Choosing a business structure as a VTC driver in France
Your structure changes nothing about the exam, the card or the register; it changes what you pay, what you keep and how you are covered.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
A self-employed VTC (private hire) driver in France chooses between four set-ups. The micro-enterprise, a sole trader on the simplified scheme, works while turnover stays under €83,600 a year: contributions are a percentage of takings, 21.2% for a craft service activity in 2026 according to Urssaf, the body that collects social contributions, with no deduction for costs. A sole trader on the real regime deducts actual costs and pays contributions on profit, as does the sole partner-manager of an EURL (single-member limited company), who counts as self-employed. In a SASU (single-shareholder simplified company), the president is treated like an employee: covered by the general social security scheme and paying an executive’s contributions on any salary, except unemployment insurance, to which they have no right (service-public, page F36240). The company pays corporation tax, 15% up to €42,500 of profit then 25%, and dividends bear a 31.4% flat levy.
SASU: what is left of a profit paid out as dividends
Net dividend after tax
€17,493
| Corporation tax | €4,500 |
| 31.4 % flat-rate levy | €8,007 |
| Share of the profit you keep | 58.3 % |
With no salary for the president: no contributions, so no pension rights and no sick pay. Salary is not modelled here.
What the structure changes, and what it does not
Whatever structure you choose, the job is the same: the chamber of trades (CMA) exam, the professional card, entry of the business on the VTC register, a compliant vehicle and passenger transport insurance. The structure affects four things: how social contributions are worked out, tax, social cover and paperwork. The table sums up the four options.
| Micro-enterprise | Sole trader, real regime | EURL | SASU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director’s social status | self-employed | self-employed | self-employed (sole partner-manager) | treated as employee (president) |
| Contribution base | turnover, 21.2 % | profit, after a 26 % allowance | salary, plus dividends above 10 % of capital | salary paid |
| Actual costs | not deducted | deducted | deducted | deducted |
| Tax on profit | income tax (flat allowance) | income tax | income tax or corporation tax | corporation tax, option available |
| Unemployment insurance | no | no | no | no |
None of the four gives a right to standard unemployment benefit, despite a common belief about the SASU: service-public says so for both employee-like and self-employed directors (page F38152).
The micro-enterprise: simple, but flat-rate
The micro-enterprise (often still called auto-entrepreneur) is a sole trader on the simplest regime. According to Urssaf, a craft service such as passenger transport pays 21.2 % of cash turnover in contributions in 2026, plus 0.3 % for craft vocational training. With the start-up relief known as Acre, the rate is lower in the first year. The optional flat-rate tax payment adds 1.7 % of turnover and settles income tax on the activity.
The catch is the flat rate: actual costs are not deducted. For income tax, turnover is reduced by a 50 % flat allowance, whatever your real costs. A VTC driver paying for a rental car, fuel and platform commission may well spend more than that. The micro regime stays open while annual turnover is no more than €83,600 in 2026. VAT follows a separate threshold, €37,500, explained in the VAT for VTC and taxi drivers guide.
Sole trader on the real regime
The same sole trader can leave the flat-rate scheme for the real regime, keep proper accounts, deduct actual costs and pay contributions on profit. Since the 2026 reform, the self-employed contribution base is professional income less a 26 % allowance. Service-public gives, as a rough guide, contributions of about 45 % of income for a sole trader (page F37396). Since 15 May 2022, a sole trader’s business and personal assets are separated automatically.
The site’s net income calculator handles both regimes with Urssaf’s 2026 scales: it is the right tool to see at what level of costs the real regime pays off.
The EURL: a company with self-employed status
An EURL is a limited company with a single partner and no minimum capital (page F37777). The sole partner-manager is self-employed and pays self-employed contributions on their pay. If the EURL is taxed as a company, dividends above 10 % of the capital are added to the contribution base, so with €1,000 of capital almost every dividend bears contributions. An EURL taxed under income tax works out like a sole trader on the real regime, which is what the calculator models.
The SASU: employee-like status, corporation tax
The SASU president is treated like an employee and covered by the general social security scheme. On any salary, the president pays the same contributions as an executive employee, except unemployment insurance, which they cannot claim (page F36240). With no salary there are no contributions, and no entitlements either.
The SASU pays corporation tax on its profit. According to page F36215, the standard rate is 25 %, with a reduced 15 % on the first €42,500 of profit for companies with turnover under €10,000,000, subject to conditions. Profit paid out as dividends is then taxed at the 31.4 % flat rate or, on election, at progressive rates after a 40 % allowance. A SASU under 5 years old, with fewer than 50 staff and turnover under €10,000,000, may opt for income tax for up to 5 financial years, once only.
The calculator at the top of the page shows what remains of a profit paid out entirely as dividends. It does not model a president’s salary: the employee-like contribution rates are not yet in the site’s engine, and we would rather not show an incomplete figure.
How to decide
- Starting out with modest costs: the micro-enterprise lets you try the job without an accountant.
- Heavy real costs (financed car, commission, fuel): compare micro and real regimes with the net income calculator; for income tax, the real regime gives a lower base once costs pass half of turnover, but contributions follow a different calculation.
- Hiring, taking a partner or keeping profit in the business: a company makes sense, with a chartered accountant.
- Cover close to an employee’s: a SASU paying a salary, accepting higher contributions and no unemployment benefit.
The bookkeeping each regime requires, and the costs you can deduct, are set out on the driver costs and bookkeeping page. Changing structure later creates a new business, which has to be entered on the VTC register.