France’s new e-billing rules can affect homeowners too

Reforms requiring all businesses and self-employed individuals in France to switch to electronic billing are also impacting certain homeowners and landlords. 

The reform, aimed at reducing VAT fraud in France, will start to come into force on September 1, 2026. 

By this date, all impacted businesses and individuals should have signed up with an electronic billing service and be able to receive electronic invoices. 

From this date, larger businesses will also need to issue invoices electronically.

Smaller businesses (with 250 or fewer employees) and self-employed individuals will not need to start billing clients electronically until September 1, 2027, but must still sign up to a platform by the September 1, 2026 deadline.

The change applies to around 10 million businesses and self-employed individuals – even if they fall below VAT thresholds or benefit from VAT exemptions, they must still sign up to a platform. 

Recent reports suggest around 30% of businesses and self-employed people are yet to sign up to one of the approved electronic billing systems.

Rules apply to furnished rentals

All businesses are impacted and, with the reform first announced in 2022, have in theory had several years to prepare. 

The reform is more confusing for those who do not own a business but are still affected by VAT regulations, including certain landlords and people who carry out some holiday letting, even as a side activity. 

The new rules apply to anyone who operates a furnished tourist rental, including gîtes, because they should all have a SIREN (French business) number.

This is the case regardless of if they are considered professional or non-professional operators, or use the ‘real’ tax regime or the ‘micro-BIC’ simplified regime.

While there will be no need to issue electronic invoices to guests these individuals must be able to receive electronic invoices from suppliers and tradespeople carrying out works on the property.

Once they have signed up for electronic billing it will act “like a mailbox,” said Baptiste Bochart at Jedeclaremonmeuble.com to Le Figaro.

“It will house all invoices issued by professionals in connection with the rental of your property (for renovation work, accountant’s fees, etc.).” 

France’s finance ministry confirmed to the media outlet that in the above situation, there is little to do other than signing up, as the respective billing platforms for the tradesperson and themselves will handle any interaction. 

“The professional enters their invoice into their platform, which then verifies the property owner’s SIREN number via a portal and sends the invoice to the owner’s platform, where the owner retrieves it,” Mr Bochart added. 

However, invoices are not expected to remain on the platforms indefinitely (exact length depends on the contract, company used, etc), and people are advised to keep offline (but digital) copies of the invoices, saved on a computer, memory stick, or the cloud, etc.

Owners of furnished rental properties who rent out to businesses (such as firms needing accommodation for staff attending courses or on a placement) will need to eventually invoice them electronically from September 2027 onwards.

In addition, those who own a furnished property and who also offer several services to guests will also need to get set up to invoice electronically. 

If you own a furnished property through an SCI (société civile immobilière), all the same rules apply if the property is used for holiday rentals.

Exceptions for certain holiday rentals

However many carrying out holiday rentals will be exempt from needing to issue e-billing.

This includes if rental is to members of the public, and if the property owner does not offer three or more of the following services: changing linen, cleaning, providing breakfast, and welcoming guests.

Note that landlords letting out a property furnished on a long-term basis are also affected by the requirement for receiving e-billing (though not usually issuing e-billing) but landlords of unfurnished properties are typically not affected either receiving or issuing, and they do not usually have a business Siret. 

Rental transactions for unfurnished lets are not subject to VAT, and while landlords may hire tradespeople to work on their property, they only do so as a client. 

Solar panel rule for homeowners

As the requirements cover anyone who has a SIREN number, this also applies to those who sell excess electricity back to France’s powergrid. 

Individual homeowners who have such agreements in place may in some cases pass on this obligation directly to the company they sell electricity to, although they will need to set this up – more information is available in our article here. 

Recent developments in France’s solar panel push, however, make selling excess electricity less advantageous, and there is now a focus on storing up and using excess power to reduce strain on the wider network. 

No fines in 2026 for landlords

For owners of furnished rental lets who remain confused by the changes, there is good news – there will be no financial penalties this year for those who do not meet the September 1 deadline.

“Landlords of furnished properties are not among our priority targets,” said a spokesperson from the Direction générale des finances publiques (French tax authorities) to Le Figaro. 

“They are certainly not the ones we will focus our monitoring on at the outset. On the contrary, we intend to support them over the long term,” they added. 

However, in any event where a person or business is not adhering to the rules, they will be given time to comply. 

Tax authorities will send a reminder of the new rules – for landlords this will come at the end of the year if they are yet to sign up – giving them three months to join a platform. 

If they fail to sign up, they will receive a €500 penalty and a renewed notice – if they still fail to sign up, they risk a €1,000 fine every quarter they do not switch to electronic billing.

Note that if after September 2026 (or September 2027 for smaller businesses or self-employed people) you receive a paper invoice, you should not worry. 

Official advice from the tax authorities is to file it as usual – it remains eligible to be a tax-deductible cost for you. Authorities will instead pursue the issuer for using an outdated system.