Do self-employed people in France put their personal assets at risk?
Rules for self-employed workers are different than for employees
Main properties cannot be seized from self-employed people
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Reader Question: I have an idea for a business venture in France and am considering becoming a self-employed person. However I do not want to put all of my assets at risk – especially my house. Are they separated?
Choosing to become a self-employed worker in France does have risks associated with it, and there are several considerations.
The first thing to do is ensure you are eligible to work through your residency permit in France, as some visas do not allow for work of any kind including self-employment.
This also applies to people arriving to work specifically as a self-employed person who may not be free to start businesses other than the one they specified when applying.
Many self-employed people in France launch their businesses under the micro-enterprise regime, which you can read more about here. The alternative is generally a set-up under the réel (real expenses) regime.
You also need to check which of the major categories of work your activity would fall under, eg. commerce, trades (artisanat) or services.
Note, however that self-employed workers in creative industries such as authors and artists belong to a separate group called artiste-autuer, which benefit from specific social security regimes.
It is also worth keeping an eye on VAT changes, with the French government attempting several times in the last year to lower VAT thresholds for self-employed workers.
An earlier version of the reform – seeing all self-employed VAT thresholds drop to €25,000 – was definitively rejected earlier this year.
An attempted compromise – seeing it drop to €37,500 for commercial self-employed workers (the current rate for artisans, etc) and remain at €25,000 for workers in construction – was included in the draft 2026 budget.
MPs voted to remove the amendment, but it may be reinstated in the final form of the text.
Property can be protected
One stated risk of becoming self-employed is of course that you are self-financing and potentially putting yourself at economic risk.
As a business owner, you are subject to the ebb and flow of commercial activity, and in a situation where the number of clientele drops, so will profits.
Most self-employed people have responsabilité illimitée (unlimited liability) with regard to their venture.
However, there are some measures in place to limit the impact of a failed venture.
As a sole proprietor of the business, the main residence (résidence principale) of a self-employed person is considered to fall outside their liabilities related to their business.
It is also possible to create a déclaration d’insaisissabilité, which allows for other properties to also be protected.
The declaration does not cover your main home – protected as standard – but can include other properties such as a second home or empty land plot, provided it is not used in any way by the business.
It must be drawn up by a notaire (costing around €140) and include information such as ownership status (singular, jointly owned by a couple) and whether protection applies to full ownership, usufruct of the property, etc.
Once signed, it must be filed with the land registry and placed in a public register – your notaire will know the correct procedure in your area.
Note this applies only to debts incurred after the declaration is published, and not any before, so should be done as soon as you set up your business.
Finally, there are two options called the EURL and SASU which involve setting up the business as a kind of ‘one-person company’, and which allow for limited liability (ie. a separation between assets used for the business and your own personal assets).
These are, however, more complex to set up and run.
Limited liability for loans
In addition, assets related to the business (utiles à l'activité) are automatically separated from other assets held by the owner for the purpose of gaining financing for the venture.
This includes merchandise, equipment, intangible assets, property (or parts of a property) used for the business, etc.
These assets are the only kind that can be used by creditors as general security (gage général) when looking for financing.
A self-employed person setting up a new business can waive this liability (partially or fully) to include other personal assets as security to gain greater financing, in which case they must specifically state what they are waiving liability for and what the value of this is.
In cases of fraud, tax officials can seize both business and personal assets to pay for debts, regardless of liability status.
