How to calculate your CNAPS tax?
The CNAPS tax has disappeared. Here's an update on the CNAPS tax, the rules that defined it and software tips that are still relevant, whatever taxes you need to take into account in your invoicing 😉
Update 2021: CNAPS tax repealed
⚠️. As of January 1, 2020, the private security tax has been repealed.
▶️ Independent security guards, security and surveillance companies and all other private security activities no longer have to invoice and pay the CNAPS tax.
What is the CNAPS tax? Definition
This tax was created to serve as a source of funding for the Conseil National des Activités Privées de Sécurité (CNAPS). This is a public body whose role is to regulate private security activities. As such, the CNAPS tax was a sector-specific contribution.
Activities covered by the CNAPS tax
All structures governed by the law of July 12, 1983 were concerned, whether legal entities or individuals, whose activities corresponded to surveillance, guarding, transport or physical protection of individuals.
Fire safety and personal assistance services (SSIAP) were excluded.
In addition, organizations employing security guards, building or store security guards, dog handlers or airport security guards as part of their services had to pay the CNAPS tax.
CNAPS tax payment: same timetable as VAT
The CNAPS tax was payable in the same way as VAT, if you were liable for it. So, if you paid your VAT monthly, the CNAPS tax was paid monthly. If your VAT was quarterly or annual, the CNAPS tax was also quarterly or annual.
What is the procedure for declaring the CNAPS tax?
The CNAPS contribution had to be declared and paid at the same time as the VAT.
This was done by means of a schedule (form 3310 A), associated with your tax return (form 3310 - CA3 if you were on a monthly basis, form 3517-S-CA12 if you were on a simplified : annualized).
If you were subject to the actual tax system, you had to file your return online.
How was the CNAPS tax applied?
The structures liable for the contribution were :
- companies in France with in-house private security operations: in-house security services for stores, etc. ;
- external service providers acting in France on behalf of clients.
How is the CNAPS tax calculated? Accounting
How do you pass on the tax to your private security business?
- If you deployed the tax internally, the remuneration paid to the employees concerned served as the reference. At the time, the CNAPS tax was 0.6%. All remuneration had to be taken into account: salary, bonuses, benefits in kind, vacation pay and so on.
- If you were working on behalf of a client, the tax was applied to your sales before tax (HT). This was 0.4% and was subject to VAT (value-added tax).
So, to sum up, the CNAPS rate was :
- 0.40% on the pre-tax amount of services for individuals;
- 0.60% on remuneration paid to employees performing security services on behalf of legal entities.
Invoicing the CNAPS tax
How do you include the CNAPS tax in your invoices? If your entire service concerned private security, the tax could be applied at the end of the invoice, on the total amount excluding VAT. You would then apply VAT to this amount, and obtain the total amount including VAT. This was equivalent to applying the following formula:
(Amount excl. VAT + CNAPS tax) + VAT = Amount incl. VAT
If, among your services, some were security-related and others were not, you had to separate the items and apply the CNAPS tax calculation on a case-by-case basis.
Which accounting software should I use?
You have a number of options for issuing invoices.
Of course, there's Excel, which you can use to create an invoice frame. However, you won't need to set any parameters beforehand to be able to correctly apply the various taxes to their respective bases.
The benefits of SaaS
Various invoicing tools are available to make your job easier. Factomos and Zervant are SaaS (Software as a Service) software packages. You can access them at any time and from any device (computer, tablet, smartphone).
Tools for managing your taxes and accounting
What's so great about these specialized software solutions? They're fluid enough from a usage point of view, to save you time in carrying out your administrative tasks (payroll, taxation, invoicing, exemptions, etc.). Their ergonomic design and ease of use make them easy to learn.
Up to date with the latest regulations, SaaS software can guide you in bringing your operational processes into compliance.
So, whether you're calculating VAT or applying the CNAPS tax, you can be sure of avoiding any omissions or miscalculations.
The operational benefit is matched by a valuable analytical aspect. The software can provide a cross-sectional or summary view of the cumulative amounts of a given type of tax paid, or a report on a given period.
Various software solutions are available to guide you and simplify your day-to-day tasks.