Gites & Holiday Rentals : Changing to Régime Réel After La Loi Le Meur

• The upper limit for MICRO BIC earnings has been slashed from €188,700 to €77,700
• The “abattement” for charges as meublés de tourisme classé has changed from 71% to 50%
• Non-classified gîte owners face a €15,000 income limit in order to remain Micro-BIC and benefit from a 30% abatement
• From May 2026, all tourist accommodation will need to sign up to the national registry
• All new tourist accommodations from 2025 will need to have a DPE – an Energy Efficiency Diagnostics survey, which is A to E, until 2033
• Mayors have extended powers to grant or deny tourist accommodation in their commune

Read the official text detailing the new changes here.

Disclaimer: Obviously, anyone considering changing to the regime réel would be wise to speak to an accountant before making any change to their financial situation. This article is not financial advice – it is simply our story.

We had noticed when attending tourism meetings and gatherings that most of our French counterparts were in fact regime réel, and they indicated that it could be more advantageous, depending on your personal circumstances.

The biggest difference is that the regime réel, unlike Micro-BIC, allows you to offset your costs against your earnings. For example, utilities, bedding, washing powder, maintenance, diesel, etc. It is also possible to offset and depreciate the cost of the actual property, plus fixtures and fittings, too.

All this got us thinking. This was at a time before we had any concrete decision from the French government. After some difficult sums, plenty of head-scratching and visits to more than one accountant for free advice, the uncertainty was killing me,  so we made the leap and changed. Virtually straight after, we received some clarity from the government on the changes for 2025!

In short, a LOT of paperwork! You must keep every receipt and log your expenditure thoroughly and all spending needs to be linked to your business account. It also helps if it is categorised, so spreadsheet skills are useful.

You will also need an accountant, and prices for this can vary – we have always found personal recommendations are best.

It’s now tax return time, which is early May for the Charente, and we have found it incredibly stressful this year, as we are reliant on others to do their work before we can submit our return. Our liasse fiscal is still not ready, and trying to coordinate with the accountant has been a little nerve-wracking.

Financially, it will be a very similar outcome for us to our pre-Le Meur figures. So, on balance, yes, it absolutely has been worth it going forward for 2025. Friends who have done the same thing and who have more than three gîtes have gained considerably under this regime, so it is well worth taking a closer look, depending on your individual situation. We would say ALWAYS seek professional advice from a registered, practising accountant in France before making any major decisions.

Stress-wise, I would say it has absolutely not been worth it! The amount of hours I have spent rifling through paperwork and at a computer screen has been crazy – I would have honestly rather paid out a couple more thousand euros to keep my sanity! The uncertainty and new learning has been scary.

Remember, this is our family’s main income and grappling with an unknown system in a different language is not to be underestimated. Even when you speak French reasonably well, there can be an assumption that you know ‘the way things work’ – well, no, I do not. I was raised in another country until I moved here in my 40s, and I did not absorb any French culture by osmosis – I am learning every single day and trying my absolute best!

Going forward, I now understand more from my steep learning curve that it is possible to revert to Micro-BIC if need be in the future. However, for the time being, we are sticking with the regime réel and feeling a lot more confident for 2025!