TL;DR: Co-consumption is distinguished by the sharing of costs for a service that the provider also uses themselves with the beneficiaries. If this condition is not met, or if the amount requested exceeds the direct costs, the activity becomes a personal service, and the income is taxable under common law. Legal entities or individuals acting in a professional capacity are excluded.
Definition and framework of co-consumption
Co-consumption refers to an activity where an individual shares with others the costs related to a service that they also use themselves. This condition is cumulative: the provider must themselves be a beneficiary of the service for the activity to be considered co-consumption.
Exclusion from the co-consumption framework
The following are not eligible for this regime:
- legal entities;
- natural persons acting within the scope of their business or in direct connection with their professional activity.
Financial limits and nature of the activity
If the amount requested by the provider exceeds the direct costs incurred for the service (excluding their own share), the activity falls outside the scope of co-consumption and becomes a personal service. This applies in particular to carpooling, the organisation of shared meals (co-cooking), or sea outings.
Tax consequences in case of non-compliance with the criteria
When the criteria for co-consumption are not met, the income generated constitutes taxable profit under the common law rules applicable to the corresponding tax schedule.
Obligations of digital platforms
Operators of digital matching platforms transmit data on co-consumption activities only if:
- a user's transactions exceed €3,000 annually;
- and the same user has carried out at least 20 transactions in the year.
These thresholds are assessed by adding up the operations carried out by the same person on the same platform for service provision activities (including co-consumption) and sales of goods.
Differences with other forms of collaborative economy
Unlike other collaborative models, co-consumption requires that the provider is also a user of the service. Other forms may involve the provision of services or goods without the provider directly benefiting from them, which subjects them to different tax regimes.
Special cases and clarifications
Publicly accessible transport services provided on the basis of predefined schedules (public transport, trains, buses, etc.) do not fall under the definition of a personal service, as they do not respond to a specific request from a user.