Deposit invoices in France: acompte, VAT and the final invoice

Asking for a deposit before you start a job protects your cash flow, but in France it comes with rules: an invoice for the deposit, VAT due when you are paid, and a final invoice that deducts it correctly. Here is how it works, with a worked example.

Many businesses ask for part of the price before they start: 30 % when the quote is signed, the rest on delivery. In France, as soon as you receive a deposit you must invoice it, and in most cases the VAT on it is due straight away. Done wrong, you collect the VAT twice, declare it too late, or invoice your customer for more than the job.

Acompte or arrhes: choose the word

• An “acompte” is a first part of the price. The contract is firm: the customer must pay the rest and you must deliver. Neither side can walk away by giving up the money.
• “Arrhes” leave a way out: the customer can cancel and lose them, and you can cancel by paying back twice the amount.
• In a sale to a consumer, a sum paid in advance counts as arrhes unless the contract says otherwise (article L214-1 of the Consumer Code). If you mean a firm deposit, write “acompte” on the quote and on the invoice.

When to issue a deposit invoice

• A deposit invoice (“facture d’acompte”) is compulsory for every deposit a business customer pays before the delivery or the end of the service (article 289 of the CGI). For private customers, issue one too: it is your record of the VAT you collected.
• Issue it when you ask for the deposit, or at the latest when you receive it.
• A pro forma invoice is not an invoice: it can ask for the payment, but it does not replace the deposit invoice.
• It takes the next number in your invoice sequence, like any other invoice.

What the deposit invoice must show

• All the usual mandatory details: number, date, your company, the customer and the payment terms (see our guide on mandatory invoice details).
• The reference of the signed quote or order, and its total.
• The deposit itself: amount excluding VAT, VAT rate, VAT amount and amount including VAT. Give the percentage if you agreed one, for example “Acompte de 30 % sur devis n° D2026-045”.
• One line describing the work is enough: the detailed lines stay on the quote and on the final invoice.

When the VAT is due

• Services: VAT is due when you are paid, so the VAT on the deposit goes in the VAT return of the month you receive it.
• Sales of goods: since 1 January 2023 the VAT on a deposit is also due when you receive it, no longer on delivery.
• If you opted to pay VAT on invoicing (“option pour les débits”), it is due when you issue the deposit invoice.
• Small-business VAT exemption: no VAT on the deposit either, and the invoice carries “TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI”.

The final invoice

The usual method: the final invoice (“facture de solde”) shows the whole job, then deducts what was already invoiced. It refers to the deposit invoice by its number and deducts both the deposit excluding VAT and its VAT, so that the VAT is collected only once.

For projects paid in several stages, another common method is to invoice each payment for its own share, the last one billing what is left. Each invoice then refers to the quote or order and says which payment it is, and together they add up to the total.

A worked example

• Quote D2026-045: 10,000 € excluding VAT, VAT at 20 % 2,000 €, total 12,000 €. Deposit agreed: 30 %.
• Deposit invoice F2026-0192: 3,000 € excluding VAT + 600 € VAT = 3,600 €. The 600 € of VAT go in the return of the month the deposit is paid.
• Final invoice F2026-0231: whole job 10,000 € excluding VAT + 2,000 € VAT = 12,000 €; minus deposit invoice F2026-0192, 3,000 € excluding VAT and 600 € VAT; balance due 7,000 € excluding VAT + 1,400 € VAT = 8,400 €.
• Over the two invoices you collected exactly 2,000 € of VAT: the VAT of the job.

If the job is cancelled

• Acompte: the customer stays bound by the contract. If you agree to cancel and refund, or if you cannot deliver, issue a credit note (“avoir”) that refers to the deposit invoice; it corrects the VAT too.
• Arrhes you keep after the customer cancels are compensation, not the price of a sale: no VAT is due on them (EU Court of Justice, 2007). Correct the VAT already declared on them, with your accountant.
• Never delete the deposit invoice: it has a number and must stay in the sequence.

How much can you ask for?

• There is no general legal maximum: 30 % to 50 % is common for services and building work.
• For a contract signed with a consumer away from your premises (at their home, for example), you cannot take any payment during the first 7 days, with a few exceptions.
• Some contracts have their own caps, such as the building of a private house (CCMI).

Common mistakes

• A final invoice for the full amount that does not deduct the deposit: the customer is invoiced twice and the VAT is declared twice.
• Deducting the deposit including VAT from the total excluding VAT: totals that no longer add up.
• No deposit invoice, and the deposit VAT declared only with the final invoice: VAT paid late, with interest and penalties after an audit.
• “Arrhes”, or nothing at all, written on a consumer quote when you meant a firm deposit.

Outside France

The EU VAT directive (article 65) makes the VAT on a deposit due when it is received in every member state, so the logic is the same in Belgium and Luxembourg: an invoice for the deposit with its VAT, and later invoices that deduct it or bill only what is left. The wording and the consumer rules on deposits differ from country to country.

And Tavalle?

In Tavalle you agree the deposit on the quote, as a payment schedule: for example 30 % on acceptance, 40 % when phase 1 is delivered and 30 % on final delivery, or on a fixed date. When the quote is accepted, the order keeps the schedule and each payment gets its own invoice when it falls due: its share with VAT, the next number in your sequence, and a note saying which payment of how many it is and the total of the order. The invoices always add up to the order, to the cent, and overdue ones appear in your alerts. See invoicing and VAT and all features.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Check service-public.fr, impots.gouv.fr and with your accountant, especially for building contracts and sales to consumers.