To stay tax compliant is of course one of the most important things for online businesses. Founding a company, storing goods, and several other reasons might make a VAT registration necessary. Reaching the VAT threshold limit with your annual turnover from country A to country B is also a reason for a mandatory VAT registration, filings, VAT returns, etc. In this article we tell you all about the VAT threshold in France.
Antonia Klatt
Last Updated on 22 October 2021
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No content has been found here, sorry 🙂Actual VAT Threshold Limit: France
Up until July 2021, selling abroad and reaching the country-specific annual distance selling limits required a VAT registration in the respective country. Of course, there are several other reason but now we focus on distance selling and on the annual VAT threshold limit of France.
Since July 2021 reaching country-specific VAT thresholds is no longer decicive when it comes to VAT responsibilities. Those were abolished. In it’s place, a new EU-wide threshold for distance selling of € 10,000 has been introduced. Distance sales below this threshold are taxed at the local VAT rate and VAT is paid in the home country. When the sales of goods and services exceed this new, lower limit, the country-specific VAT rate needs to be used, the VAT needs to be paid in, and VAT registration & co. are to be paid to the specific countries.
Example
When you are selling your goods from a warehouse in Germany to customers all over Europe, the VAT registration was only necessary if the annual threshold limit of the country you are selling to was reached.
Threshold Limit France: when importing from Germany to France for example, the annual threshold limit was 35 000€. After reaching this amount you needed to get a French VAT number.
Any distance sales value between 10 000€ and 35 000€ are already above the new e EU-wide VAT threshold. While the first 10 000€ are still taxed with the german VAT rate and VAT needs to be paid in Germany, each additional Euro starting at 10 001€ must be taxed with the french VAT rate and VAT is due in France. Starting at that threshold registration for VAT and filing of VAT returns are also necessary in France.
Threshold Limit in France in USD & EUR
If your are selling below the threshold, you won’t need to register for VAT. However, as soon as it’s reached, a VAT registration, returns and filings are also necessary.
Attention: Since the new VAT threshold of 10 000€ applies across the EU, it is possible to be subject to VAT in France with a turnover of as little as 1€. If the threshold is reached across board, for example through a lot of sales to Poland and Spain and a single sale to France, VAT registration is due in all of these countries at the same time. Individual thresholds are no longer decisive.
| US-Dollar | Euro | |
| previous VAT threshold Limit France | ~ $38 000 | 35 000€ |
| new EU-wide VAT threshold | ~ $11 900 | 10 000€ |
If it is clear, that the lower 10 000€ threshold will be reached either way, a registration for the one-stop shop or “OSS” process might be useful. While the threshold is no longer applicable here, the process significantly simplifies the VAT registration, filings of returns, and payment of VAT in several countries at the same time. Hellotax can also help with OSS registration.
