Taxes

France — Tax: VAT

France applies a standard VAT (TVA) rate of 20% on most goods and services, with three reduced rates: 10% (restaurants, transport, some agricultural products), 5.5% (most foodstuffs, books, energy — extended to network-distributed cooling energy from 21 February 2026), and 2.1% (certain medicines and the press). Rates themselves are unchanged for 2026, though the classification of some goods/services into rate categories has shifted.

impots.gouv.fr — Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée (TVA) · Last verified 2026-07-20

Key Facts

  • Standard rate: 20% — most goods and services.
  • Intermediate rate: 10% — restaurants, passenger transport, some agricultural products.
  • Reduced rate: 5.5% — most foodstuffs, books, energy (extended to network cooling energy from 21 Feb 2026).
  • Super-reduced rate: 2.1% — certain medicines and press publications.

Costs

  • Standard VAT rate: 20%
  • Intermediate rate: 10%
  • Reduced rate: 5.5%
  • Super-reduced rate: 2.1%

Common Mistakes

  • Assuming a single VAT rate applies uniformly — France uses four distinct rates depending on goods/service category.

Related Topics

corporate-taxaccounting
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