MA Auto Entrepreneur

Morocco — Auto-Entrepreneur Regime (Statut de l'Auto-Entrepreneur)

The auto-entrepreneur (AE) status is Morocco's flagship simplified regime for freelancers, sole traders, and micro-businesses. It replaces ordinary income-tax accounting with a single impôt libératoire computed as a flat percentage of turnover actually collected (chiffre d'affaires encaissé), bundles a dedicated social-cover scheme (CNSS / AMO), and is administered through the national register RNAE (Registre National de l'Auto-Entrepreneur). It is governed by Loi n° 114-13 and Articles 42 bis, 42 ter, 43, 44-II and 73-III of the Code Général des Impôts (CGI).

This skill replies in the user's language. Moroccan users mix English, French, and Darija — keep the native terms (auto-entrepreneur, IR, CNSS, AMO, DGI, RNAE) and explain them in the user's chosen language.

1. Quick Reference

Quick Reference table

Field	Value
Country	Morocco (MA)
Regime	Auto-entrepreneur (statut de l'auto-entrepreneur) — impôt libératoire on turnover
Currency	MAD (dirham marocain, DH)
Turnover ceiling — commercial / industrial / artisanal	MAD 500,000 / year (verify current value)
Turnover ceiling — services (prestations de services)	MAD 200,000 / year (verify current value)
IR rate — commercial / industrial / artisanal	0.5% of collected turnover (verify current value)
IR rate — services	1% of collected turnover (verify current value)
Single-client anti-disguised-salary rule	Amounts > MAD 80,000 / year from one client (services) → client withholds 30% at source on the excess, liberatory (verify rate)
Tax base	Turnover collected, no deduction of expenses
Authority	Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) — tax.gov.ma
Register / portal	RNAE via Poste Maroc / Al Barid Bank — rn.ae.gov.ma (a.k.a. ae.gov.ma)
Social cover	Dedicated CNSS / AMO scheme, mandatory since décret 2.21.477 (2021)
Filing & payment	Quarterly, online, including nil (néant) declarations
Primary legislation	Loi 114-13; CGI Art. 42 bis, 42 ter, 43, 44-II, 73-III
Contributor	Open Accountants Community
Quality tier	Research-verified — pending sign-off by a Moroccan accountant (expert-comptable)
Version	1.0
Last research update	May 2026

Conservative defaults

When data is missing or ambiguous, the agent applies the conservative default and flags it for the reviewer:

• Activity mix unknown → treat the activity as services (1%), the higher rate, until the user confirms it is commercial/industrial/artisanal (0.5%).
• Turnover near a ceiling → assume the ceiling is breached and warn about exit consequences rather than assume continued eligibility.
• Single-client revenue near MAD 80,000 → assume the 30% withholding on the excess applies, and tell the user to confirm with the paying client.
• Eligibility uncertain (possible regulated profession) → assume the activity is excluded and route to ma-cpu / ma-income-tax until confirmed.
• 2026 figures → all rates and ceilings carry "verify current value"; check the Loi de Finances 2026 and the DGI before finalising any number.

2. Eligibility & Excluded Activities

Who can opt in

• Eligibility criteria — Resident physical persons (individuals) carrying on an industrial, commercial, artisanal, or service activity on their own account. Annual turnover within the ceilings above. Registered in the RNAE and holding the AE card. A person may combine activities (e.g. commerce + services) provided each branch stays under its own ceiling and neither branch exceeds its limit — see §3 for the combined-activity test. (Loi 114-13)

Excluded activities (professions réglementées and others)

• Excluded activities — The AE status is not available to regulated/liberal professions and a list of other activities, including (non-exhaustive — confirm against the regulatory list): - Liberal professions: lawyers (avocats), notaries (notaires), doctors and health professionals (médecins, dentistes, pharmaciens), chartered accountants / experts-comptables, architects, engineers in regulated practice, court officers (huissiers, adouls), etc. - Financial / insurance intermediation. - Real-estate development (promotion immobilière). - Regulated transport operators. - Activities subject to special licensing or excise (e.g. tobacco, alcohol). > Default rule: if there is any doubt that the activity is a regulated profession, treat it as excluded and route the user to ma-cpu (Contribution Professionnelle Unique) or ma-income-tax (régime du résultat net simplifié / réel). Do not assert eligibility for a borderline profession.

3. Rates & Computation

Turnover bands and liberatory IR

Turnover bands and liberatory IR

Activity	Annual ceiling	IR rate on collected turnover
Commercial / industrial / artisanal	MAD 500,000 (verify)	0.5% (verify)
Services (prestations de services)	MAD 200,000 (verify)	1% (verify)

• Libératoire tax treatment — Tax is a flat percentage of turnover actually collected during the period — no expense deduction. The tax is libératoire: it discharges the AE's income tax on that activity, so AE turnover is not re-entered on the progressive IR scale and no annual global IR return is filed for the AE activity.
• IR libératoire formula — IR libératoire = turnover collected in the quarter × rate (0.5% or 1%)

Some sources reference a small supplementary/professional duty layered on top of the base rate in certain brackets. Treat any add-on as "verify current value against the DGI auto-entrepreneur guide / Loi de Finances 2026" before using it in a computation.

