Home cleaning and home services as a micro-entrepreneur

Which activities count as home services

The official list has 26 activities. The most common for a micro-entrepreneur:

• Housework and cleaning at the client's home, ironing at home.
• Small gardening jobs (maintenance, not landscaping), up to €5,000 a year per household for the tax credit.
• Small odd jobs (« petits travaux de bricolage »): 2 hours at most per visit, up to €500 a year per household.
• Childcare at home: over 3 years old with the declaration, under 3 years old with an approval.
• Tutoring and lessons at the client's home.
• IT help at home, up to €3,000 a year per household. Remote help, troubleshooting, repairs and the sale of equipment or software are not included.
• Meal preparation at home.
• Help for elderly or disabled people (personal assistance, driving their car, going out with them), with an authorisation from the département. Short-term help at home, for example after an illness, needs only the declaration.
• Shopping delivery and laundry collection: only as part of a wider offer of services at home.

Step 1: register your micro-enterprise

Most home services are commercial or craft services (BIC): 21.2% of your turnover in social contributions in 2026, with a turnover ceiling of €83,600 a year. Tutoring is a liberal activity (BNC): 25.6%.

How to fill in the French registration form

Step 2: declare your home services on NOVA

Once you have your SIRET, declare your activity as « services à la personne » on nova.entreprises.gouv.fr. The declaration is free and optional, but without it your clients get no tax credit.

Normally, a declared business must only do home services (the « exclusive activity » rule: only the 26 activities, for private clients, at their home). Since 1 January 2025, a micro-entrepreneur can ask on NOVA for an exemption: other work is allowed if it stays at or under 30% of your total turnover, home services stay your main activity, and you keep separate accounts. Only the home services give your clients the tax credit.

Put the official home-services logo on your quotes and invoices.

Each year you give your private clients a tax certificate (« attestation fiscale ») with what they paid you, so they can claim their tax credit.

The 50% tax credit for your clients

Your private clients get back 50% of what they pay for declared home services, within a yearly ceiling set by law (in most cases €12,000 of spending a year, more for some households). In practice, a client who pays you €20 an hour really pays €10.

With URSSAF's « avance immédiate » service, your client only pays the remaining 50% straight away, instead of waiting for their tax refund. To offer it, you must be declared for home services and send your invoices to URSSAF through compatible invoicing software (URSSAF's « API Tiers de prestation »), or work through a cooperative or platform that offers it.

Getting paid by CESU vouchers

Some clients pay with prepaid CESU vouchers (« CESU préfinancé »), for example from their employer. To accept them, you must first be declared for home services, then register with the CESU reimbursement centre (CRCESU) as a business, not as a private person.

Quotes and prices

A written quote is compulsory before home services of €100 or more per month (VAT included), and whenever the client asks for one. Show your hourly rate clearly.

Frequently asked questions