ACRE: the first-year URSSAF discount for tutors

ACRE (aide à la création ou à la reprise d'une entreprise) is a cut in social security contributions that France grants new business owners during their first year of activity. For a private tutor starting out as a micro-entrepreneur, it halves the share of every payment that goes to URSSAF, the body that collects social charges.

What ACRE actually changes

Private tutoring falls under non-commercial profits (BNC). In 2026, the social contribution rate for a micro-entrepreneur in a BNC liberal profession is 25.6% of the revenue you collect. With ACRE, that rate is halved for the covered period. You still declare the same revenue as usual (see how to declare your income to URSSAF); only the percentage taken is lower.

Take a tutor billing €1,500 of lessons a month:

• Without ACRE: 25.6%, or €384 in contributions a month.
• With ACRE (50%): about 12.8%, or €192 a month.
• Saving: close to €192 a month, around €2,300 over the year.

That money stays in your account exactly when a new activity needs it most: the first trips to students and the first equipment.

ACRE does not exempt you from declaring. You report the same revenue to URSSAF, only the rate applied drops.

The 1 July 2026 reform

The scheme is tightening. For a micro-business created before 1 July 2026, the reduction stays at 50%. For one created on or after that date, the exemption falls to 25%: you pay 75% of the usual contributions, a BNC rate near 19.2% instead of 12.8%. If you are undecided about your start date, that threshold is worth weighing.

How long the benefit lasts

The exemption runs until the end of the third calendar quarter after the one in which you started. In practice that covers roughly your first four quarters of contributions, not exactly twelve rolling months. Starting early in a quarter leaves you with a few more full months of benefit.

Who qualifies for ACRE

ACRE is not automatic. You must fall into one of the eligible categories, for example:

• a jobseeker receiving benefits, or registered with France Travail for at least six of the last eighteen months;
• a recipient of the RSA or the specific solidarity allowance (ASS);
• aged 18 to 25, or under 30 if you receive no benefits or have a disability;
• setting up in a priority urban district (quartier prioritaire de la ville);
• a recipient of PreParE (shared parental leave benefit).

One more limit: you cannot claim two ACRE reliefs within three years. If you started a business recently, check that gap before you rely on it.

The application, step by step

Since 1 January 2026 the request is mandatory for everyone and no longer happens automatically at registration. If you do not have a business yet, start by registering as a self-employed tutor.

1. Declare your activity on the INPI one-stop shop and keep the proof of creation.
2. Within 60 days of your start date, file your ACRE request through the messaging service in your URSSAF account.
3. Attach the INPI proof and the documents that show your eligibility (France Travail certificate, RSA notice, and so on).
4. URSSAF has one month to answer. If it does not reply in that window, the request is treated as accepted.

Do not let the 60 days slip: filed late, the request is refused and you pay the full rate from the first euro.

Planning for the end of ACRE

For the first year your contributions are lighter. The common trap is to set your rates and your spending around that reduced rate, then take the jump when the exemption ends. Two habits help:

• Set aside the gap between the reduced rate and the full rate, as if you were already paying 25.6%.
• Look at your margins a few months before the deadline and adjust if needed.

Tracking what you collect month by month keeps the change from catching you out. Kadrella adds up your paid lessons and shows where you stand (see pricing), so the return to the full rate is something you plan for rather than absorb.

Sources

• ACRE, help for business creators (URSSAF)
• ACRE business creation support (service-public.fr)
• Contribution rates for unregulated liberal professions (URSSAF)
• One-stop shop for business formalities (INPI)