Self-employed worker (TNS)
The social status of an independent professional, sole trader, majority manager, liberal profession, who is not an employee and pays their own social contributions. Many brokers operate as TNS, which affects their social cover and how their income is assessed in a loan file.
Key points
- Social status of an independent non-salaried professional: micro-entrepreneur, majority manager, liberal profession.
- Social contributions are the TNS's responsibility, via the self-employed social security scheme.
- A TNS's income is assessed differently from a salaried person's in a loan file.
- Social protection (health, retirement, welfare) is generally less extensive than under the salaried regime.
Frequently asked questions
How do banks assess a TNS broker's income in a credit file?
Banks generally use an average of net profit over two to three accounting years for a TNS, provided the activity shows sufficient duration and stability. Unlike a salaried employee whose income is evidenced by payslips, a TNS must provide balance sheets or tax notices, and the results must be consistent and trending upward. A broker accompanying a TNS should anticipate this documentary requirement when assembling the file.
Why does TNS status influence a borrower's bankability?
The main issue is income stability and readability. A TNS's income can vary significantly from year to year, which banks perceive as increased risk. Moreover, certain deductible expenses reduce taxable income but do not necessarily reflect actual living standards. An experienced broker knows how to reprocess the figures to present genuine repayment capacity in a compelling way.
What is the difference between a majority-share TNS manager and a minority manager for credit access?
The majority manager of an SARL (holding more than 50% of shares) falls under the TNS regime, assimilating them to a self-employed worker for banking analysis. The minority manager, by contrast, is treated as salaried and benefits from an identical social regime, with payslips to support it. This distinction can be decisive for income recognition: some banks apply greater haircuts to TNS income than to salaried income.
In practice
A majority SARL manager in brokerage whose net profit is 55,000 € in year one, 62,000 € in year two and 58,000 € in year three has a reference monthly income of approximately 4,917 € (annual average divided by 12) used to calculate their mortgage borrowing capacity.
Official sources
- Distinguishing self-employed from employee · Entreprendre.Service-Public.gouv.fr
- Article L519-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code · Légifrance
- Prudential supervision and resolution authority · ACPR (Banque de France)