Closing a French sole trader business — declaration and striking off

To close down for good, a sole trader files a cessation of activity declaration on the company formalities window website, within 30 days of stopping the business. That declaration is not enough on its own: several tax and social security steps must also be completed. For a sole trader, only once they are done is the business struck off the various registers and left with no legal existence; for a micro-entrepreneur, the official page specific to them states that the cessation declaration strikes the business off the national business register automatically — and off the trade and companies register where the activity is commercial — so those steps remain due but do not gate that striking off. The deadlines follow one another and must not be confused: 30 days to declare the cessation, then 60 days for the final return of profit, 30 days for the final VAT return under the standard VAT regime, 60 days for the CVAE, and, as a sole trader, 90 days after being struck off for the income declaration to the Urssaf. That 60-day deadline for the return of profit is the one the sole trader page sets for both regimes, under the standard regime and as a micro-entrepreneur alike; the page specific to micro-entrepreneurs instead points to the income tax filing season. The two official pages diverge: while the gap remains, the shorter deadline — 60 days — is the prudent course. One major legal effect comes with cessation, and it is too often overlooked: the sole trader's business and personal estates are MERGED into a single estate, and creditors may then claim payment against all of their assets.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 40 min

Deadlines

30 days to declare the cessation: Within 30 days of the business stopping, the sole trader files a cessation of activity declaration on the company formalities window website.
60 days for the final return of profit (sole trader page, standard regime and micro-entrepreneur alike): Within 60 days of the cessation date, the trader files online a final return of profit or a supplementary return to the income tax return, according to their tax regime. This deadline is the one served by the sole trader page, checked 21 February 2026, for both regimes: under the standard regime, and as a micro-entrepreneur with a supplementary return no. 2042-C PRO. The page specific to micro-entrepreneurs, checked 9 December 2025, instead points to the income tax filing season and carries no 60-day deadline. The two official pages diverge: while the gap remains, the shorter deadline — 60 days — is the prudent course.
30 days for the final VAT return under the standard VAT regime: Under the standard VAT regime, a return no. 3310-CA3-SD is due within 30 days of the cessation of activity. A micro-entrepreneur who is liable for VAT files a return no. 3517-S-SD (CA12) within 60 days of the cessation.
60 days for the CVAE return: A return for the local value-added business levy is due where turnover exceeds €152,500: return no. 1330-CVAE-SD within 60 days of the end of the activity, and a liquidation and adjustment return no. 1329-DEF above €500,000 of annual turnover excluding tax.
90 days for the income declaration to the Urssaf, as a sole trader: Within 90 days of being struck off, the sole trader declares the income of the last 2 years through the Urssaf online account, so that the Urssaf can compute the contributions. A micro-entrepreneur declares their final turnover on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr: within 30 days of the definitive closure if they declared monthly, within the month following the calendar quarter of the closure if they declared quarterly.

Documents to prepare

The exact date the business stopped, which starts every deadline running
Access to the company formalities window (personal user account or an industrial property office e-procédures account)
The digital documents the formality asks for
Turnover or receipts earned from 1 January to the cessation date
The profits tax regime and the VAT regime, which govern which returns are due
A delegation or mandate contract, if the formality is entrusted to an employee or a third party
Access to the Urssaf online account — autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr as a micro-entrepreneur — for the final income or turnover declaration
The income of the last 2 years, which the Urssaf asks for after a sole trader is struck off

See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

Sole traders voluntarily closing their business, whatever their tax regime
Micro-entrepreneurs, who use the same window and the same 30-day deadline, but a separate official page that points the return of profit to the income tax filing season, where the sole trader page sets the same 60-day deadline for them
Sole traders under the standard regime, who file a final 2031-SD return for commercial profits or 2035-SD for professional profits
Sole traders registered for VAT, who must file a final VAT return online according to their regime, simplified or standard
Sole traders who stopped part-way through the year, who may ask for a reduction of their local business property levy

Worked example

Example: Karim, a graphic designer as a micro-entrepreneur, closes in April

Karim works as a micro-entrepreneur under the professional-profits regime and stops trading on 15 April 2026. He has 30 days, until 15 May, to file his cessation declaration on the company formalities window: he logs in with his user account, enters the information, attaches the digital documents, and tracks progress from the dashboard of his personal account. Once that declaration is filed, the social security side opens: he declares his final turnover on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr — within 30 days of the definitive closure if he declared monthly, within the month following the calendar quarter of the closure if he declared quarterly — and pays his contributions within 30 days of the cessation date. On the tax side, two official pages do not agree: the sole trader page gives him 60 days from 15 April for his final return of profit, while the page specific to micro-entrepreneurs points him to the income tax filing season. He keeps to the shorter one, and carries the turnover earned from 1 January to 15 April onto a supplementary return no. 2042-C PRO, from his personal tax account at impots.gouv.fr. Any tax claimed at that point will then be set against the income tax computed on all of his income for the year. Having stopped part-way through the year, he waits for his local business property levy assessment, then claims relief for the months without activity. As his turnover is far below €152,500, no CVAE return falls due. What he takes away above all: since cessation, his business estate and personal estate are merged, and his business creditors can be paid out of all of his assets.

