Definition
A developer receives the monthly invoice for the tool he uses to track his projects, bought from a publisher based in Ireland: €40, no VAT anywhere, and a line at the bottom he had never noticed, "reverse charge".
He files it away, reassured: no VAT, so nothing to do. It is exactly the opposite. That line means VAT does exist on this purchase, and that declaring it is now his job.
The reverse charge, autoliquidation de la TVA in French, moves the payment of the tax from the seller to the buyer.
In the usual circuit, the seller adds VAT to the price, collects it and pays it over to the Treasury.
Under the reverse charge, the seller invoices net of tax and the customer declares the VAT due on the transaction himself, in his own country.
The transaction stays taxed from end to end: this is not an exemption, only the person liable changes.
The mechanism exists for business-to-business trade across borders, so that a company does not have to register for VAT in every state where it sells a service.
For a micro-entrepreneur it shows up in two opposite directions, and the more frequent one is not the one people expect.
When you buy, and when you sell
On a purchase, you become the person liable. A supplier established outside France invoices you net of tax, and it falls to you to declare and then pay the French VAT on that purchase.
This holds even if you fall under the VAT exemption scheme: the French tax administration writes that a micro-entrepreneur has no VAT return to file "as a general rule", and that reservation points at exactly these situations, purchases from an EU supplier and import VAT included.
Filing a VAT return then becomes your business, even without having collected a single euro of tax.
On a sale, it is your customer who applies the reverse charge.
You invoice a business established in another EU member state without VAT, the invoice states that the tax is reverse-charged to the recipient, and he declares it at home.
That requires an EU VAT number on both sides, his and yours, plus a European services declaration (DES) for services.
The wording to use depending on the customer's country is set out in the Invoicing abroad entry.
A third case exists inside France, in construction subcontracting, but it only concerns businesses already liable for VAT: a subcontractor under the exemption scheme charges no VAT in any event.
An EU supplier at €11,000: the arithmetic
A reseller of accessories buys her stock in Europe. In 2026 she places two orders.
| Purchase in 2026 | Amount | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| March, Italian wholesaler | €4,000 | The supplier charges his Italian VAT |
| November, Belgian supplier | €7,000 | The running total crosses the line |
| Total goods bought within the EU | €11,000 | €10,000 a year threshold crossed |
Above €10,000 of goods bought within the European Union over the year, the threshold applicable in 2026, she requests an intra-EU VAT number, her suppliers stop charging their national VAT, and she reverse-charges French VAT on those purchases.
For services bought within the Union, no threshold shields anyone: the obligation starts at the very first euro, which puts a €40 monthly subscription, €480 over the year, in exactly the same position as those €11,000 of goods.
The French exemption scheme does not shelter you from the reverse charge, it makes it more expensive. You pay VAT you have charged to nobody, and you do not get it back, because the exemption rules out any Input VAT deduction on purchases.
A service bought outside France therefore costs you its net price plus the tax you declare yourself: the price shown on the publisher's website is not the price you pay.
Three invoices without VAT, three different reasons
An invoice without VAT says nothing on its own, and the three cases are confused constantly.
Under the exemption scheme, it is the business that is relieved as long as its previous-year turnover stays below €85,000 in total and €37,500 for the services share, the thresholds applicable in 2026, and its invoice carries the Article 293 B notice.
Under the reverse charge, the transaction is genuinely taxable, the tax is simply declared by the other party, and the invoice must say so.
Under an exemption by nature, it is the activity itself that escapes VAT, whatever the amount collected.
The practical consequence fits in one sentence: the wording follows the reason, and the two are not interchangeable.
Add a rule that the Bulletin officiel des finances publiques, the official tax doctrine, applies without mercy: any VAT written on an invoice becomes payable simply because it was written there.
You can then see why a badly configured invoice on a reverse-charged transaction gets corrected the same day.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need an intra-EU VAT number to apply the reverse charge?
Yes, and it is not issued as a matter of course while you are under the exemption scheme.
You request it from your service des impôts des entreprises (business tax office) through the secure messaging of your professional account, and it is issued entirely free of charge: letters offering to obtain it for a fee are commercial offers.
In 2026 it becomes mandatory in three cases, goods bought within the Union above €10,000 a year, services bought or supplied within the Union from the first euro, and distance sales to European consumers above €10,000 a year.
Does reverse-charging a purchase cost me the exemption scheme?
No.
The exemption thresholds are measured on what you collect, €85,000 on the previous year and €93,500 on the current year for total national turnover in 2026, €37,500 and €41,250 on the same logic for the services share: a purchase does not enter that calculation, whatever its amount.
And even once liable for VAT you remain a micro-entrepreneur, the two mechanisms being entirely independent of each other.
What happens if I charge VAT on a reverse-charged transaction?
You become liable for it simply for having mentioned it, and your customer cannot deduct it: he loses it outright.
The mistake therefore costs money on both sides of the invoice, which is why it is put right with a corrective invoice without waiting for the end of the quarter, deposits already issued included.
Do the rules change in 2027?
VAT rules move into a new code, the code des impositions sur les biens et services (CIBS), on 1 January 2027.
The exemption wording follows: "TVA non applicable, article 293 B du CGI" until 31 December 2026, then "TVA non applicable, article L. 233-3 du CIBS", the old one remaining accepted until 30 June 2028.
The wording "Autoliquidation" cites no article and does not change with the new code. The reference to article 283-2 of the code général des impôts remains accepted until 30 June 2028; after that, write "Autoliquidation" or refer to article 196 of directive 2006/112/EC.
No other change is confirmed to date for 2027. This page is up to date as of 5 September 2026 and will be revised when the finance act is published.