Turnover ceilings, deductible expenses, and the moment when a simplified regime costs more than it saves.
The three tipping signals
Your expenses become significant
Three typical situations in this trade.
Buying equipment: camera, lenses, lighting, microphone, editing computer.
Subcontracting: editing, subtitling, translation, a second voice.
And regular travel, when part of the shooting happens at the client's.
As soon as those three items together exceed the flat allowance, the simplified regime becomes expensive, whatever your turnover.
You are approaching the ceilings
Two points to watch, and they are not the same.
The ceiling of the regime itself, beyond which it no longer applies.
And the VAT exemption threshold, which often gets crossed well before the other.
One habit costing five minutes a month: keep a running annual total column in your invoice table. It warns you three months ahead.
You are no longer selling only your own work
Three developments changing the nature of the business.
You invoice productions made by other people.
You resell usage rights rather than hours.
And you incur expenses before being paid, which requires cash.
Those three situations go beyond the spirit of a regime designed for a light individual activity.
What a company brings
Four advantages, to weigh according to your situation.
The deduction of real expenses, which is the main argument.
The separation between personal assets and the business, within the limits set by law.
The possibility of choosing between salary and distribution, which opens up trade-offs that do not otherwise exist.
And credibility with large accounts, which deal more readily with a structure.
What it costs
Four costs, to be added up honestly.
The set-up fees, one-off but real.
The annual accounting, which becomes a continuous obligation.
The administrative time, often underestimated: filings, meetings, formalities.
And rigidity: taking money out of the structure follows rules, which is not the case under the simplified regime.
One practical consequence: if your income is irregular, that base of fixed costs also falls in the quiet months.
What to prepare beforehand
Five steps, in this order.
Reconstruct twelve months of real turnover, month by month.
List all professional expenses with their receipts.
Calculate the percentage described above.
Ask an accountant for a costed simulation, on your exact case.
And choose the date of the switch: end of a financial year, never in the middle of a big invoice.
What really triggers the change
| Signal | What it indicates | What you check |
|---|---|---|
| A figure close to a threshold | A change of regime | The applicable thresholds |
| Significant real expenses | An impossible deduction | The treatment of costs |
| A client requiring an entity | An external constraint | The type of company expected |
What is prepared before switching
A year of proper accounts, a list of real expenses, and a twelve-month projection. Without those three, comparing the two regimes has no basis.
What to ask a professional
The applicable threshold, the real annual cost of each form, the contributions, social cover and the most favourable switching date, to be confirmed with an accountant.
The short answer
Three situations, three answers.
Low expenses, irregular income, working alone: the simplified regime almost always remains the best choice.
High expenses, stable income, large-account clients: the company becomes profitable, and is prepared with an accountant.
In-between situation: wait one more full financial year. The cost of waiting is low, the cost of switching too early is not.
One last marker, valid in every case: status does not bring clients. It accompanies a business that already works. As long as the question is about prospecting rather than taxation, the answer is not a legal one.
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.
