French legal invoices need HT, VAT, and TTC totals. Everhour keeps approved time organized before billing math begins.
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This calculation answers the billing question behind a French legal invoice: how much should the client be charged for approved lawyer time before VAT, how much VAT applies, and what total TTC amount appears on the invoice. France uses the euro, so each rate, subtotal, VAT amount, and final total should be expressed in euros.
For French lawyers, hourly remuneration can be calculated as hours multiplied by the hourly rate. Except for emergency, force majeure, and specified legal-aid situations, the lawyer must have a written fee agreement stating the fee amount or calculation method and expected costs and disbursements. The calculator checks the math; the agreement controls what inputs are valid.
French national lawyer-fee rules do not impose a national 6-minute, 15-minute, or annual billable-hour standard. The fee calculation method is agreed with the client, and time spent is one recognized fee factor. That means the correct input is the time accepted under the fee agreement, not a default increment copied from another market.
The same rule applies to mixed-rate work. If a matter uses one hourly rate for senior lawyer work and another for associate review, keep those hours separate before totaling the invoice. Do not blend rates first unless the written fee agreement uses a blended rate. The invoice should still show each service line with quantity, precise description, unit price excluding VAT, VAT rate or exemption, and totals excluding and including VAT.
Use the base formula `hours × hourly rate` for each service line, then add the service-line totals for the HT subtotal. If VAT applies, multiply the HT subtotal by the VAT rate, then add that VAT amount to get the TTC total. The normal VAT rate in metropolitan France is 20% for ordinary taxable professional services.
For example, a French commercial matter includes 27 approved senior-lawyer hours at €180 per hour and 18 approved associate-review hours at €110 per hour. The senior-lawyer line is €4,860 HT, and the associate-review line is €1,980 HT. The subtotal is €6,840 HT. At 20% VAT, VAT is €1,368, so the invoice total is €8,208 TTC.
A calculator is enough for a one-off check when the approved hours, hourly rates, VAT treatment, and fee agreement are already settled. It is also enough for testing payment terms: between professionals, the default payment deadline is 30 days unless another deadline is agreed, with statutory caps of 60 days from invoice issue or 45 days end of month.
A managed workflow matters once several people record time, invoices need approval, or billing has to connect to payroll review and client reporting. Everhour Time Tracking captures task and project hours through timers or manual entries, supports approvals and locked periods, and gives teams a cleaner record before legal billing totals are calculated.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
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HT means the amount excluding VAT. For legal billing, the HT total is the approved billable time multiplied by the agreed hourly rate, plus any other invoice lines that are billed before VAT. The invoice then shows the applicable VAT rate or exemption and the TTC total, which is the amount including VAT.
The normal VAT rate in metropolitan France is 20% and applies to ordinary taxable professional services. A lawyer under the applicable VAT franchise regime may be exempt. For regulated lawyer activities in 2026, the VAT exemption threshold is prior-year turnover of €50,000 or less, with a current-year increased threshold of €55,000 before VAT becomes due from the relevant date.
The billing increment is agreement-based. French national lawyer-fee rules require the fee calculation method to be agreed with the client and identify time spent as a fee factor, but they do not prescribe a national 6-minute, 15-minute, or annual billable-hour standard. Use the increment or method stated in the fee agreement.
Between professionals, the default payment deadline is 30 days from completion of the service if the parties have not agreed another deadline. Professional parties may agree to terms of up to 60 days from invoice issue or 45 days end of month. Periodic invoices are capped at 45 days from invoice issue.
The common mistake is adding VAT before confirming whether the lawyer is subject to VAT. If VAT applies, calculate the HT subtotal first and then add 20% VAT. If the lawyer is under the applicable VAT franchise regime, the invoice uses the exemption treatment instead of adding a VAT amount.
Everhour Time Tracking captures task and project hours through live timers or manual entries, then routes them into timesheets for approval before billing review. Admins can lock completed periods, send reminders, and configure timer behavior so approved time is harder to change after invoicing starts.
Everhour lets admins set project billing status and mark specific tasks as non-billable inside a billable project. Reports can separate billable time, non-billable time, billable amount, and cost, so internal review time stays visible without being added to the client invoice.
Track approved legal work before billing begins. Everhour records task and project time, supports approvals and locked periods, and gives teams cleaner inputs for client billing.
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