What taxes are levied on second homes in France?

Buying a second home in France can be a big capital outlay, and the costs do not stop on the day of purchase.

Taxe foncière – levied on built property – must be paid in full by October 20 each year by the owner, even if the property is rented out. Ask the current owner or agent before buying the house – the amount paid can vary tremendously from property to property.

Most people pay through 10 monthly direct debits from January to October, with the amount based on tax paid the year before. This allows November and December to be used for adjustments if you have paid too little, or for a welcome tax return.

Taxe foncière exemptions do exist, but they are hard to secure. The main one is for owners on retirement pensions, living in France, who have low incomes and who receive the Allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées benefit.

Read more: France’s ‘garden shed’ tax – how to check if previous owners paid and what if they did not?

Age-related tax examptions

There is another age-related exemption, including for second homes, for people over 75. It is linked to declared income in France, for the household, divided by the number of people on the tax declaration.

For a one-person household the revenue fiscal de référence in 2024, (the latest year given by the government due to budget delays) is €12,455 or under. For someone in a two-person household it is €19,107.

Taxe foncière payments, notionally based on the rental value of properties, are notoriously unfair.

New properties, or properties where there have been planning permissions granted for extensions, can pay considerably more than old chateaux, where the tax is based on the last revision in 1972.

The government is slowly trying to change this, but there is a lot of opposition to a measure which will see most people pay considerably more.

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Taxes for rubbish collection

The taxe foncière bill includes separate taxes for rubbish collection (taxe d’enlévement des ordures ménagères) and, in many areas, a tax towards flood prevention, even when the commune is situated on top of a hill.

Another property tax is the taxe d’habitation. It was scrapped for main homes, but second-home owners still have to pay. Like the taxe foncière, it is calculated based on buildings, including annexes such as garages. You are exonerated if you enter a care home.

One thing to watch out for is the effect of a new law, dubbed the ‘anti-Airbnb law’. Communes in a zone tendue (area deemed under housing pressure) – mainly tourist resorts and on the coast – can now raise taxe d’habitation on second homes to bring more lower-cost housing back.

In the same areas some communes also apply a taxe sur les logements vacants, which might affect people who only use their second homes for a few weeks of the year.

Going the other way, communes in areas classified as zones de revitalisation rurales (which cover roughly 60% of rural France) can grant exonerations from taxe d’habitation if the second home is classified a meublé de tourisme. Exoneration is on a year-by-year basis. You will need to fill in the necessary paperwork and send it to the tax office every year before December.

Read more: Can my neighbour park outside of my house in France?

Capital gains tax on homes

When you sell a second home for more than you paid for it, capital gains tax applies.

For properties not classed as a main home, gains are taxed at 19% for amounts up to €50,000. 

After this, surcharges of between 2% and 6% apply. Social charges are an additional 17.2%, reduced to 7.5% if you have Form S1. 

However, France operates a taper relief according to length of ownership. 

The gain is gradually reduced for tax purposes to the point where it becomes fully exempt from tax after 22 years of ownership. After 30 years it is also exempt from social charges.