The deadline for changing your status is February 28th, so you have one month to do so. The application form can be downloaded at www.lautoentrepreneur.fr . I have been strongly advising any professional who qualifies for this new status to sign up for it. This is one of the very rare occasions where it is good for everybody involved and does not involve a case-by-case review of each individual situation. This new status comes with significantly less paperwork for all the branches of the French administration and with lower taxes, specifically concerning les charges socials, a vague equivalent to Social Security.

The key point is that this is not a termination of your old status and registration for a new one, but is merely a change of fiscal status within the same category. I can assure you that this possibility of switching to auto-entrepreneur status is unexpected good news from a division of the French administration known to be exceedingly rigid. Considering the number of people who will be applying, I hope that they will be able to handle the demand, since it goes against their “inborn logic.”

Jean Taquet holds a masters degree in law from the Sorbonne University and the French BTS accounting degree. He served as a jurist officer in the French Army in1985. He has been managing the refugee ministry of the American church since 1993, and has written the Question and Answer column in the Paris Free Voice. Read his complete bio .

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