French CFE 1447-M — Annual Business Tax Declaration 2026

Any business or self-employed individual already liable for CFE who needs to report a change affecting their tax base for the following year. Typical triggers include moving to new premises, an increase or decrease in floor area, a partial start or cessation of activity, or a request for a specific exemption (for example in a zone franche urbaine — a designated enterprise zone). If nothing has changed since your last filing or your initial 1447-C declaration, no annual filing is needed.

The 1447-M must be filed no later than the second working day (deuxième jour ouvré) following 1 May of the current year. Changes declared by this date are factored into your CFE assessment for the following calendar year. Filing after the deadline means your change will not be taken into account until the year after, and may expose you to a formal tax correction (redressement) if the undeclared change materially affects your tax base.

The 1447-C is the initial creation declaration, filed by any newly established business before 31 December of its first year of activity — it sets up your CFE profile from scratch. The 1447-M is the modification declaration, filed from the second year onwards only when something changes. Think of the 1447-C as the registration form and the 1447-M as the update form. You never file both in the same year for the same establishment.

CFE is based on the rental value (valeur locative) of immovable property used for the business — essentially the estimated annual rent the premises would command on the open market, as determined by the tax administration. When this value is low, or when the business has no real-property base at all (for example, a home-based sole trader), a minimum flat contribution (cotisation minimum) applies. Each commune sets its own minimum rate within statutory bands, with the amount varying according to your annual turnover.

Since 2023, businesses whose annual turnover or receipts do not exceed €5,000 benefit from an automatic relief (dégrèvement automatique) on the CFE minimum, under article 1647 D of the Code général des impôts (CGI). In practice you pay no minimum CFE if your business is very small. However, this relief does not remove the obligation to file form 1447-M if a reportable change has occurred. Confirm your eligibility with your local SIE (Service des Impôts des Entreprises).

The 1447-M must be filed electronically via your professional tax account (espace professionnel) on impots.gouv.fr. Businesses below the EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) filing threshold can complete the form directly online. Paper filing remains available for certain very small businesses not yet set up for electronic submission, but digital filing is strongly encouraged by the tax administration. The competent tax office is the SIE of the commune where your establishment is physically located.