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 9th February 2010
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 French property tax FAQThis article has now been archived, please visit our Tax zone for up-to-date information.Q. What are the taxes? A. Once you buy a house in France, you will be subject to two local property taxes which you will have to pay: taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation. Although collected centrally these taxes are distributed to your region and to the local communes and pay for things like rubbish collection, street cleaning, schools and other community facilities as well as the administration of these services. Q. Who pays? A. You must pay these taxes regardless of whether you are resident or not or whether it is a permanent or holiday home. Taxe foncière is payable by the owner, taxe d’habitation is payable by the occupier (e.g. if you let your house out on a lease or have a house-sitter, even if they are not there all the time). If the occupier does not pay you will remain liable. Q. How much? A. The rates of tax are determined by the collectivité territoriale, the local authorities of the région, département and commune who receive the benefit. Taxes vary from region to region, sometimes quite substantially, so if you are concerned to keep your property or living expenses to a minimum don’t forget to look into the levels of taxes before you buy. The taxe foncière is the more expensive of the two taxes, sometimes twice the amount of the taxe d’habitation. Q. When are they due? A. They are both due on the 1st January each year for that year, but the bills will arrive generally in August or September and must be paid by the date specified within October or November. Taxe d’habitation may be paid by monthly instalments. Q. How are they calculated? A. Both taxes are calculated according to the notional rental value of the property. This value, know as the "valeur locative cadastrale", is reviewed every year and determines whether the taxes increase or not. During 2003 there were a number of regions where these rates and taxes were increased substantially. The taxe foncière is made up of two parts; taxe foncière bati and taxe foncière non-bati. These are the different rates which apply to the buildings and to the land that belong to your property. Note also that changes to your property, e.g. the addition of gites, bedrooms, central-heating, swimming pools etc will all have an impact on the valeur locative cadastrale and therefore on your tax bill. You are obliged to report any such changes to the tax authorities (Centre des Impôts Fonciers or Bureau de Cadastre) within 90 days of completing any work. If in any doubt about the rules consult your local Mairie. Q. Are there any exemptions? A. New buildings and new renovations may be exempt from tax for two years. You will need to apply to your local office to obtain the exemption, but this is likely to be noted as you will have had to obtain planning permission in the first place. The taxes are not applicable to buildings used for agricultural purposes or where the premises are used exclusively for farming, business or student lodgings. People over 75 and those with disability pensions are also exempt and discounts may be available for people over 65 on low incomes. Q. What proportion will I have to pay on purchasing the house? A. Although not obliged by law the convention is to have the taxe foncière bill apportioned by the notaire so that you will be liable for the number of months and weeks left in the year after you sign for the house. This does not apply to the taxe d’habitation which must be paid for the full year by the previous occupant. Q. Can I contest my tax assessment? A. If you think your property tax assessment is too high you may query it with the authorities (Centre des Impôts Fonciers) and try to obtain a refund or change to the valuation. It would be a good idea to get your local Mairie to help you with this process as they may understand better the basis of the local calculations. Enjoyed this Article? Read the best of FrenchEntrée each month by registering for our French Property Tips newsletter. Property Buyer`s Guide Home Page Looking for a property in France? Use FrenchEntrée's Property Finders to help you find your property and to help you through the buying process 
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