Second-home owners in certain parts of France – particularly those in popular destinations such as Saint Tropez, Chamonix, Ile de Brehat and Saint Malo – should prepare for their tax bills to jump up quite a bit in 2024.
In France there are two different types of property taxes. First, there’s the property owners’ tax (taxe foncière), which is paid by everyone who owns property in France, regardless of what they use it for or whether they are a French resident.
The second property tax – taxe d’habitation – is now only paid by second-home owners. Those who rent no longer pay any property taxes.
READ MORE: Your guide to French property taxes
Each year, local authorities in areas with housing shortages can opt to increase the taxe d’habitation on the second homes in their area.
According to the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques, the number of communes voting to increase taxes for second homes has jumped to 1,461 in 2024, in comparison to 308 who did so in 2023.
According to the French government’s economy website: “[Taxe d’habitation] is calculated on the basis of the rental value of the dwelling and outbuildings, applying rates voted by the local authorities.”
Local authorities in areas where demand for property outstrips supply (ie a zone tendue) can impose a surcharge on unoccupied properties and second homes. This would include, for example, major cities such as Paris, Lyon and Toulouse – among others – as well as popular tourist areas.
READ ALSO: French property: What is a ‘zone tendue’ in France?
Almost 10 percent of France’s housing stock is second homes, the vast majority owned by French people.
Where are taxes on second homes increasing?
In 2024, a total of 3,697 communes were handed the authority to increase taxe d’habitation bills, compared to 1,136 in 2023.
Of the additional 2,561 communes that have this right, 1,461 have chosen to do so.
The full list of the 1,461 additional communes that have voted to increase taxe d’habitation on second homes is available, in département order, on a document via the impots.gouv website here (pdf).
The list also shows the exact rate of increase to be applied in each commune.
More than half of the towns voting to apply the tax rises in 2024 are concentrated in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur. A total of 780 communes are in these three regions.
The remainder are concentrated mostly along the Atlantic coast and around Paris, including Divonne-les-Bains (Ain), Roquefort-les-Pins (Alpes-Maritimes), Île d’Aix (Charente-Maritime), Concarneau (Finistère), Mondouzil (Haute-Garonne), Arcachon (Gironde), Île de Bréhat (Côtes d’Armor), and Saint Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine).
Several towns opting to increase their taxe d’habitation were also popular tourist destinations, including Saint Tropez along the Mediterranean, Briançon, Chamonix and Chambery in the Alps, and Bonifacio in Corsica.
Overall, the average increase this year was 40 percent.
However, 539 of the 1,461 (or 37 percent) opted for the maximum 60 percent mark-up, according to government figures, in comparison to 39 percent choosing to do so in 2023.
Meanwhile, 59 communes chose to apply the lowest possible five percent increase, including Le Noyer (Hautes-Alpes), Balazuc (Ardèche), Propiac (Drôme) and Lamalou-les-Bains (Hérault).
What difference does this make to my tax bill?
The size of your bill will therefore depend on the value of your second home, and whether your local authority has imposed a surcharge for second homes.
To give you a rough idea, here are the average bills for 2023.
The aim of the surcharge is to encourage second-home owners to either sell the property, or rent it out long term.
Owners of second homes may be exempt from taxe d’habitation charges in particular circumstances.
- You are obliged, because of your professional activity, to live in a different location from your main home
- You retain exclusive use of the dwelling that was your main residence prior to being permanently housed in a care facility
- You are unable to use the property as your principal residence for reasons outside your control, such as it not being fit for permanent habitation, or it is due to be demolished or renovated as part of a town-planning project
- You have put it up for rent or sale at market prices
READ ALSO: Reader question – who has to pay France’s ‘vacant property’ tax?
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