Compliance-mandatory

VAT declaration (France)

Periodic VAT declaration (déclaration de TVA) in France is filed monthly or quarterly to the DGFiP, depending on your régime. The CA3 form aggregates output VAT (TVA collectée) and input VAT (TVA déductible), and the resulting payment or credit is settled via direct debit. Late or incorrect filings trigger automatic penalties.

Deadline

Monthly filings due between the 15th and 24th of the following month (depending on your taxpayer category). Quarterly filings due between the 19th and 24th of the month following the quarter. Annual régime (régime simplifié) by 30 April.

Authority

Direction générale des Finances publiques (DGFiP)

The manual reality

Manually reconciling source invoices, expense claims, and bank statements into the seven boxes of the CA3 form is a recurring multi-hour exercise. Each quarter introduces new edge cases — intra-EU acquisitions, autoliquidation, partial-deduction ratios for mixed-activity businesses. Mistakes are common and corrections (déclarations rectificatives) take additional rounds.

The WorkAist approach

The WorkAist French VAT agent reconciles bookings from your accounting system (Pennylane, Sage, Cegid, EBP), classifies each into the correct CA3 box using French tax rules (including the partial-deduction ratio for mixed activities), generates the EDI-TVA file for transmission to the DGFiP portal, and submits via the EDI-TVA-OS protocol. The result is a draft return ready for review the day after period close, with every entry traceable back to the source invoice.

Implementation in 5 steps

  1. 1Connect your accounting system (Pennylane, Sage, Cegid, EBP).
  2. 2Configure your régime (régime réel normal, régime simplifié, mini-réel) and filing frequency.
  3. 3Define partial-deduction rules if applicable (mixed-use, real estate, etc.).
  4. 4Authorize the DGFiP EDI-TVA connector with your service-account credentials.
  5. 5Review the auto-generated CA3 draft, approve, and let the agent submit — payment is debited automatically per your SEPA mandate.

Connectors & agents involved

AI Agent
bookkeeper
Connector
dgfip
Connector
pennylane
Connector
sage

FAQ

Does the agent handle intra-EU acquisitions and reverse charge?▼

Yes. The agent recognises intra-EU acquisitions by VAT-number prefix and applies autoliquidation automatically, placing the entry in both box 3B and box 19/20 of CA3. The same logic covers services subject to reverse charge.

What about EU sales — DEB and DES forms?▼

Yes. EU-sales monthly reports (DEB for goods, DES for services) are filed via the same EDI mechanism using a separate WorkAist sub-agent. The thresholds (€460k for DEB) are tracked automatically.

Can I edit the draft before submission?▼

Yes. Every CA3 box is editable in the draft view, with the source invoices linked underneath. Any manual edit is logged in the audit trail with the reason — auditors love this when reviewing rectifications later.

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VAT declaration (France) | WorkAist