Are you planning to combine auto-entrepreneur status with a limited liability company (SARL)? This strategy enables you to diversify your sources of income while optimizing your tax situation. Combining these two legal structures is perfectly legal in France, but requires a precise understanding of the applicable rules. Find out how to structure your professional activities effectively by combining these two business forms, while complying with tax and social security obligations. This page is part of our section on microenterprises and business combinations.

What is auto-entrepreneur and SARL combined?

Combining an auto-entrepreneur and a limited liability company (SARL) means that the same entrepreneur can simultaneously run a business under the micro-entrepreneur scheme and be the manager or partner of a limited liability company (SARL). This configuration makes it possible to separate two distinct activities, or to test a new project without impacting your main structure. The two structures remain legally independent, with separate tax and social security obligations, providing valuable strategic flexibility for developing multiple sources of income.

Legal conditions for combining these two statuses

Two essential conditions must be met before you can combine your two activities. Firstly, the activities carried out must be clearly distinct: you cannot invoice the same customer for the same services via both structures. Secondly, you must comply with the auto-entreprise sales ceilings: €188,700 for commercial activities and €77,700 for services and liberal professions in 2024. These thresholds apply solely to your auto-entrepreneur activity, irrespective of the sales of your SARL.

Each structure requires a separate declaration to the relevant bodies. To ensure compliance with these conditions and avoid any risk of requalification, the support of a specialized accounting firm can prove invaluable from the outset.

Tax system applicable to accumulation

Self-employment taxation

As an auto-entrepreneur, you benefit from the micro-tax system. You declare your sales, and the authorities apply a flat-rate deduction: 71% for purchase-sale activities, 50% for commercial and craft services, and 34% for liberal professions.

You can also opt to pay income tax in full discharge if your reference tax income does not exceed certain thresholds. This option allows you to pay tax at the same time as your social security contributions, at a rate varying from 1% to 2.2% depending on your activity.

Taxation of LLCs

SARLs are subject to corporate income tax (impôt sur les sociétés – IS) by default, with a reduced rate of 15% up to €42,500 profit, then 25% above that. You can also opt for income tax (IR) for the first five financial years if the SARL meets certain conditions. Managing your SARL’s annual accounts requires particular rigor.

Dividends received as a partner are taxed at the progressive income tax rate, after application of a 40% allowance. The majority shareholder’s remuneration, on the other hand, is taxed as salary and wages. To optimize your situation, it is essential to understand the effective tax rate applicable to your overall situation. The support of a specialized accounting firm can prove invaluable for the bookkeeping and tax auditing of your two structures.

Self-employment taxation

As an auto-entrepreneur, you benefit from the simplified micro-tax system: you declare your sales and the administration automatically applies a flat-rate allowance (varying from 34% to 71% depending on the nature of your activity). You can also opt to pay income tax in full discharge (1% to 2.2% depending on your activity) if your reference tax income respects certain ceilings, enabling you to pay tax at the same time as your social security contributions.

Taxation of LLCs

SARLs are subject to corporate income tax (impôt sur les sociétés – IS) by default, with a reduced rate of 15% up to €42,500 profit, then 25% thereafter. You can also opt for income tax (IR) for the first five financial years if the SARL meets certain conditions. Dividends and management remuneration are taxed according to specific rules that should be optimized. To maximize your overall tax situation, it’s essential to understand the effective tax rate applicable, and to enlist the support of a specialized accounting firm.

Social security contributions: what you need to know

Two distinct social security systems are involved. With a self-employed company, you pay flat-rate social security contributions calculated on your sales: around 12.3% for commercial activities, 21.2% for the provision of services, and 21.1% for the liberal professions. In the case of a SARL, the majority shareholder is covered by the TNS system, with contributions calculated on the basis of actual remuneration, while the minority or equal shareholder is covered by the general Social Security system as an assimilated employee.

Please note: contributions for both activities are added together, with no overall ceiling. You need to anticipate this overall charge in your financial strategy to avoid unpleasant surprises and preserve your net profitability.

Strategic advantages of accumulation

This configuration offers several concrete advantages. It allows you to test a new activity with a minimum of administrative formalities via the auto-entreprise, while retaining the credibility of a corporate structure for your main customers. It also allows you to separate the risks between the two structures, with differentiated asset protection.

From a tax point of view, you can optimize your taxation by cleverly dividing your income between the two structures. For example, keep your high-margin activities in the SARL to benefit from the corporation tax, and carry out complementary activities in the auto-entreprise to benefit from the simplicity of the micro-tax regime.

Limits and precautions

Combining these two structures entails major administrative and tax risks. The tax authorities may requalify your auto-entreprise as a hidden activity of the SARL if the two structures carry out similar activities for the same customers, resulting in substantial tax and social security adjustments. In addition, management is considerably more complex: you have to keep two separate sets of accounts, file separate tax returns and manage two business bank accounts. This administrative burden requires rigorous organization or the support of a specialized chartered accountant.

Combining two or more businesses also generates a high social security charge, as contributions are added together with no overall ceiling, significantly reducing your net profitability. It’s crucial to calculate your net taxable profit precisely, in order to assess the economic relevance of accumulation.

Alternatives to combining auto-entrepreneur and SARL

Depending on your situation, other structures may be appropriate: the SASU offers greater flexibility for remuneration and dividends, the switch from micro-entreprise to sole proprietorship under the “régime réel” is suitable if your expenses are high, or wage portage for certain activities requiring full social protection.

Practical steps to set up the cumulation

To combine auto-entrepreneur and SARL, create or regularize your auto-entrepreneur status via the guichet unique des formalités des entreprises. You’ll receive a registration number separate from that of your SARL. You should also open a bank account dedicated to your auto-entrepreneur activity, which is compulsory as soon as your sales exceed €10,000 for two consecutive years, and keep the financial flows of the two structures strictly separate.

Adapt your professional insurance to cover both activities, and set up a rigorous accounting system with separate invoicing tools. Carefully archive all supporting documents: this preventive organization will protect you in the event of a tax or social security audit.

Tax optimization for multiple jobholding: expert advice

To maximize the benefits of tax accumulation, plan your tax returns carefully, taking into account the different tax deadlines. The auto-entreprise requires monthly or quarterly sales declarations, while the SARL follows an annual tax calendar with IS installments. Consider opting for the “versement libératoire de l’impôt sur le revenu” system, if your situation allows: this flat-rate system simplifies the tax management of your auto-entrepreneur activity, and avoids major regularizations at the end of the year.

To secure your set-up and achieve optimum taxation, consult a tax lawyer specializing in corporate legal structures. Expert support will help you avoid costly mistakes, particularly the risk of requalification, and optimize your overall tax situation while complying with the reporting obligations of both structures.