How to fill it in, step by step

Declare the cessation within 30 days of stopping the business, on the company formalities window website — since 1 January 2023 this single window replaces the abolished business formality centres and covers every business, whatever its legal form or activity.
Create your user account on first login if you have none: it is personal. Anyone holding an "e-procédures" account with the French industrial property office can use it to log in.
Enter the information online and attach the digital documents required; you can save a draft and finish later, and track progress from the dashboard of your personal account.
File your final return of profit within 60 days of the cessation date: under the standard regime, return no. 2031-SD for commercial profits or no. 2035-SD for professional profits; as a micro-entrepreneur, a supplementary return no. 2042-C PRO on the personal tax account, carrying the turnover or receipts from 1 January to the cessation date. That 60-day deadline is the one the sole trader page sets for both regimes; the page specific to micro-entrepreneurs instead points to the income tax filing season — the two pages diverge, so keep to the shorter deadline.
Send that return digitally — paper forms are no longer accepted: online entry in EFI mode from the business account, EDI mode through software or an agent, or the Portailpro account.
File a final VAT return online if your business was registered for VAT: under the standard VAT regime, a return no. 3310-CA3-SD within 30 days of the cessation. As a micro-entrepreneur, the small-business exemption relieves you of declaring and paying VAT; only where you opt for a standard regime or exceed the threshold is a return no. 3517-S-SD (CA12) due within 60 days.
Ask the business tax office for a reduction of your local business property levy if you stopped part-way through the year, through the secure messaging of the business account or by post — as a micro-entrepreneur, after the assessment has been received — and file a return no. 1330-CVAE-SD within 60 days if your turnover exceeds €152,500, or no. 1329-DEF above €500,000 of annual turnover excluding tax.
Settle the social security side: the Urssaf is informed as soon as the cessation declaration is filed on the window, and it sends a notice of striking off and an income declaration form. As a sole trader, declare the income of the last 2 years within 90 days of being struck off, through the Urssaf online account; as a micro-entrepreneur, declare your final turnover on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr and pay your contributions within 30 days of the cessation date.
Wait for the reckoning: either further contributions are due, and you receive a demand with 30 days to settle it, or you have overpaid and you are refunded within 30 days. The Urssaf provides a simulator to compute the contributions due before stopping.
Take the measure of the effect on your estate: at cessation, the business and personal estates are merged into one, and creditors may claim payment against all of your assets.

The form, line by line

Cessation of activity declaration: Filed on the company formalities window within 30 days of the business stopping. It is what opens the process: for a sole trader, being struck off the registers only follows once every tax and social security step is done; for a micro-entrepreneur, the page specific to them states that this declaration strikes the business off the national business register automatically — and off the trade and companies register where the activity is commercial.
Return of profit — micro-entrepreneur: A supplementary return no. 2042-C PRO on the personal tax account at impots.gouv.fr, with the turnover or receipts from 1 January to the cessation date. The page specific to micro-entrepreneurs places it at the income tax filing season, on the turnover of year N-1, with no 60-day deadline; the sole trader page sets for them the same 60-day deadline as under the standard regime. The two pages diverge: keep to the shorter one.
Return of profit — standard regime: Return no. 2031-SD for commercial profits, no. 2035-SD for professional profits, necessarily filed digitally.
VAT return: A final return is filed online if the business was registered for VAT. Under the standard VAT regime: return no. 3310-CA3-SD within 30 days of the cessation. As a micro-entrepreneur: the small-business exemption relieves you of declaring and paying, unless you opt for a standard regime or exceed the threshold, in which case a return no. 3517-S-SD (CA12) is due within 60 days.
Local business property levy: A reduction can be requested where the trader stopped PART-WAY THROUGH THE YEAR: it is not applied automatically, it has to be asked for.
Local value-added business levy: A return no. 1330-CVAE-SD is due within 60 days of the end of the activity where turnover exceeds €152,500, and a liquidation and adjustment return no. 1329-DEF above €500,000 of annual turnover excluding tax.
Delegate or agent: The business owner may entrust the formality to an employee (a delegate, under a written delegation) or to anyone else (an agent, under a mandate contract, a template for which is available on the site). A copy of the delegation or mandate must be supplied when the formality is filed.
Social security steps — Urssaf: The sole trader belongs to the self-employed social security scheme and pays contributions to the Urssaf; the definitive cessation declaration removes them from that scheme. The Urssaf is informed as soon as the declaration is filed on the window, sends a notice of striking off and an income declaration form, and the declaration of the last 2 years of income is filed within 90 days of being struck off. As a micro-entrepreneur, it is the final turnover that is declared on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr, with contributions paid within 30 days of the cessation date.

