French taxe foncière is due this month, with some exemptions
Taxe foncière is payable this month; these are the exemptions and reductions that might affect readers of The Connexion.
There are some reductions or exemptions linked to age, disability and income. One of the exemptions, for main homes only, is for older people who receive Aspa pension top-up benefit or who are recipients of the Allocation supplémentaire d’invalidité (Asi). They must occupy their home either alone or with people with the same benefits, or with their dependants, or with people whose annual income (revenu fiscal de référence shown on the avis d’impôt) is not above €10,815 for a single person or €16,590 for a couple.
Who is exempt and who can get reductions?
People who have Allocation d’adultes handicapés (AAH) and those aged over 75 on January 1 may also benefit but their incomes must not exceed the amounts mentioned. The exemption for over-75s is also available for second homes, but must be requested. In other cases the tax office should apply the exemption automatically – but you should contact them if they do not.
People from age 65 may benefit from a €100 reduction if their income was under the levels above and they meet the requirements with regard to people who live with them. If you normally rent a property out but it stood empty for three months or more because you could not find a tenant during lockdown, you can request a pro rata reduction.
There are also exemptions in some cases linked to the property, for example if you live in a new building (built since January 1, 2019) rated as especially energy-efficient (‘BBC’) there is often a 50% reductions or an exemption for the first five years, depending on the rules in the local area. This has to be requested in writing before the first year in which it is to apply.
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Deadlines and declarations
In many communes there is also an exemption for the first two years for new-built homes, for which a declaration must be sent no later than 90 days after the work is complete. The deadline for payment is October 15, and paper bills (avis) or emails are usually sent out three weeks before. However if you pay online the deadline is extended to October 20 and the money will not be debited before October 26. If you pay in monthly direct debit instalments you will probably receive a bill this month.
It will show if you have more tax to pay, for example if rates in your area have increased compared to previous years – and, if not, the October instalment will have been the last. Taxe foncière goes to your mairie and the departmental council to fund sports facilities, schools, roadworks etc.
Questions from The Connexion's Inheritance Law and Wills in France help guide: Can I leave money to my pet?
For many years people have worried about possible hikes in local property taxes due to planned reforms of theoretical rental values (valeur locative cadastrale) used as the basis of the tax calculation. However this has been put off (again) and is not expected to have any impact on the taxes this year.
These were last correlated with market prices in 1970 and the idea is to ensure that the values used for homes in a given area (which are increased annually) are still proportional with market prices. The government now wants to wait for the abolition of taxe d’habitation for all main homes in 2023. It plans to survey rents charged by landlords on January 1, 2023, with a view to changes nationwide in 2026.
Learn more about the taxe foncière in our October print edition
We cover more on the taxe foncière our upcoming October print edition, available in newsagents from next week. You can also subscribe to read the full digital version of The Connexion print edition, published monthly. Subscriptions start from €4 per month and include Print + Digital or Digital-only options. All subscription packages give you unlimited access to our online articles at connexionfrance.com. Find out more.
