Quick overview
| Standard Rate | Reduced Rate | Other Rates |
| 20% | 10% | 5,5%, 2,1% |
Recently, the Finance law 2021 has been published, which included a zero rate for vaccines. Further, it was confirmed that the reduced VAT rate of 10% applies to the admission fees collected for cultural, recreational, educational or professional activities. In Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion, a reduced VAT rate of 2.1% will apply on masks & handsanetizers until 31 December 2021. For more information about (recent) rate change developments in France, please click here.
Standard rate: 20%
This is in place since 1 January 2014. Before that, the standard rate was 19,6%. This rate applies for all transactions that take place in France, unless an exception applies (such as a reduced rate, the zero rate or an exemption, or a reason to treat the transaction as outside scope of VAT). For more information about the VAT rates in the special territories of France, please scroll down.
Zero rate (0%)
France applies various exemptions with a refund of tax paid at preceding stages (zero rates), such as specified financial transactions, intra-Community and international transport, intra-Community supplies of goods, and exports of goods (and related services) to non-EU countries.
Reduced rate 1: 10%
Examples of supplies subject to this rate are:
- Simple foods or compounds used for feeding livestock, barnyard animals, farmed fish for human consumption and bees, as well as products used in the composition of these foods.
- Non-reimbursed pharmaceutical products, namely pharmacy and pharmaceutical drugs or products for use in human medicine and subject to the authorisation provided for in Article L. 5121-8 of the Code of public health.
- Certain transport of passengers
- Admission to other cultural services (e.g. fairs, zoological and botanical gardens, museums, monuments, caves and sites, cultural exhibitions).
- Pay TV/ cable TV
- Writers, composers, etc. (since 01.01.2014 these services are taxed at 10%, according to article 279 of the General Tax Code).
- The rest of the social housing works, not subject to 5,5% (cf. article articles 278 sexies and 278 sexies A of GTC). Moreover, some investments in rental housing.
- Renovation and repairing of private dwellings (if not subject to 5,5%)
- Window cleaning and cleaning in private households, if the associated works are also at reduced rate and if they concern dwellings completed since more than 2 years.
- Hotel accommodation
- Restaurant and catering services (alcoholic beverages are subject to the standard rate).
- Certain collection of domestic waste and street cleaning, other than the supply of such services by bodies referred to in Article 13 of the Directive 2006/112/EC
- Certain domestic care services
Reduced rate 2: 5,5%
Examples of supplies subject to this rate are:
- Water and soft drinks (if the container allows for conservation) as well as products intended for human consumption with the exception of the following products: a) confectionery products; b) chocolate (except black and plain milk chocolate, chocolate candy, cocoa beans and cocoa butter) and composite products containing chocolate or cocoa; c) margarines and vegetable fats; d) caviar.
- Water supplies
- Sanitary protection for women
- Medical equipment for disabled persons
- Books (however, 20% applies to books, newspapers and periodicals containing mainly publicity, private advertisements, obscene or pornographic material). This includes books on other physical means of support.
- Cinema, theatrical performances, circus performances featuring original creations exclusively designed and produced by the company and using the regular services of a group of musicians, excluding pornographic theatrical performances.
- Entrance to aquatic parks.
- The building land, the construction and some works for social housing
- Renovation and repairing of private dwellings (Energetic improvement works (cf. article 278-0 bis of GTC).
- Supplies (excluding alcohol) in school cantines.
- Admission to sporting events (if not exempt)
- Certain domestic care services
Super-reduced rate: 2,1%
Examples of supplies subject to this rate are:
- Livestock intended for use as foodstuff to non-taxable persons including farmers taxed under the special flat-rate scheme.
- Reimbursed pharmaceutical products, namely medicines, drugs or pharmaceutical products defined in Article L. 5121 -8 of Code of public health, which fulfil the conditions of Article L. 162-17 of the French social security code, or which are approved in accordance with Articles L. 5123-2 and L. 5123-3 of the Code of public health and on the products referred to in 1 °, 3 °, 4 ° and 5 ° of Article L. 1221-8 of the Code of public health and medicinal products subject to temporary authorisation for use referred to in Article L. 5121-12 of the Code of public health.
- Newspapers and periodicals of general interest with a direct connection to current affairs; it also applies to digital press.
- Theatrical performances and circus performances featuring original creations exclusively designed and produced by the company and using the regular services of a group of musicians, excluding pornographic theatrical performances, only for the first 140 performances.
- TV licence
Special VAT rates/territories:
Corsica:
- 0.90%: the first performances of certain shows, the sales of livestock intended for use as foodstuff to persons/entities not liable to pay tax;
- 2.10%: some goods supplied in Corsica and some services to which the reduced rates are applicable in mainland France;
- 10%: construction works, agricultural equipment, certain supplies of furnished lodging, sales for consumption on the premises, sales of electricity supplied at low voltage;
- 13%: petroleum products;
- The standard rate applicable in Corsica is the same as in the rest of the country: 20%.
Overseas departments (DOM)
In the overseas departments, but not French Guiana and Mayotte, a reduced rate of 2.10% and a standard rate of 8.5% are applicable; the rates of 1.05 % and 1.75 % are also applicable respectively to the press and the first performances of certain shows, and to certain sales of animals for slaughter. Goods and services supplied to or from the Principality of Monaco are regarded as having been supplied to or from France.
For a description of how the VAT rates are structured in the European Union, please see here. The European Commission has also made an EU VAT rate database available where you can find the applicable VAT rate by entering the CN/CPA code of the goods respectively services (you can find more information here).
A global VAT/GST rate overview can be found here (note this is a work in progress).
This post was last updated on 5 April 2021.
