Self-employed or sole trader in Andorra: the two legal routes

Does the micro-entrepreneur status exist in Andorra?

No. None of the Andorran texts we have read provides for a regime comparable to the French micro-enterprise. The self-employed person, an “own-account worker” in the texts, pays CASS contributions on a monthly base, declares their net income for income tax and, above a threshold, charges IGI. For settling in Andorra, the immigration law opens two legal routes: practising a regulated profession in your own name, or working through your own Andorran company, in which you hold more than 34%.

Four mechanisms come close to it, without forming a status:

• the objective method of income tax, which sets expenses at a flat 40% of receipts, 80% for a strictly commercial activity, below €300,000 of turnover (€150,000 for a professional activity);
• no IGI as long as turnover does not exceed €40,000 a year;
• the simplified IGI regime, by option, up to €100,000 of turnover;
• the CASS base reduced to 25% during the first 12 months of activity, on request: €146.99 a month in 2026.

France: 2026⁠–⁠2028 thresholds, contributions and VAT exemption according to service-public.gouv.fr, flat-rate tax payment according to impots.gouv.fr, checked on 11 October 2026. Andorra: texts cited in this guide. Two distinct regimes: one cannot be transposed into the other.

Self-employed in your own name or through a company: what the law allows

The qualified law on immigration (Llei 9/2012) refers to work “on own account”. For a foreign national applying to settle in Andorra, it provides for two distinct routes (art. 38 ter):

In other words, a consultant, a developer or a trader who does not practise a regulated profession cannot obtain self-employed residency in their own name: they follow the steps to set up a company in Andorra. If at least 85% of your services are used outside Andorra, the status of professional with international reach is another route.

Finally, a passive resident may not carry on any professional activity, either in their own name or through a company, apart from managing their own assets and holding an unpaid directorship in companies in which they hold at least 50%.

Regulated professions: the conditions for practising

Llei 6/2008 governs the practice of regulated professions, those that require a higher education degree and an authorisation. To obtain it and then practise, you must (art. 5 and 6):

• hold Andorran nationality or prove effective and permanent residence in Andorra;
• hold the required official degree, Andorran or recognised in Andorra, and meet the other conditions specific to the profession;
• prove Catalan at level B2 (Govern diploma or recognised equivalent), or even a higher level if the regulations of the profession require it;
• for a non-Andorran, meet the reciprocity condition, unless they are a national of a State bound to Andorra by an agreement on entry, movement, residence and establishment;
• be entered in the register of regulated professionals and, for a profession organised into a professional body, with the professional association;
• have taken out professional liability insurance.

A non-resident professional can also practise occasionally, for 30 days per calendar year at most, with an authorisation applied for at least ten working days in advance (art. 6 bis). This suits an isolated assignment, not settling in Andorra: for settling, see active residency for the liberal professions.

CASS contributions for the self-employed: the 2026 amounts

The self-employed worker pays contributions to the CASS, the Andorran social security system, from the beginning to the end of their activity. A company director falls under the same regime; for a new company, the obligation begins 30 days after its entry in the Companies Register. The rate is 22% (10% for the general branch, 12% for retirement), applied to a base expressed as a percentage of the previous year’s average wage: €2,672.52 for 2026.

For directors, the reduced bases also require the company’s turnover to be below €300,000 (services) or €600,000 (other activities). The bases below 100% are optional and on request; the higher bases are compulsory when their conditions are met.

In the first year, three points matter:

• the 25% base only covers health care if you supplement it (the so-called “article 99” supplement, €85.72 a month according to the CASS information sheet of February 2026);
• an application for a reduced base filed within 30 days of the start of the obligation applies from that start; after that, only from the date of the application;
• people under 35 have a special regime: see our guide to CASS contributions in Andorra.

Income tax: actual or flat-rate method

As an Andorran tax resident, you declare your business income, and your remuneration as a director, which follows the same rules (Llei 5/2014, art. 14), in the general tax base of IRPF, personal income tax. Thanks to the personal allowance of €24,000 and a tax credit capped at €800, the effective marginal rate is 0% up to €24,000, 5% up to €40,000 and 10% above that.

Net income is calculated using one of two methods:

• direct method: receipts minus actual expenses, according to the corporate income tax rules; a self-employed person entered in the register of self-employed workers can deduct part of the costs of the home they use for their activity (art. 16);
• objective method, by option: available if the previous year’s turnover does not exceed €300,000, or €150,000 for a professional activity; expenses are then set at a flat 40% of receipts (80% for a strictly commercial activity). The option is exercised before the end of the previous year, or within the month following the start of activity, for at least three years (art. 17).

The return is filed between 1 April and 30 September of the following year (art. 55). In September, a payment on account is due: 50% of the previous year’s tax or, at your choice, 5% of the current year’s net business income (art. 50 and 51). Dividends paid to you by your Andorran company are exempt.

For your own situation, use our tax calculator and read the guide to income tax in Andorra (IRPF).

Do you have to charge IGI?

IGI, Andorra’s VAT, applies at the general rate of 4.5%. But you are not automatically subject to it:

• as long as your supplies of goods and services do not exceed €40,000 a year, you are not considered an entrepreneur for IGI purposes, unless you opt in, an option valid for at least three years (Llei 11/2012, art. 5);
• above that, you charge IGI on transactions located in Andorra.

For services, everything depends on the client:

Two simplifications exist: the simplified regime, by option up to €100,000 of turnover, which estimates deductible IGI at 1.5% of receipts (3% for trading activities); and half-yearly returns, in January and July, below €250,000 of turnover, quarterly at the start of activity (art. 74, 75 and 78). See our guide to VAT in Andorra (IGI) and, for your French clients, how to invoice between France and Andorra.

Business licence, accounting, returns: your obligations

Working in your own name does not exempt you from any formality:

• obtain a business licence: anyone carrying on a commercial, industrial or service activity must be authorised to do so by the comú of the parish and entered in the Register of Commerce and Industry;
• obtain an NRT, the single tax identification number;
• keep accounts: journal, inventory and annual accounts book, supporting documents kept for six years (Llei 30/2007, art. 1, 7 and 13);
• file your annual accounts within the IRPF return deadline, an obligation extended to sole traders with receipts of less than €150,000 for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2023;
• file IGI returns at the frequency set by your turnover, if you are subject to it;
• pay your CASS contributions, calculated on a monthly base.

The full calendar is in our guide to accounting obligations in Andorra.

And on the French side: micro-enterprise, French clients, tax residency

Working in Andorra is not enough to stop being a French tax resident. Under Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code, just one of these criteria is enough for you to remain domiciled in France:

• your home or your principal place of residence is in France;
• you carry on a professional activity there that is not ancillary;
• the centre of your economic interests is there.

The micro-enterprise is a French regime with no Andorran equivalent. To work from Andorra, you need an immigration authorisation that covers the activity, and the France⁠–⁠Andorra social security agreement attaches a non-salaried worker to the scheme of the country where they work, or to those of both if they work in both States (art. 4). None of the official sources consulted specifies what happens to a micro-enterprise whose owner moves abroad; Urssaf requires a postal address in France for this regime. Have the continuation or closure of yours validated before you leave.

Keeping French clients is not prohibited; continuing to work physically in France for them may, however, keep you within the scope of French tax. Read our guide to tax residency in Andorra before leaving and, if you are moving an existing business, the steps to transfer your business from France.

France or Andorra?

Income tax in France and in Andorra on the same taxable income, with every assumption shown.

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