The French government has put in place various schemes to help small businesses and the self-employed in France that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s a useful list of things you can do to help your business while lockdown is in place.
1. Assistance from Action Sanitaire et Sociale
You can get help from Action Sanitaire et Sociale (ASS), which helps small businesses and freelancers cope during difficult situations.
You can only claim financial help if you are a freelancer or entrepreneur that has run into exceptional difficulty during the Corona crisis and can prove that your business has been severely disrupted.
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To do so, you will have to fill out an Action Sanitaire et Sociale application form, stating your finances, level of debts, cash flow and give clear information showing the loss of trade – for instance show what you earned in the same months the previous year.
2. Request payment delays from URSSAF
URSSAF are allowing businesses to reschedule declarations and payments of social charges. They will also cancel any late penalties which are normally put into force if you miss the payment deadline.
You can request payment rescheduling at URSSAF by going online by clicking on this link URSSAF or calling them direct. And you can check out which information is needed by taking a look at this application form.
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For activities relating to MSA, such as gardeners, landscape designer, farmers, wine producers, you will need to get in touch with MSA to request similar help.
To make sure you get your help swiftly, it’s advised to get in contact with your accountant to compile a file and a clear covering letter as to why you require the help.
3. Get help with tax payments
You can suspend your CFE payment if you have opted to pay your Contribution Fonciere des Entreprises (CFE) on a monthly basis. You can suspend this regular tax payment by logging into your account at impots.gouv.fr account.
For those paying their income tax at source, you can also modify your personal income tax rate at any time. This procedure is accessible via your personal impot account at Impot Gouv. This has to be done before the 22nd of the month in order to be taken into account for the following month.
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It will also come to some relief that the declaration for personal income tax has been delayed. Instead of having everything in by April, paper declarations can now be returned by June 12th, while online declarations will have to be completed between June 4th or 11th depending on what region you live in.
4. Let the authorities know if you get ill with Covid 19
You are are unable to work due to becoming ill with Covid-19 you can declare your situation to CPAM/Securite sociale by going online
- Go to https://declare.ameli.fr/
- Under “identifiant” choose SIRET
- Add your SIRET number in “numero employeur”
- Add you name and surname in “raison sociale”. As a sole trader, your official company name is your name and surname.
- Add your email address
- Tick “je certifie que cette declaration concerne des employes ne pouvant pas travailler”. You are not an employee, but this refers to you still.
- Click on “ajouter un employé and add your details.
For more information, get in touch direct with your accountant, Impot or URSSAF for correct procedures and support.
And for more information regarding company formation, business bank accounts in France, finding English-speaking French accountants to help with specialist tax advice, or finding a registered address in France, feel free call us on 0033 (0) 1 53 57 49 10 or email us via our contact page. You are also welcome to download our free guides below.