EURL: The Complete 2026 Guide (TNS Manager, Income or Corporate Tax)
The EURL — Single-Member Limited Liability Company — is the single-shareholder version of the SARL. Long rivalled by the SASU, it remains a relevant choice for the freelancer who wants lighter contributions and accepts a slightly more rigid framework. Here is how it works in 2026 and the trade-offs that matter.
The principle: a one-person SARL
Like the SASU, the EURL is a company with its own legal personality and liability limited to contributions. Capital is free (€1 minimum) and the sole shareholder holds it all. The fundamental difference from the SASU is not the structure, but the manager's social regime and the default tax regime.
The manager's status: self-employed (TNS)
The sole-shareholder manager of an EURL is a non-salaried worker (TNS), affiliated to the self-employed Social Security (SSI). This is the EURL's most favourable point on cost.
Social contributions represent about 45% of the net income you pay yourself — well below the ~80% of an SASU president. For the same cost to the company, an EURL manager therefore nets more. The counterpart: slightly less generous social protection (daily allowances and pension calculated differently), and no unemployment insurance either.
Key takeaway: for equal income, the EURL costs less in contributions than the SASU, at the price of slightly lower social protection.
The tax choice: income tax by default, corporate tax by option
This is the EURL's other key feature. By default, it is subject to income tax (IR): profit is taxed directly in your hands, in the BIC or BNC category, whether or not you have withdrawn it. It is simple, but you are taxed on the whole profit.
You can opt for corporate tax (IS). Profit is then taxed at the company level (15% up to €42,500, then 25%), and you are personally taxed only on what you withdraw (remuneration and dividends). This option opens the salary/dividend trade-off, but is in principle irrevocable after five years. Our article EURL under corporate or income tax details this structural choice.
| Criterion | EURL under IR | EURL under IS |
|---|---|---|
| Profit taxation | At the shareholder (BIC/BNC) | In the company (IS) |
| Contribution base | Total profit | Remuneration (+ share of dividends) |
| Salary/dividend trade-off | No | Yes |
| Simplicity | High | Lower |
The dividend trap in an EURL under corporate tax
Beware a major difference from the SASU. In an EURL under IS, the share of dividends that exceeds 10% of share capital (increased by issue premiums and shareholder current-account sums) is subject to TNS social contributions, not only the flat tax.
Concretely, if your capital is low (€1), almost all your dividends are reintegrated into the social contribution base. This sharply reduces the appeal of dividends in an EURL compared with the SASU, where they escape contributions. This is often the decisive factor between the two forms.
EURL or SASU: how to decide
In short:
- Choose the EURL if you favour lower contributions and pay yourself mainly in salary/management remuneration;
- Choose the SASU if you want to maximise lightly-charged dividends and general-scheme-type social protection.
The right reflex: quantify both on your actual income level. Use the status comparator and read our head-to-head SASU or EURL in 2026 before deciding.
