Electing for accrual VAT — applying, weighing it up, revoking

For VAT purposes, the CHARGEABLE EVENT date must be distinguished from the date VAT becomes DUE. For SUPPLIES OF GOODS the two coincide: the date the goods are physically handed over. For SUPPLIES OF SERVICES they do not — the chargeable event is in principle the date the service is performed, whereas VAT becomes due on the date of PAYMENT. A business doing both therefore ends up with two different due dates for operations sometimes invoiced together. It has a choice: keep the standard cash-based regime with those separate dates, or ELECT for the ACCRUAL (débits) regime, which brings them together. Under that regime, VAT becomes due on the debit date — the entry on the customer's account — which generally corresponds to the INVOICE date. The election has no form: it is APPLIED FOR IN WRITING to the tax office the business reports to for VAT. It takes effect from the 1st day of the month FOLLOWING the one in which it was made, and applies to all the operations concerned. It is revoked by PLAIN LETTER to the same office, the cash-based regime resuming on the 1st day of the month following revocation. The price is a CASH-FLOW price: VAT becomes due on invoicing, before it has been collected.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 12, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 15 min

Deadlines

Effect: the 1st day of the FOLLOWING month: The election takes effect from the 1st day of the month following the one in which it was made. An election made in March therefore takes effect on 1 April.
Revocation: the 1st day of the month following the stop: The cash-based regime begins on the 1st day of the month following revocation of the election. The symmetry with the effective date is complete.
When VAT is due under the election: the debit date: VAT becomes due on the debit date — the entry on the customer's account — which generally corresponds to the invoice date.
Without the election: goods and services diverge: For sales of goods, VAT is due on the delivery date. For supplies of services, it is due on payment.
Continuous services lasting more than a year: Where services are supplied continuously over a period exceeding 1 year WITHOUT staged payments, VAT is due at the end of each calendar year throughout the supply.

Documents to prepare

The nature of your operations: supplies of goods, supplies of services, or both
Your customer payment terms, to measure the cash-flow advance the election represents
A WRITTEN application to the tax office you report to for VAT — there is no dedicated form
That office's contact details
The date the election is made, which sets its effect on the 1st day of the following month
Where applicable, the "Paiement de la TVA d'après les débits" wording to add to your invoices (optional)
Separate treatment of your advance-payment invoices for services, always due
To revoke: a plain letter to the same office

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

The business making BOTH supplies of goods and supplies of services, and facing two different due dates on operations often invoiced together
The service provider, whose VAT is in principle due on PAYMENT and who may choose to make it due on invoicing
The business wanting to align its output VAT with its invoicing, to simplify its accounting
That business's customer, indirectly: the due date identifies when their RIGHT OF DEDUCTION begins
The business already under the election that wishes to REVOKE it: the procedure exists and is done by plain letter
Has NO inherent interest in it: the business whose customers pay late, since the election brings VAT forward to the invoice, ahead of payment

Worked example

Example: an installer who sells the equipment and fits it, and what the election shifts

A business installs equipment: it SELLS the hardware — a supply of goods — and INVOICES the fitting — a supply of services. Without the election, it applies the rules separately, and VAT becomes due at different times for two lines of the same invoice: for the sale of goods, VAT is due on the DELIVERY date, that is the physical handover, which is also its chargeable event; for the fitting service, the chargeable event is the date of performance, but VAT becomes due on PAYMENT. An invoice issued in March, delivered in March and paid in June therefore gives VAT due in March on the hardware and in June on the fitting — two different reporting periods for a single invoice. By electing for the accrual regime, the business brings the two together: VAT from the sale of goods and VAT from the supply of services become due on the SAME date, the debit date, which generally corresponds to the invoice date — here, March for the whole. The gain is simplicity; the cost is cash flow, since VAT on the fitting is now due in March although the customer will not pay until June. The business applies for the election IN WRITING to the tax office it reports to for VAT; made in February, the election takes effect on 1 March. It may — this is not compulsory — add to its invoices the wording "Paiement de la TVA d'après les débits". If it changes its mind, it asks the same office by plain letter to stop the election, and the cash-based regime resumes on the 1st day of the following month. One last point not to be missed: an ADVANCE-PAYMENT invoice for a service ALWAYS makes VAT due for the supplier, election or not.

How to fill it in, step by step

Identify the nature of your operations: supplies of goods, supplies of services, or both. That is where the difficulty the election resolves comes from.
Check your current due dates: physical handover date for a supply of goods; payment date for a supply of services.
Assess what the election would cost you in CASH FLOW: under the accrual regime, VAT on services becomes due on invoicing, ahead of payment. If your customers pay late, the election brings a cash outflow forward.
Assess what it would gain you in SIMPLICITY: a single due date for both natures of operation, aligned with your invoicing.
If you decide to elect, send a WRITTEN APPLICATION to the tax office you report to for VAT. There is no dedicated form.
Note that the election applies to ALL operations for which a supply of goods and a supply of services are provided for: it is not selective.
Count the effective date as the 1st day of the month FOLLOWING the one in which the election was made, and align your accounting with that date.
If you wish, add to your invoices the wording "Paiement de la TVA d'après les débits": it is possible, it is not compulsory.
Treat ADVANCE-PAYMENT invoices for services separately: they always make VAT due for the supplier.
Treat separately continuous services lasting more than 1 year without staged payments: VAT there is due at the end of each calendar year throughout the supply.
To revoke the election, ask the tax office you report to, by PLAIN LETTER, to stop it; the cash-based regime will resume on the 1st day of the following month.

