In a SASU (a French single-shareholder company), your business travel expenses are reimbursed as mileage allowances, and your meals while travelling up to €21.40, free of contributions and income tax. Daily trips to your usual client remain personal in principle. Good news: these rules are the same in portage salarial (France’s umbrella company model), without a company’s bookkeeping.
SASU Travel Expenses: Which Client Trips Can Be Reimbursed?
A SASU president is treated as an employee (assimilé salarié): expenses follow the employee rules. URSSAF distinguishes two situations (see the URSSAF page on business expenses):
- Business travel: a meeting with a prospect, work at another site, a trade fair. These trips are reimbursed as mileage allowances (indemnités kilométriques, IK), free of contributions and tax.
- Commuting to your usual workplace: when you work regularly at the same client, on-site for example, that site becomes your usual workplace. These trips are, in principle, personal expenses.
Two exceptions apply. If the route has no public transport, or your hours make it impossible to use, covering your personal vehicle costs can be exempt. The forfait mobilités durables (Labour Code, article L3261-3-1) also covers cycling, car-sharing and scooters.
In portage salarial: the rule is the same, since you are an employee. Linkao also covers 50% of your public transport pass (such as a Navigo pass), free of contributions. And in an URSSAF audit, the portage company is the one accountable for the reimbursements.
The 2026 Mileage Scale: How Much Can You Claim?
Mileage allowances use the official tax scale, unchanged since 2023. It depends on your vehicle’s fiscal horsepower (CV, on the registration document) and your total business kilometres for the year (d).
Petrol, diesel, hybrid and hydrogen cars
|
Fiscal horsepower |
Up to 5,000 km |
5,001 to 20,000 km |
Over 20,000 km |
|---|---|---|---|
|
3 CV or less |
d × 0.529 |
(d × 0.316) + 1,065 |
d × 0.370 |
|
4 CV |
d × 0.606 |
(d × 0.340) + 1,330 |
d × 0.407 |
|
5 CV |
d × 0.636 |
(d × 0.357) + 1,395 |
d × 0.427 |
|
6 CV |
d × 0.665 |
(d × 0.374) + 1,457 |
d × 0.447 |
|
7 CV or more |
d × 0.697 |
(d × 0.394) + 1,515 |
d × 0.470 |
Examples with a 5 CV car:
- 4,000 business km in the year: 4,000 × 0.636 = €2,544.
- 4,000 km in a fully electric car: the scale is increased by 20%, so 2,544 × 1.2 = €3,052.80.
Rules to follow
- Mileage allowances only apply to a personal vehicle. If the SASU owns the car, no IK.
- The scale covers fuel, maintenance, insurance and depreciation. Tolls and parking are reimbursed on top, with receipts.
- Keep a log: date, route, purpose, kilometres, fiscal horsepower. It is the first document requested in an audit.
In portage salarial: you report your kilometres each month; Linkao calculates the allowance and pays it with your salary, free of contributions.
Meal Expenses in a SASU: 2026 URSSAF Limits
Meal allowances are exempt from contributions up to these 2026 limits:
|
Situation |
2026 exemption limit |
|---|---|
|
Restaurant meal during business travel |
€21.40 per meal |
|
Meal away from the office, no need for a restaurant |
€10.40 per meal |
These limits are not an automatic right. You need genuine travel that prevents you from going home for lunch. A daily lunch at your usual client remains a personal expense.
You can also reimburse meals at actual cost, for a reasonable amount and with an itemised invoice: a card receipt alone is not enough.
Assignments Far From Home: Long-Distance Travel Allowances
If your assignment keeps you from going home each evening, the SASU can cover your accommodation. This is called grand déplacement when the assignment is at least 50 km from your home and at least 1 hour 30 away by public transport.
|
Long-distance travel, first 3 months |
2026 limit |
|---|---|
|
Accommodation and breakfast in Paris and the inner suburbs |
€76.60 per day |
|
Accommodation and breakfast elsewhere in France |
€56.80 per day |
|
Meals |
€21.40 per meal |
After three months at the same place, these allowances drop by 15%, then by 30% from the 25th to the 72nd month. After six years at the same place, it no longer counts as long-distance travel. The current amounts are listed in the URSSAF business expense rates.
Example in portage salarial: you spend two weeks on assignment in Lyon, more than 50 km and 1 hour 30 from home. For 10 nights and 20 restaurant meals, you can receive up to 10 × €56.80 + 20 × €21.40 = €996 in allowances, paid on your payslip free of contributions and income tax. Your train ticket is reimbursed on top, with a receipt.
Telework: The 2026 Flat Allowance
The SASU can pay you a telework allowance free of contributions, within one of these two limits:
- €2.70 per telework day, up to €59.40 per month.
- €11 per month for each weekly telework day: €22 per month for two days.
Above that, you must justify your actual costs (share of rent, electricity, internet).
SASU, Micro-Enterprise or Portage Salarial (Umbrella Company): Which Fits a Long Assignment?
|
Criterion |
Micro-enterprise |
SASU (corporate tax) |
Portage salarial |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2026 revenue cap |
€83,600 (services) |
None |
None |
|
Actual expenses |
No: flat 34% allowance (BNC) |
Yes: actual costs and IK |
Yes: added to your payslip, free of contributions |
|
Unemployment insurance |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Social protection |
Self-employed scheme |
General scheme, no unemployment cover |
Full employee scheme: health, pension, disability, top-up health insurance |
|
Admin |
Light |
Bookkeeping, balance sheet, payroll |
No bookkeeping; you declare your expenses and activity |
|
Setting up and closing |
Online registration |
Articles of association, registry, liquidation |
None: a simple employment contract |
|
Income condition |
None |
None |
A daily rate that covers the minimum salary set by the collective agreement (≈ €2,804 gross a month for a full-time junior) |
A SASU suits you if you want to build a real company, reinvest your profits or split your own pay between salary and dividends.
Portage salarial is often the better choice if:
- you are starting out as a freelancer or want to test independence without setting up a company;
- you want to keep paying into unemployment insurance, pension and health cover like an employee;
- you take on one assignment after another away from home and want your expenses handled for you, within URSSAF rules.
Your Business Expenses in Portage Salarial with Linkao
In portage salarial, you are an employee of Linkao while choosing your own clients, assignments and daily rate. Your business expenses (equipment, software, travel, accommodation, meals) follow the same URSSAF rules as in a SASU, without you having to manage them.
