Can I Claim Software and Subscriptions as a Business Expense in France?
Yes. Software and online subscriptions used for the business are normal company costs. They reduce taxable profit under the impôt sur les sociétés, and the TVA on a French invoice can be deducted when the company is registered for VAT.
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What Direction générale des Finances publiques (DGFiP) says
A cost reduces the profit on which a French company pays IS when it is incurred in the interest of the business, is supported by a document and is booked in the right financial year. Business software, cloud hosting, domain names, design tools and accounting tools all meet that test when they are used for the activity. For TVA, the rule in the BOFiP is that the company can deduct the VAT shown on an invoice made out in the company's name, as long as the purchase is allocated to the needs of its taxable business. So a French supplier invoice for a subscription, in the company's name with its SIREN, carries VAT that the company can deduct on its CA3 return, which cuts the amount it pays. A company in the franchise en base (below the EUR 37,500 services or EUR 85,000 goods thresholds) charges no VAT and deducts none, so for it the full price is the cost. Suppliers based outside France, such as many software companies, issue invoices without French VAT; ask your expert-comptable how the VAT on those purchases is declared on the CA3, because it is not simply ignored. Keep every invoice in a form you can produce for an audit.
When you can claim
- Accounting, invoicing, project and CRM software used by the company
- Cloud hosting, storage and domain names for the business
- Design, development, writing and communication tools used for client work
- Paid seats for employees or associates working in the business
- Annual plans paid in advance, which your expert-comptable spreads over the months they cover
- AI tools and data services used to run the company
When you cannot claim
- Personal streaming, gaming or entertainment subscriptions
- Software used mainly for private purposes
- Subscriptions billed to a director's personal account and used outside the business
Good to know
Pro tip: Pay business subscriptions from the company account or card so every charge matches a document in the company's name. When an invoice is addressed to you personally, ask the supplier to reissue it to the company, because the VAT can only be deducted on an invoice in the company's name.
Important: AccountsOS records the purchase, reads the VAT shown on the invoice and prepares the figures for your CA3. The company or its expert-comptable files the return in the company's espace professionnel on impots.gouv.fr.
Related expenses
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