In 2023 there is an additional requirement for anyone who owns a home in France – they must fill in a one-off Declaration of occupationstating whether their property is their main residence or a second home.
The reason for this is changes to the tax system that are gradually phasing out housing tax for all but the highest earners – with the exception of second homes.
You can find a full explanation of how to file the declaration HERE.
Many of our readers have contacted us with questions about this new requirement, so we’ve answered some of the most frequently-asked here;
Do I still have to do this even though I don’t live in France?
A fairly sizeable number of people own property in France (usually holiday homes) but live elsewhere, such as the UK or the US. If you don’t live in France or have income in France you probably won’t have to do the annual income tax declaration, but the Declaration of occupation is different.
It concerns anyone who owns property in France, including second-home owners who live in another country.
Do I have to do this even though I pay all my taxes in another country?
If you own property in France you probably do, in fact, pay tax here – property taxes. Bills go out every autumn for the property tax (the property owners’ tax) and housing tax (the householders tax) – and second-home owners would usually pay both. You may also receive a bill from your commune for waste-collection services, although the annual TV licence bill (which used to be sent out at the same time as the property tax bill) has been scrapped this year.
If you own property in France and have never paid property taxes, it might be worth a trip to the local tax office to check that you are registered correctly, as almost all property owners are liable for property taxes.
Do I have to do this every year now?
No, this is a one off. You complete the declaration this year (before June 30th) and then you don’t have to do it again until your situation changes – eg a second home becomes your main residence.
Why do we have to do this?
It’s because of changes to the tax rules. Housing tax – the occupier’s tax – used to be paid by virtually everyone, but is now gradually being phased out for all but high earners. The exception to this is second homes, so the tax office needs to know whether your property is used as your main residence or a second home so that they know whether to send you a bill in autumn.
Does this mean more taxes?
No, the declaration is purely for information – if your property is a second home you will continue to get your annual housing tax bill as normal, if it is a main residence you may receive no bill or a reduced bill, depending on your income.
What about commercial property?
If you own commercial property such as a workshop, bar or retail premises, then this does not affect you, the tax declaration is in relation to homes.
It’s all about clearing up the property status for housing taxand you don’t pay this type of tax if it is a commercial premises.
What about gîtes, holiday homes or Airbnb properties?
It’s really all down to what you use the property for – if you run it entirely as a business it should be registered as a business.
If the property is your home and you occasionally rent it out on Airbnb (say, when you’re on holiday) then it still counts as a home and you will need to complete the declaration of occupation. Be aware that certain areas, including Paris, limit how many days per year you can rent out a property on Airbnb without registering it as a business.
Some people keep properties mostly for their own use as second homes but sometimes rent them out for extra money – be aware that if you do this, you may need to register as a business and declare any income received – full details here.
Can I just ignore it, or tell them my second home is a main residence?
Ignoring or lying to the tax office is generally quite a bad idea whatever country you’re in – they can get quite cross. Failure to complete the declaration in time, or giving false information on the declaration, will net you a €150 fine per property.
This sounds like a massive pain
Welcome to France – home of bureaucracy! Paperwork is a fact of life in France and that’s probably unlikely to change soon. If you’re already registered in the impots.gouv site then this is one of the more painless admin tasks – a couple of clicks, fill out the form and file it online and you’re done.
If you have questions on the property tax declaration, you can email us on [email protected] and we will do our best to answer them.
You can also call the tax hotline on 0 809 401 401, visit your local tax office (search Centre des finances publiques plus the name of your commune to find your local office) or select the ‘Contact et RDV’ section on the tax website.