Your French Tax Declaration

Even occasional lessons must be officially declared.

The problem. Many people teaching language, art or yoga classes in France, whether online or in a studio, don’t realise they’re legally required to register as professionals. Even if it’s just a side hustle bringing in less than €8,000 a year, it’s classed as a professional activity. 

Not registering can cost up to €45,000 in fines, backdated social charges and loss of healthcare and pension rights.

The options. There are two routes:

• Micro-entrepreneur. Best if you teach online, at your home or in a rented space. Online setup, quarterly declarations and no VAT or accounting obligations. You get a SIRET number and basic social cover. You must declare all income on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr and the turnover cap for teaching is: €77,700.
• CESU. If you only teach at the client’s home they can hire you using CESU. You don’t need to register a business and your employer (the client) handles payslips and declarations. It’s fully legal but limited to in-home services.

Takeaway. If you teach classes in France, even part-time, you must register or be hired legally. For mixed setups, it’s possible to use CESU for home-based lessons and micro-entrepreneur status for the rest.