Combined activities

• Combined activities rule — If a user runs both a commercial and a service branch, apply each rate to its own turnover and check each branch against its own ceiling. Breaching either ceiling triggers the exit rule in §5.

The single-client > MAD 80,000 rule (anti-salary-disguise)

• Single-client >80,000 withholding rule — To stop employers re-labelling employees as auto-entrepreneurs, the law caps how much an AE may bill one single client: - For services, when annual revenue from one client exceeds MAD 80,000, the excess above 80,000 is not taxed at the 1% liberatory rate. - Instead the paying client withholds tax at source at 30% (verify rate — historically 30%, per CGI Art. 73) on the excess, and this withholding is liberatory for that excess. (CGI Art. 73)
• Single-client withholding formula — Taxed at 1% liberatory = min(client revenue, 80,000) Subject to 30% withholding = max(client revenue − 80,000, 0) 30% withholding (by client) = max(client revenue − 80,000, 0) × 30% (verify rate)

Practical effect: an AE doing essentially full-time work for one company gets pushed toward an employee-like 30% rate on the excess. If a user's revenue is concentrated in one client, flag both the tax consequence and the labour-law risk of disguised employment (requalification en contrat de travail).

4. Social Cover (CNSS / AMO for Auto-Entrepreneurs)

Since décret n° 2.21.477 (2021) and the généralisation of AMO (Assurance Maladie Obligatoire) to non-salaried workers (TNS), CNSS affiliation is mandatory for every auto-entrepreneur.

What it covers

• CNSS/AMO coverage — - AMO — mandatory health insurance: medical costs, hospitalisation, medicines, for the AE, spouse, and children. - Basic retirement (retraite de base). - Daily allowances for maternity / temporary incapacity, subject to contribution conditions. (décret n° 2.21.477 (2021))

How contributions are computed

• CNSS contribution computation — Contributions are forfaitaires (flat-rate by bracket), based on declared turnover, and collected quarterly alongside the tax through the AE portal. - The CNSS scheme uses fixed brackets T1 to T8; declared (annualised) turnover places the AE in a bracket, each with a set contribution amount (verify the current T1–T8 amounts on cnss.ma / ae.gov.ma — not consistently published). - A minimum contribution applies even with zero turnover — historically ~MAD 300 / quarter (≈ MAD 1,200 / year) (verify current value). - Commonly cited bases: services ≈ 50% of turnover, commercial ≈ 20% of turnover used to set the bracket (verify — methodology varies by source). > Default: when the exact bracket amount is unknown, quote the minimum ~MAD 300/quarter floor and tell the user the precise figure must be read off the CNSS / ae.gov.ma bracket table for their declared turnover. Do not invent a T1–T8 amount.

5. Registration & Filing / Payment Calendar

Registration (RNAE)

• RNAE registration steps — 1. Apply on rn.ae.gov.ma (the RNAE portal, run by Poste Maroc / Al Barid Bank) or at a Barid Bank branch. 2. Provide CIN (national ID), activity, and address; registration is free. 3. Processing typically 7–15 days; you receive the auto-entrepreneur card and a tax identifier. 4. CNSS affiliation is created alongside registration.

Filing & payment (quarterly)

Quarterly filing/payment calendar

Quarter	Period	Declare & pay by (verify exact dates each year)
Q1	Jan–Mar	end of April
Q2	Apr–Jun	end of July
Q3	Jul–Sep	end of October
Q4	Oct–Dec	end of January (following year)

• Filing/payment rules — Declaration and payment are quarterly, online, and nil declarations (déclaration néant) are still required when there is no turnover. Payment is online (carte bancaire, virement, réseaux agréés). The CNSS contribution is collected at the same time as the tax. > Missing a declaration (including a nil one) or a payment risks penalties and, ultimately, radiation from the RNAE. Confirm exact deadlines for 2026 on ae.gov.ma.

6. Worked Examples

All figures use the 2026 rates/ceilings flagged "verify". Recompute with confirmed values before relying on them.

Example 1 — Service freelancer, multiple clients

Sara is a freelance web developer (services). 2026 collected turnover MAD 150,000, spread across 5 clients (largest single client MAD 45,000).

• Within the services ceiling (200,000). Eligible.
• No client exceeds 80,000 → no 30% withholding.
• IR = 150,000 × 1% = MAD 1,500 for the year.
• Plus CNSS quarterly contributions per her turnover bracket (verify amount).

Example 2 — Services with one dominant client (>80k rule)

Youssef does design work; 2026 turnover MAD 120,000, of which MAD 100,000 from a single agency and MAD 20,000 from others.

• Within ceiling (200,000). Eligible.
• Single client = 100,000 > 80,000 → excess = 20,000.
  • First 80,000 from that client + the 20,000 from other clients = 100,000 at 1% → MAD 1,000.
  • Excess 20,000 × 30% = MAD 6,000 withheld at source by the agency (verify rate), liberatory on that slice.
• Total tax ≈ MAD 7,000. Flag the disguised-employment risk given the concentration.

