Should we pay ‘taxe d'habitation’ if not in French house on January 1?

Covid and Brexit rules meant many non-residents were not physically in France on January 1 but remain liable to pay

taxe d'habitation paperwork
No Covid related exceptions for non-residents paying 'taxe d’habitation'
Published Last updated

Reader question: We rent a house in France. Our main residence is in England. We received a bill for the taxe d’habitation for 2021 but were only able to be there for 90 days over the year due to Covid travel restrictions and Brexit rules – and we were not there on January 1. Do we still have to pay?

Yes, unfortunately the bill is still payable. The taxe d’habitation is paid by those who are registered with the tax authorities on January 1 each year as the users of the property.

These bills are due for the whole year, even if the property is only used for part of the year. No exceptions have been made for the Covid travel restrictions.

Find help with navigating life in France with our new Reader Questions newsletter

Sign up for our pick of the week's questions from readers answered by The Connexion team – delivered to your inbox every Saturday.

See what other readers like you are asking including: How often is a rabies shot for dogs required for France-UK travel? Can foreign residents benefit from France's pension top-up benefit? and more.

Sign up for the free newsletter

Related articles

Are French second home property taxes different for non-residents?

How to adapt your monthly taxe d’habitation rate to avoid overpaying

I have received a taxe d’habitation bill but aren’t over 70s exempt?