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Selling a second home in France: What has Brexit changed?

French Tax Online outlines how Britons owning a property in France that is not their primary residence will be affected if they decide to sell 

The changes relate only to the sale of a second home in France by Britons living in the UK Pic: Nikolay Dimitrov - ecobo / Shutterstock

Brexit has brought about many changes in several areas of everyday life for readers, and Britons owning second homes in France will be affected if they decide to sell their property.

As UK nationals ceased to be treated as EU citizens on January 1, 2021, there are two major consequences regarding the sale of French property:

  1. It is now mandatory to have a tax representative appointed, at the seller’s cost, in most cases; and
  2. The percentage of capital gains tax is higher than it was before Brexit.

Main homes are not affected. These changes relate only to the sale of a second home in France by Britons living in the UK.

The chart below shows if you need the services of a tax representative or not:

The sponsors of this column are tax representatives in France and would be pleased to support you with this obligation in order to make the sale as smooth as possible.

This column is sponsored by French Tax Online, a company owned by Géraud Nayral, a French Chartered Accountant. The bilingual team at French Tax Online assist English speaking clients who live or are invested in France ensuring they comply with French tax obligations and declarations and includes completing French tax returns online for clients. French Tax Online is only able to answer queries if retained on an advisory basis. See frenchtaxonline.com or call + 33 6 68 92 19 25

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