How to Navigate Your VAT Registration with Hellotax (Standard Package +)

Welcome to hellotax! 🎉
We’re excited to have you on board and ready to guide you step by step through your VAT registration process in France. This guide explains what happens next, what we’ll need from you, and what to expect at each stage.

Step 1: Welcome & Introduction

Check your inbox for your welcome email — it confirms your registration and outlines your next steps.

As part of our Standard Package, you’ll be invited to a Welcome Call with your appointed Account Manager.

During this call, your Account Manager will:

• Give you an overview of the service you’ve subscribed to

• Go through the Terms & Conditions of your hellotax subscription

• Show you how to navigate and manage your hellotax software account

• Answer any initial questions you may have about the VAT registration process

This call is your opportunity to get comfortable with the process and meet your main point of contact at hellotax.

📌 You can also review our support articles, such as “Company document requirements”, for more background on what’s needed later in the process.

Step 2: First Documents – General Information Form & Questionnaire

Within 1 business day, you’ll receive two important emails from your appointed Registration Assistant:

1. The General Information Form

2. A Questionnaire with additional business-related questions required for your VAT registration

Action required:

• Complete the General Information Form in full

• Answer all questions in the Questionnaire as accurately and completely as possible

• Reply to the same email thread with both the completed form and your answers

• Let us know if your are already OSS registered in an EU country and if so where and from what date. 

• Let us know of all your companies VAT numbers outside of the new French application being made. 

Providing full and detailed information at this stage helps us prepare your VAT application efficiently and avoid delays later in the process.

Step 3: Supporting Company Documents

Next, please send your company documents to your Registration Assistant by email.
⚠️ Important: Documents must be issued within the last 6 months 

💡 Always use the original email thread when sending documents to ensure everything stays connected to your case.

In addition or as part of the general documents already mentioned, the following documentation is required for VAT registration:

• Confirmation of Bank Account Details:
  The document should include:

  • Company name
  • Address
  • Bank account number

• For Companies Only:

  • Company's Bylaws or Articles of Association
    This document should be translated into French.

These documents help verify the company’s financial details and its legal structure. 💼

Step 4: Review by hellotax

Your Registration Agent will review all information and documents you’ve sent.
⏳ Please allow up to 2 business days for this step.

If anything is missing or unclear, your agent will contact you with specific instructions.

Step 5: Translations (If Required)

Some French vat applications require certain documents to be translated into French.

If translations are needed, we will:

• Inform you which documents require translation

• Share the translation costs and process

• Guide you through the next steps

📌 See: Translation of Company Documents

Step 6: Corrections or Final Documents

✅ Everything correct: You’ll receive the final versions of your documents to review, sign, date, and return.
❌ Something missing or incorrect: Your Registration Agent will contact you with clear instructions on what needs updating.

Step 7: Final Review by VAT Professional

Once all documents are complete and signed (and translated if needed), a local VAT professional will perform a final review and submit your application to the German tax office on your behalf.
⏳ Allow 1–2 business days for this step.

Step 7a: Additional Requests (If Needed)

Sometimes the tax office or VAT professional may need more information. Examples include:

• Proof of residency for directors

• Short questionnaires from the tax office

• Details about your business model or supply chain

• The tax authority may request the Articles of Association (AOA) and a translation, as well as other documents depending on the case.     

Please respond promptly to any requests to avoid delays.

Step 8: Waiting for the French Tax Office Decision

• Your application will be submitted via the INPI Guichet unique (France’s official portal), which is then processed by the French tax authority. 

• After your application is submitted, it is processed by the French tax authorities (Service des Impôts) in the following stages:

Stage 1: French Tax Identification (SIREN / SIRET)

This stage confirms that your business is registered with the French authorities and allows the VAT registration process to continue.

• The SIREN identifies your business entity

• The SIRET identifies the registered establishment in France

⏳ Typical processing time: around 8 - 12 weeks from submission

Stage 2: French VAT Number

Once your business registration is completed, the French tax office issues your French VAT number (FR VAT ID).

This VAT number is required for:

• VAT reporting in France

• Invoicing with French VAT

• Intra-EU transactions

⏳ Typical processing time: around 2–4 weeks after the SIREN/SIRET has been issued

OSS Registration (if applicable)

If you are also registering for OSS, the processing time is usually 1–2 weeks after submission, provided all information is complete.

💡 Tip: Once your SIREN/SIRET has been issued, your VAT registration is already well underway — the VAT number typically follows shortly after.

Step 9: Use Your VAT Number

After your VAT number is issued, include it on all invoices for sales or trade in France.

Step 10: Upload Your Transaction Data

Make sure to upload your monthly transaction data into your hellotax account by the 4th of the month following the reporting period.

This allows our team to prepare and file your VAT returns on time.

📌 Ref: Data Transfer

✅ That’s it!
By following these steps and staying in touch with your Account Manager and Registration Assistant, you’ll know exactly what to do — and when — throughout your VAT registration with hellotax.

We’re delighted to have you with us and look forward to supporting your business every step of the way!