Example 3 — Commercial activity at the lower rate

Khadija resells handmade goods (commercial/artisanal). 2026 collected turnover MAD 400,000.

• Within commercial ceiling (500,000). Eligible.
• IR = 400,000 × 0.5% = MAD 2,000 for the year.
• Plus CNSS quarterly contributions per bracket (verify).

Example 4 — Ceiling breach → exit

Omar (services) collects MAD 230,000 in 2026, exceeding the 200,000 services ceiling.

• One year over is tolerated; the AE is generally radiated only if the ceiling is exceeded two consecutive years (verify the current grace rule).
• On exit, Omar moves to ma-cpu (CPU) or the ma-income-tax régimes (résultat net simplifié / réel) and ordinary IR/TVA obligations may begin.
• Action: model the post-exit position with ma-cpu and ma-income-tax and advise on TVA registration thresholds.

7. Tier 2 — Reviewer Judgement Required

Escalate to the Moroccan expert-comptable reviewer when:

• Single-client concentration suggests disguised employment (labour-law requalification risk beyond the 30% tax point).
• Ceiling breach in the current or prior year — exit mechanics, CPU vs net-income routing, and TVA registration.
• Borderline excluded activity (possible regulated profession) — eligibility call.
• Combined activities straddling both ceilings.
• CNSS bracket / AMO entitlement disputes or arrears.
• VAT (TVA) interaction — AE turnover is generally outside ordinary TVA, but confirm against the TVA thresholds (see morocco-vat) if activity is borderline.
• Any client-specific number where the agent had to fall back to a "verify" value.

The agent must never present these as settled; it presents the computation, the assumptions, and the open items for the reviewer to sign off.

8. Reference

Legal references

• Legal references — - Loi n° 114-13 relative au statut de l'auto-entrepreneur (19 February 2015). - Code Général des Impôts (CGI) — Art. 42 bis, 42 ter (regime & conditions), 43, 44-II (turnover ceilings / base), 73-III (rates, including the single-client withholding). - Décret n° 2.21.477 (2021) — mandatory CNSS / AMO affiliation for auto-entrepreneurs (généralisation AMO to TNS). - Loi de Finances 2026 — confirm current rates, ceilings, and any add-on duty; 2025 IR reform context: the ordinary IR scale was reformed (exempt band raised to MAD 40,000, top rate reduced to 37%), which is the fallback regime if an AE exits. - Authority: Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) — tax.gov.ma. Register: RNAE — rn.ae.gov.ma (Poste Maroc / Al Barid Bank). Social: CNSS — cnss.ma. (Loi n° 114-13; CGI Art. 42 bis, 42 ter, 43, 44-II, 73-III; Décret n° 2.21.477 (2021); Loi de Finances 2026)

Short test suite

1. Q: Service freelancer, MAD 90,000 turnover, no client over 80k. A: IR = 90,000 × 1% = MAD 900; within ceiling; CNSS per bracket.
2. Q: Commercial AE, MAD 600,000 turnover. A: Ceiling breached (>500,000) — flag exit, route to ma-cpu / ma-income-tax.
3. Q: Services AE, single client pays MAD 130,000. A: 80,000 at 1% (MAD 800); 50,000 × 30% = MAD 15,000 withheld by client (verify rate); flag disguised-employment risk.
4. Q: Doctor wants AE status. A: Excluded (regulated profession) — route to ma-income-tax.
5. Q: Zero turnover this quarter. A: Still file a déclaration néant; minimum CNSS (~MAD 300/quarter, verify) still due.
6. Q: Activity mix not stated. A: Default to services / 1% and the 200,000 ceiling until confirmed.

PROHIBITIONS

• Prohibitions list — - Do NOT confirm eligibility for any regulated/liberal profession (lawyer, doctor, notary, expert-comptable, architect, etc.) — default to excluded. - Do NOT apply the AE liberatory rates to turnover above a ceiling — once breached, the regime no longer applies; route to ma-cpu / ma-income-tax. - Do NOT ignore the single-client > MAD 80,000 rule for services — apply the 30% withholding on the excess (verify rate) and flag disguised-employment risk. - Do NOT deduct business expenses — the base is turnover collected, gross. - Do NOT invent CNSS T1–T8 bracket amounts — quote the minimum floor and send the user to cnss.ma / ae.gov.ma for the exact figure. - Do NOT state any rate, ceiling, or deadline as final without the "verify current value" caveat against the Loi de Finances 2026 and the DGI. - Do NOT advise on TVA, employees/payroll, multi-state, or company forms (SARL/SA) under this skill — route to the relevant skill. - Do NOT issue a return as filed without expert-comptable sign-off.

Disclaimer

This skill is research-verified against public sources (DGI / tax.gov.ma, the auto-entrepreneur portal ae.gov.ma, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, and reporting on the Loi de Finances 2025/2026) as of May 2026. It is YMYL content and is pending sign-off by a Moroccan accountant (expert-comptable). Rates, ceilings, CNSS bracket amounts, and deadlines change with each Loi de Finances and must be re-verified before use. Nothing here is a substitute for advice from a licensed Moroccan expert-comptable or the DGI. Part of openaccountants.com — open-source tax skills for the self-employed.