The taxe foncière charge on millions of properties in France is set to increase in 2027 due to an update of presumed ‘comfort features’ present.
Bills are set to rise by €63 on average, if mairies opt in to the changes.
The proposed changes have led to consternation across France and led to several questions from Connexion readers.
We detail five of the most common below.
What are these ‘comfort features’ and how do they impact taxes?
The first thing to note is that the taxe foncière or main property tax is based in part on a property’s valeur locative cadastrale (VLC), or theoretical annual rental value.
Full calculations for the tax are complex, with several elements set at national and local level.
Floorspace (in m²) is among the elements used as a basis for taxing the property.
This comes partly from the property’s actual size, but can see notional m² added to compensate for certain elements.
One group of these elements is ‘comfort features’ (éléments de confort), a name that can confuse people.
The VLC system was adopted in the 1970s and in many instances has not been updated since then, including the concept of comfort features.
Therefore, several of these elements relate to features that are now seen as standard but were not necessarily commonplace in homes in the 1970s.
This includes running water – that adds a notional 4m² to a property’s taxable floorspace – gas installations (+2m²), a mains electricity connection (+2m²), a bath (+5m²), a shower cubicle (+4m²), a toilet (+3m²), a wash basin (+3m²), connection to mains drainage (+3m²) and central heating (+2m² per room).
For example, a property that is 70m² in size may have a taxable floorspace of well over 90m², due to these comfort elements, before any further additions or subtractions are made based on other criteria.
The VLC system is set to see an overhaul at some point in the future, but this has been pushed back a number of times.
How do authorities know features are present?
This is the crux of the issue.
In modern homes, most if not all of these ‘comfort features’ are included as standard and are automatically included in information about the property held by tax authorities and used for VLC calculations – but in older homes they may not have been present when the first evaluations took place in the 1970s.
In some cases, upgrades to properties over the years have not been notified to tax offices, with information from the 1970s still being used as the basis for the tax today.
Property owners are in theory supposed to inform local authorities of any updates to their property, both in case of a requirement to pay the taxe d'aménagement (garden shed tax) on improvements and for authorities to correctly recalculate the property’s taxable floorspace via the addition of new rooms or any new comfort features.
This update is now linked to the Biens Immobiliers section of an owner’s personal tax space, which since 2023 has been used to inform tax authorities of significant changes to properties.
However, information regarding millions of renovations since the 1970s is possibly not correctly listed, including that adding these ‘comfort elements’ to older – often rural – homes.
This means official information held by tax authorities suggests that millions of properties across France lack basic amenities such as indoor toilets, a bath or shower, access to mains electricity or water, and even a single basin.
A report from the French tax authorities noted that while some properties across France still lack these features, current VLC calculations vastly underestimate the actual state of the 7.4 million properties affected.
The change to the system authorises mairies to work on the assumption that properties do contain comfort features as standard – even if they are not currently listed as being among the property’s current features.
The onus will be on residents to prove that they are not present.
How much will taxes increase by?
The update to information held on the property will correspond to an automatic increase in property taxes from the new calculations assuming the presence of the features.
Bills for the roughly 7.4 million properties affected are estimated to be set to increase by an average of €63, but this will vary based on how many comfort features are to be added.
Some properties for example will see only one or two things included, seeing only a few m² added to final calculations, whereas others will see many new features added.
Tax authorities insist this is not an ‘increase’ in taxes but rather a regularisation to ensure all homeowners are paying the correct amounts.
Is it definite?
Originally announced in November 2025, backlash to the proposals meant it was postponed to see if another method could be found.
In spring 2026, the finance ministry confirmed it would be going ahead with the initial plans as these were the most straightforward way to deal with the issue.
However, the changes will not take place until 2027’s taxe foncière bills (sent in summer of 2027), giving mayors elected in March’s municipal elections time to prepare.
It will be up to local mayors to decide whether to implement the automatic recalculations in their commune, however as the taxe foncière is one of the few remaining locally-collected revenue streams, most mairies are expected to say yes.
To be implemented for the 2027 taxe foncière bills, mayors must inform tax authorities by September 2026.
However, they can opt-in for future years later down the line.
What do I need to do?
Property owners do not need to do anything.
Those who are set to see their bill increase by more than €63 due to the changes will be informed via letter of the increase.
Outside of this, it may be difficult to track a minor tax increase due to the change.
General increases to the taxe foncière may come due to nationwide annual increases to VLC rates based on inflation, as well as increases to local percentage rates voted on by municipal councils.
If your bill increases due to the revised presence of comfort features, but this comes alongside either a national or local increase, it may be hard to track it.
You can always ask for more detailed information about your taxe foncière bill from the authorities, which can help you to determine from where the increases have come.
This breakdown will show how the floorspace calculations have been made, allowing you to see if an assumed comfort feature your property does not possess has been added.
You can then contest the increase; providing proof that your property does not contain this feature, if that is the case.
