SELARL or sole practice: what incorporating changes for a dentist in France
Corporation tax and dividends for a dental company, worked through with the 2026 rules.
A SELARL (société d’exercice libéral à responsabilité limitée, the limited company French dentists use to practise) pays corporation tax in 2026 at 15 % on the first €42,500 of taxable profit, provided it meets the conditions of article 219 of the General Tax Code, and at 25 % above that. Profit after tax can be paid out as dividends, taxed at a flat 12.8 % income tax plus 18.6 % social levies, but only up to 10 % of capital and shareholder loans. Beyond that line, a working partner’s dividends count toward self-employed contributions (Social Security Code, article L136-3). In sole practice, taxed as BNC (bénéfices non commerciaux, the profit of a self-employed professional), UNASA member practices showed €107,474 of average profit in 2024, all of it subject to progressive income tax. Keeping that sum inside a SELARL would cost €22,619 in corporation tax. This page works out the company side only; the full comparison belongs with a chartered accountant.
SELARL profit paid out as dividends
Dividends after tax
€42,760
| Corporation tax | − €10,750 |
| Income tax (12.8 %) | − €6,304 |
| Social levies (18.6 %) | − €186 |
| Part liable to social contributions | €48,250 |
The part above 10% of capital and shareholder loans bears self-employed contributions, not calculated here.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Same profit, two tax logics
As a sole practitioner, a French dentist reports BNC profit. All of it is treated as theirs in the year it is made: personal social contributions come off first, then household income tax at progressive rates. Leaving cash in the practice account does not shrink the taxable amount.
Inside a SELARL taxed at corporate rates, the company is the taxpayer. It pays the dentist a manager’s salary, which it deducts, and corporation tax on what is left. Profit after tax can stay in the company or go out as dividends. Whether incorporating helps comes down to that split between what the partner draws and what the company keeps.
For scale on the sole-practice side, UNASA’s 2024 figures show €309,713 of net receipts, €107,474 of profit, and personal contributions plus deductible CSG (a social levy on earned income) equal to 15.6 % of receipts, roughly €48,315. These accounts cover sole traders only. No public source reports average accounts for dental SELARLs.
Corporation tax in 2026
Two rates apply: 15 % on the first €42,500 of taxable profit and 25 % beyond (General Tax Code, article 219 (corporation tax rates)). The lower band comes with conditions on turnover, paid-up capital and ownership by individuals. A dental SELARL owned directly by its practitioners usually qualifies; one held through a holding company should check.
The table runs four levels of profit retained in the company, set as multiples of the reduced-rate band. Capital is taken as zero so that the effect of the 10 % rule stands out: the last column gives the capital and shareholder loans needed for the whole dividend to stay under the flat levy alone.
| Profit left in the company | Corporation tax | Average tax rate | Distributable dividend | Income tax (12.8 %) | Capital and shareholder loans to stay under 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €21,250 | €3,188 | 15.0 % | €18,063 | €2,312 | €180,625 |
| €42,500 | €6,375 | 15.0 % | €36,125 | €4,624 | €361,250 |
| €85,000 | €17,000 | 20.0 % | €68,000 | €8,704 | €680,000 |
| €170,000 | €38,250 | 22.5 % | €131,750 | €16,864 | €1,317,500 |
The average rate climbs quickly past the band. At €170,000 of profit it is above 23 %. The reduced rate mostly helps a company that keeps a modest profit back, for a new chair, a panoramic X-ray unit or loan repayments, while the rest goes out as pay.
Dividends and the 10% rule
By default, dividends paid to an individual bear the flat-rate levy known as PFU: 12.8 % income tax (impots.gouv.fr) and 18.6 % social levies (service-public.gouv.fr), 31.4 % in all. Stacked on corporation tax, a distributed euro loses 41.7 % in the lower band and 48.6 % in the upper one.
That only holds under a cap. For a partner who practises through the company, the slice of dividends above 10 % of capital, share premium and loan accounts is reclassified as earned income and added to the self-employed contribution base (Social Security Code, article L136-3 (dividends above 10% of capital)). On the UNASA average, paying out the whole after-tax profit free of contributions would need €848,555 of capital and loans. Few practices put that much in, which is why a SELARL does not make contributions disappear, whatever forums say.
What a full comparison needs
A fair comparison of the two set-ups rests on inputs this site does not model:
- the manager’s pay, with its Urssaf contributions and CARCDSF pension contributions, both driven by earned income;
- the household’s income tax position, family allowance shares and other income;
- contributions due on dividends above the 10 % line;
- the company’s own costs: bookkeeping, legal work, bank fees, and how the patient list and equipment are brought in;
- plans for buying in a partner, selling the practice or retiring.
The calculator above takes two inputs, profit after your pay and capital, and returns corporation tax and net dividends. It is one piece of the sum. To place your current profit first, see practice cost ratios and published income figures for French dentists.
Where this page stops
Dentimètre is neither an accounting firm nor a law firm. The amounts above apply 2026 rules to sample profits and ignore personal circumstances. Choosing a legal structure affects the articles of association, household tax and the eventual sale of the practice, and is worked out with an expert-comptable, with a lawyer or notary drafting the documents.