The form, line by line

Chargeable event: For a supply of goods, the date the goods are physically handed over. For a supply of services, in principle the date the service is performed. Not to be confused with the due date — and to be remembered for one specific reason: where the VAT rate changes, it is the CHARGEABLE EVENT and not the due date that determines the applicable rate.
Due date: It determines the period in which the amount of a taxable operation must be reported, and identifies when the customer's RIGHT OF DEDUCTION begins.
Debit date: The debit entry on the customer's account, which generally corresponds to the invoice date. It is the due date under the optional regime.
Written application to the tax office: A business electing must apply IN WRITING to the tax office it reports to for VAT. The source designates no form.
Scope of the election: It applies to all operations for which a supply of goods and a supply of services are provided for — you do not elect customer by customer or invoice by invoice.
"Paiement de la TVA d'après les débits" wording: The business MAY show it on its invoices. The source is explicit: it is not compulsory.
Revocation by plain letter: To revoke, the business asks the tax office it reports to, by plain letter, to stop the election. The formality is lighter than for the election itself.
Advance-payment invoice for a service: It ALWAYS makes VAT due for the supplier — a self-standing rule that does not depend on the regime chosen.

Good to know

The election does not change how much VAT is owed, it changes WHEN it is owed. It is a cash-flow and simplicity trade-off, not a tax advantage.
The trade-off is asymmetric: electing accelerates the due date on services, and changes nothing on supplies of goods, whose VAT was already due on delivery.
A business whose customers pay at 60 days and which elects for the accrual regime brings its VAT forward by two months on all its services: that is the question to ask first.
The due date also matters to the CUSTOMER: it identifies when their right of deduction begins.
Where the VAT rate changes, it is the chargeable event — not the due date — that determines the applicable rate. The election therefore does not shift the rate, only the reporting period.
The formality is asymmetric: a WRITTEN application to elect, a PLAIN LETTER to revoke. In both cases the contact is the tax office the business reports to for VAT.
The invoice wording is optional: not showing it does not lose the election.
Continuous services lasting more than a year WITHOUT staged payments follow their own rule: VAT is due at the end of each calendar year throughout the supply.
Reporting frequency follows a different logic: where the VAT due each year is below €4,000, the return and payment are made every 3 months.

Common mistakes

Confusing chargeable event and due date: for a supply of services, the first is the date of performance, the second the date of payment.
Believing the election saves VAT: it only changes the due date.
Electing without assessing the cash-flow effect, when VAT on services becomes due on the invoice rather than on payment.
Believing the election also accelerates VAT on supplies of goods: that was already due on the delivery date.
Electing selectively: the election applies to all operations for which a supply of goods and a supply of services are provided for.
Looking for a form: the election is applied for IN WRITING to the tax office, with no designated form.
Applying the election from the month of the application: it takes effect on the 1st day of the month FOLLOWING the one in which it was made.
Believing the "Paiement de la TVA d'après les débits" wording is compulsory on invoices: it is not.
Revoking simply by ceasing to apply the election: its stop must be requested by plain letter to the tax office.
Forgetting that an ADVANCE-PAYMENT invoice for a service always makes VAT due for the supplier.
Applying the rate in force at the due date where the rate changes: it is the chargeable event that determines the applicable rate.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cash-based and accrual VAT?

Under the default regime, VAT on supplies of services is due on the payment date, while VAT on supplies of goods is due on the date the goods are physically handed over. Under the accrual regime, VAT is due on the debit date — the entry on the customer's account — which generally corresponds to the invoice date, and both natures of operation become due on the same date.

How do I elect for accrual VAT?

A business electing must apply in writing to the tax office it reports to for VAT. The source designates no dedicated form.

When does the election take effect?

From the 1st day of the month following the one in which it was made.

Does the election apply to all my operations?

Yes: it applies to all operations for which a supply of goods and a supply of services are provided for.

Must I show it on my invoices?

You may show on your invoices that this election has been made, by adding the wording "Paiement de la TVA d'après les débits". It is not compulsory.

How do I revoke the election?

By asking the tax office you report to, by plain letter, to stop the election. The cash-based regime begins on the 1st day of the month following the stop.

Do advance-payment invoices follow the same regime?

No: an advance-payment invoice for a service ALWAYS makes VAT due for the supplier, whatever regime has been chosen.

What about services lasting more than a year?

Where services are supplied continuously over a period exceeding 1 year without staged payments, VAT is due at the end of each calendar year throughout the supply.

Does the election change the applicable rate if rates are reformed?

No. Where the VAT rate changes, it is the chargeable event, not the due date, that determines the applicable rate.

Go further

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.