Good to know

The merging of the business and personal estates at cessation is written into article L526-22 of the French Commercial Code, paragraph 8: it is the counterpart of the protection the sole trader enjoyed while trading.
To qualify for the micro-business tax regime at 1 January 2026, turnover must not exceed €203,100 for commercial activities and €83,600 for professional ones.
Any tax claimed at cessation is then set against the income tax computed on all income received during the year: it is not an extra charge, it is an advance.
The tax administration provides, for guidance only, a model of return no. 2031-SD for commercial profits and no. 2035-SD for professional profits.
The window allows a filing to be started, saved as a draft and finished later; the relevant bodies — the statistics institute, the social security and tax services, the commercial court registries, the chambers of trade — then process the information received.
A TEMPORARY cessation is not a permanent one: the window treats it as a separate process.
Two official pages coexist and do not say the same thing: the sole trader page, checked 21 February 2026, states a 60-day deadline for the return of profit as a micro-entrepreneur; the micro-entrepreneur page, checked 9 December 2025, points to the income tax filing season. Both pages were re-read on 12 September 2026 and the gap was still there. While the gap remains, ActioFin does not choose between the two pages: it gives both and keeps the shorter deadline, 60 days, as the prudent course.
The additional 15 calendar days the tax administration grants cover the VAT return no. 3310-CA3-SD under the standard VAT regime, the CVAE return no. 1330-CVAE-SD and the liquidation and adjustment return no. 1329-DEF — those and no others. The micro-entrepreneur page serves no leeway for return no. 3517-S-SD (CA12): none appears there, and leeway that is not served is not to be assumed.

Common mistakes

Assuming there are only two deadlines: 30 days to declare the cessation on the window and 60 days for the return of profit, but also 30 days for VAT under the standard VAT regime, 60 days for the CVAE and, as a sole trader, 90 days after being struck off for the Urssaf.
Assuming the cessation declaration is enough: as a sole trader, the business is only struck off once the tax and social security steps are done. As a micro-entrepreneur the striking off is automatic as soon as the declaration is filed — and the opposite mistake then waits: the tax and social security steps are still due.
Overlooking the merging of the estates: after cessation, business creditors can be paid out of all of the trader's assets.
Waiting for the levy reduction instead of asking for it: it is a request, not an automatic adjustment.
Sending a return of profit on paper: digital filing is compulsory, paper forms are no longer accepted.
Forgetting the final VAT return where the business was registered for VAT: under the standard VAT regime it is due within 30 days of the cessation.
Looking for a business formality centre: they were abolished on 1 January 2023 and replaced by the single window.
Carrying the whole year's turnover to the 2042-C PRO: only the receipts from 1 January to the cessation date belong there.
Seeing only the tax side: as a sole trader, the income declaration to the Urssaf is due within 90 days of being struck off, and further contributions are settled within 30 days of the demand.
Assuming the final VAT return has no date: it is due within 30 days of the cessation under the standard VAT regime, and within 60 days for a micro-entrepreneur who is liable.

Frequently asked questions

By when must the cessation be declared?

Within 30 days of the business stopping, on the company formalities window website.

Which return of profit must be filed, and when?

Under the standard regime, within 60 days of the cessation date: return no. 2031-SD for commercial profits or no. 2035-SD for professional profits. As a micro-entrepreneur, the sole trader page sets the same 60-day deadline, with a supplementary return no. 2042-C PRO on the personal tax account, while the page specific to micro-entrepreneurs points to the income tax filing season: the two official pages diverge on this point, and while they do, the shorter deadline — 60 days — is the prudent course.

What happens to the protection of personal assets?

It ends. On cessation of activity, the sole trader's business and personal estates are merged into a single estate, and creditors may claim payment against all of their assets (French Commercial Code, article L526-22, paragraph 8).

Can someone else file the formality?

Yes. The business owner may entrust it to an employee under a written delegation, or to anyone else under a mandate contract, a template for which is available on the site. A copy of the document must be supplied when the formality is filed.

Are the local business levies still to be dealt with?

A reduction of the local business property levy is requested from the business tax office where the business stopped part-way through the year, through the secure messaging of the business account or by post to that office; as a micro-entrepreneur, the relief is claimed after the assessment has been received. A return no. 1330-CVAE-SD is due within 60 days of the end of the activity where turnover exceeds €152,500, and a return no. 1329-DEF above €500,000 of annual turnover excluding tax.

What is there to do on the social security side?

The Urssaf is informed as soon as the cessation declaration is filed on the window, and the definitive cessation declaration removes the trader from the self-employed social security scheme. The sole trader then declares the income of the last 2 years within 90 days of being struck off, through the Urssaf online account; the micro-entrepreneur declares their final turnover on autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr and pays their contributions within 30 days of the cessation date.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in French

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.