approaching the threshold, aim your prospecting at clients who reclaim VAT. The change of regime then becomes painless.
What to do on the day you cross
Five steps, in this order.
Check the exact situation with an accountant, before any new invoice.
Complete the necessary declarations, within the applicable deadlines.
Update your invoice templates: statements, rate, identification number.
Warn your regular clients, in writing, with the effective date.
And revisit your outstanding quotes, to state clearly what is before tax and what is inclusive.
One useful clarification: the applicable rules, deadlines and thresholds are checked with a professional and against official sources. What is read in a forum is often a year out of date.
What is tracked from the first invoice
| Item | Why track it | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| The amount invoiced over the year | It determines the regime | Every month |
| The notices carried on the invoice | They vary with the regime | At each issuance |
| Clients outside the country | The treatment differs | At each order |
What is set up in one evening
A dedicated account, an invoice template with the correct notices, and a five-column table. Nothing more is useful in the first year.
What to ask a professional
The applicable threshold, the switching date, the mandatory notices by regime and the treatment of foreign clients, to be confirmed with an accountant.
The mistake to avoid
Three versions of the same mistake.
Discovering the crossing at the end of the year, when every invoice is issued and no correction is simple.
Continuing to invoice without VAT after crossing, because nobody said anything.
And lowering your price to offset the VAT for a client who reclaims it anyway, which amounts to giving yourself a discount.
One last marker, more reassuring than it sounds: leaving the exemption is a sign of growth, not a problem. The standard regime comes with slightly heavier accounting, but it allows reclaiming VAT on equipment, which often offsets part of the extra administrative work.
Sources
- Urssaf, official auto-entrepreneur portal
- Service Public, how to become a micro-entrepreneur
- Service Public, crossing the micro-entrepreneur turnover thresholds
Checked on 26 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
