Who is the auto-entrepreneur status for?

• EFL teachers with marketable skills and good presentation; you need to be able to identify your strengths and sell yourself to potential clients.
• People with good organizational skills, capable of autonomy; you need to be able to manage your schedule and keep up with the paperwork (website, brochure, proposals, programmes, invoicing) especially at the beginning.
• Anyone with a minimum level of French (or kind friends); the admin does require a certain level of French.

What are the advantages of auto-entrepreneur status for an EFL teacher?

In order to work in some Parisian language schools, teachers are being required to have auto-entrepreneur status. We can all see the benefits to the employer : no paperwork, no employers’ charges on your hourly rate, no obligation to give regular work.

But what is in it for you as a teacher?

You only pay tax or social charges on your real earnings. If you earn nothing, you pay nothing.
These social and fiscal charges will represent a maximum of 23% of your turnover for services (consulting, private lessons, workshops).

You diversify your client base and manage the quiet months better : with A-E status, you can work in higher education (universities or business schools), language schools, and/or with private clients (individuals or businesses) doing teaching, coaching or translation.

You become easily employable, from 5 hours to 500 hours’ work, invoicing each employer at the end of the month.

So, where’s the catch?
Unlike the “independent” status, you can’t claim VAT on purchases, transport costs (monthly travelcard) or lunch expenses.
So, no “free” lunches, laptops or iphones…
And your earnings are capped at 32 000 € per year.

The auto-entrepreneur status in a nutshell

Click on the title to link to a translation of the official auto-entrepreneur document.

In the past small businesses or freelancers have found it difficult to pay social charges and taxes because figures have been based on government projections, leaving many with bills before they have earned a centime.

But the auto-entrepreneur system allows new start-ups the opportunity to pay tax and social charges each month or each quarter based upon their turnover, and so alleviate some of the initial costs.