Which areas pay most wealth tax?

Some 176,000 households received a bill for IFI property wealth tax in 2023, the last year for which a full report is available.

Compared to 41 million households assessable for French income tax, that represents about half of one percent. It is around half as many households as paid the former more wide-ranging ISF wealth tax, which was levied on other types of goods, such as yachts, as well as property in 2017, its last year of existence (342,942 payers).

Compared to the average tax household in France, those paying IFI draw much more of their income from investments and capital gains: in fact, more so than from work.

Compared to the average, IFI payers are also older and more likely to live abroad. The average age of a person declaring for IFI is 70.

Since the days of ISF, there has also been a significant change in terms of where wealth tax payers live in France. Prior to the launch of IFI in 2018, Ile-de- France had by far the largest concentration, followed by the south-east (Rhone-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur), and then the south-west.

Households paying IFI are now found firstly in Paris and the Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines departments to the west of Paris, followed by Val-de-Marne and Essonne to its south, the Alps – reflecting high prices of ski properties – the Côte d’Azur and the Atlantic coast.

The latter partly reflect these areas' popularity with tourists and the demand for holiday rental properties, which tends to keep demand and prices high.

The concentration up the Atlantic coast, with significant numbers all the way from Pyrénées-Atlantiques on the Spanish border to Morbihan in Brittany, is the most striking change compared to the days of ISF.

Among IFI payers (2023 figures) almost three-quarters have wealth in the first taxable band (below €2.5 million), with their average IFI bill coming to €5,212.

Around 20% have wealth in the €2.5 to €5 illion bracket, with an average tax bill of €16,900.

Just over 4% with taxable wealth between €5 million and €10 million have an average bill of €48,700 and around 1%, with more than €10 million pay about €151,000.

Which communes have the most IFI-payers?

Among towns (or Paris arrondissements) of 20,000 inhabitants or more with at least 50 IFI-payers, the commune with the highest average IFI tax payment was Le Gosier – a seaside resort on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, whose 62 IFI payers paid an average IFI tax of €21,178 on an average wealth of €3.49million.

However, the area with the most residents paying IFI was Paris 16e where 9,974 taxpayers with average wealth of €2.97m paid average bills of €14,427. This was followed by:

Paris 7e (4,524 people who paid the tax / €3.48m average property wealth /€18,651 average IFI tax), followed by: Paris 17e (4,205 / €2.53m / €10,837);

Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine (3,968 / €2.91m / €14,233); and Paris 15e (3,755 / €2.3m / €9454);

Paris 6e (2,980 / €3.1m / €16,243)

Lyon (2,569 / €2.4m / €9,467)

Paris 8e (2,401 / €2.91m / €14,372)

Boulogne-Billancourt (2,243 / €2.33m / €9,526)

Bordeaux (2,070 / €2.4m / €10,894)

Paris 14e (2,000 / €2.42m / €10,611)

Paris 5e (1,853 / €2.59m / €11,710)

Marseille (1,807 / €2.3m / €9,288)

Versailles (1,580 / €2.34m / €8,943)

Nice (1,446 / €2.29m / €10,063)