Invoicing a foreign client as a French micro-entrepreneur

A client in Berlin, London or New York? Good news: the invoice is no more complicated than in France, as long as you choose the right VAT wording.

Scope: services provided by a freelancer established in France under the VAT exemption scheme for small businesses (franchise en base). Specific rules apply to services linked to real estate, events, transport, and electronic services sold to consumers: check with your SIE.

The right VAT wording for your client

VAT wording to put on the invoice depending on the client (freelancer established in France under the VAT exemption scheme, services)

Your client	Wording on the invoice	Good to know
Business in France	TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI	Standard wording under the exemption scheme.
Business in another EU country	Autoliquidation (reverse charge)	Invoice without VAT. Show your EU VAT number and the client's. File a European services declaration (DES).
Business outside the EU (UK, US, Switzerland…)	TVA non applicable – art. 259-1 du CGI	Invoice without VAT. No DES. Keep proof that the client is a business.
Private individual in France	TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI	Standard wording under the exemption scheme.
Private individual abroad	Usually: TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI	Exceptions depend on the type of service: check with your SIE.

The wording stays in French on the invoice because it refers to the French Tax Code. You can add a translation next to it, e.g. “VAT not applicable – art. 259-1 of the French Tax Code”.

EU business client, 3 steps

1. Get an EU VAT number, even under the exemption scheme. It is free: ask your SIE through the secure messaging of your professional account on impots.gouv.fr.
2. Check your client’s VAT number with the European Commission’s free VIES tool.
3. File the DES in your professional customs account, no later than the 10th working day of the month following the month VAT becomes chargeable.

Non-EU business client

Keep evidence that your client acts as a business (contract, company details, registration or tax ID, payment from a business account).

No longer under the exemption scheme

“Autoliquidation” and “TVA non applicable – art. 259-1 du CGI” remain valid for business clients abroad. Your invoices in France and to private clients then include French VAT.

Foreign currency and invoices in English

• Foreign currency: state in the quote who pays conversion and bank fees, and keep your books in euros, based on the amount actually received.
• Invoices in English: they are accepted, but keep the mandatory French mentions (SIRET, VAT wording…).

Our invoice generator creates FR, UK and US invoices, in French or English, with the right VAT wording. The other details a French invoice must show are explained in the French invoice requirements checklist.

And from 2027?

On 1 January 2027, French VAT moves from the General Tax Code (CGI) to the Code of taxes on goods and services (CIBS) (ordinance no. 2026-671 of 27 July 2026). For invoices issued from that date, the exemption wording becomes “TVA non applicable, art. L. 233-3 du CIBS”; our tools pick it from the issue date. The former CGI reference remains accepted until 30 June 2028 (art. 17 of the ordinance). The other references in the table, such as art. 259-1 du CGI, may be renumbered too: we will update the table once each new article has been re-read on Légifrance.

Mandatory e-invoicing covers transactions between businesses established in France. For your foreign clients, you will report the data of these transactions (“e-reporting”) through your approved platform. We explain the timeline in our e-invoicing guide.

The other way round, a business abroad billing a French company? See invoicing a client in France from the US or UK.