The microenterprise threshold: what happens when you exceed it

The question always comes at the same moment: when the activity finally starts to turn. A seller makes 6,000 euros one month, then 7,000 the next, and suddenly wonders how far she has the right to go.

The answer fits in one sentence that surprises almost everyone: it is not the microenterprise threshold that will stop you. It is another threshold, two times lower, that we talk about much less.

Here are the two counters, what happens exactly when you cross them, and how to see them coming several months in advance.

There are two thresholds, and it is not the most well-known one that stops you

When a seller tells me she is monitoring her threshold, she is almost always talking about the same one: that of the microenterprise regime. For 2026, it is 203,100 euros of turnover for the sale of goods, and 83,600 euros for services.

This threshold exists, it matters, and it is very high. The problem is that it hides another one, much lower, which follows a completely different logic: that of the VAT threshold exemption. Its thresholds are 85,000 euros for the sale of goods and 37,500 euros for services, with tolerance thresholds at 93,500 and 41,250 euros.

Do the maths. A seller in buying and reselling crosses the VAT threshold at 85,000 euros, while her microenterprise threshold is at 203,100. So she encounters the first wall at less than halfway, and most of the time without seeing it coming, because she was watching the other figure.

Knowing which box you fall into

Before any calculation, you need to know which limit applies to what. The distinction is simple to state and often misapplied.

Buying and reselling falls under the sale of goods. You buy a lot, a box, end of season stock, you resell it: your turnover is the total selling price, not your margin. This is a classic source of error. Selling 60,000 euros of clothing bought for 25,000 euros is 60,000 euros of turnover, not 35,000.

Consignment falls under the provision of services. You are not selling your own goods, you are providing a service to a depositor and taking a commission. What counts in your turnover is your commission, not the price paid by the buyer. The amount returned to the depositor is not yours, as our article on returning money to depositors reminds us. Be careful though: this treatment assumes a real mandate, in writing, with an identified commission. If your practice is actually more like a buy followed by a resale, the administration can reclassify.

If you do both, you have two counters. Each with its own limit, and an overall rule to respect as well. This is the case for the majority of sellers who scale up, and it is the situation where mistakes are most common. Our article on the accounting of a second-hand seller shows how to keep two separate totals without spending your weekends on it.

What really happens when you exceed

Contrary to what we imagine, nothing stops overnight.

On the micro regime side, exceeding for just one year is tolerated. You stay in the micro regime that year and the next. It is the exceeding for two consecutive years that takes you out of the regime, taking effect on January 1st following the second year. In other words, you have a real time window to organize yourself, provided you know the counter is running.

On the VAT side, it is faster and that is where it stings. Crossing the tolerance threshold costs you the exemption in the middle of the year, and you become liable for VAT on your sales from that moment on. Practically speaking: your invoices change, you declare, and you recover VAT on your professional purchases. It is not a disaster, it is a change in administrative work, and it does not happen overnight.

One point deserves special attention on second-hand goods: there is a margin scheme for used goods, which in certain cases allows VAT to be calculated on the margin alone rather than on the selling price. When you buy from individuals, who invoice no VAT, the difference is considerable. The conditions are precise and deserve professional advice: this is the subject to settle before crossing the threshold. On the DressKare side, the article on the VAT threshold exemption regime details how it works for a professional seller.

The three mistakes that cost the most

Counting in margin instead of counting in receipts. This is by far the first. You reason about what you have earned, the administration reasons about what came in. In buying and reselling, the gap between the two is huge, and it makes you cross a threshold months before you realize. Our article on calculating your margin explains why both figures serve, and for what.

Discovering the crossing in January. Looking at your total once a year means you are condemning yourself to react when everything is already decided. The right pace is monthly: a running total, kept up to date, activity by activity. Fifteen minutes a month is enough, and it is what turns a wall into a simple planned step.

Slowing down your sales to stay below a threshold. This happens more often than people think, and it is almost always a bad decision. Crossing a threshold does not mean losing money: it means the structure must follow the size of the activity. Refusing growth to avoid a declaration is very expensive peace of mind administratively.

How to see the wall coming

The method comes down to three steps, and requires no complicated tools.

One table, two columns, twelve rows. One column for goods, one for services, one row per month, and the total since January. At the end of each month, you fill in two boxes. You immediately see at what pace you are approaching each threshold, and which will arrive first.

An alert at seventy per cent. When a total reaches seventy per cent of a threshold, you book an appointment with an accountant. Not when you reach it: when you are at two-thirds of the way. This is when decisions are still open and inexpensive.

A year-end projection, once per quarter. You take your total, you project it to twelve months while accounting for seasonality, and you see where you land. A second-hand selling activity is very irregular, as our article on the seasonality of reselling shows: a linear projection made in June almost always underestimates autumn.

And after that, what do we do?

Exiting the micro regime is not a punishment, it is a change of category. Two decisions need to be made, and they are independent of each other.

The first concerns the tax regime: you move to the real regime, with complete accounting, a balance sheet, and support from a tax advisor. In return, you deduct your actual expenses, which, with stock, shipping and possibly a location, often changes the result in your favour.

The second concerns the legal form: stay as a self-employed trader, or move to a company. This question is not decided on turnover, but on your social protection, the way you want to pay yourself, and whether you are working alone or with others. Our article on the status of a second-hand seller compares the options, and the one on paying yourself an income shows what each form actually changes at the end of the month.

The only real trap in all of this is discovering the situation too late. A threshold crossed and anticipated is a formality. The same threshold discovered at the time of declaration becomes a catch-up, with VAT to regularize on sales already made, at a price that did not anticipate it.

Frequently asked questions

What are the microenterprise thresholds in 2026?

Two amounts depending on the nature of the activity: 203,100 euros of turnover for the sale of goods, which covers buying and reselling clothing, and 83,600 euros for services, which covers consignment commission. These are the amounts published by the administration for 2026 income. If you do both, both limits apply at the same time, each on its share.

What happens in the year I exceed it?

Nothing immediate on the micro regime side. Exceeding the threshold for just one year is tolerated: you stay in the micro regime. It is the two consecutive years of exceeding that takes you out, and the exit takes effect on January 1st following the second year. You have time to prepare the transition, provided you know you are in it.

Why talk about VAT when I am far from the threshold?

Because the VAT threshold exemption has its own much lower thresholds: 85,000 euros for the sale of goods and 37,500 euros for services, with tolerance thresholds at 93,500 and 41,250 euros. A seller in buying and reselling thus encounters VAT at 85,000 euros, which is well before the 203,100 euro microenterprise threshold. It is this wall that arrives first, and it is the one that almost no one monitors.

Is VAT on second-hand clothing calculated on the selling price?

Not necessarily. There is a special scheme for second-hand goods, called the margin scheme, which in certain cases allows VAT to be calculated on the margin alone and not on the total selling price. This is crucial when you buy from individuals, who invoice no VAT. The conditions of application are precise: it is exactly the subject to be settled by an accountant before crossing the threshold, not after.

Do I need to change status when I exit the micro regime?

Not automatically. Exiting the micro tax regime does not change your legal form: you can stay as a self-employed trader and switch to the real regime, with complete accounting and a tax advisor. Moving to a company structure is a separate decision, based on other criteria such as social protection, remuneration and group projects. Do not confuse the two questions.