In 2024, French property bills (the taxe foncière) are increasing by an average of 3.9 percent. That said, your individual bill may differ, and some locations are instituting higher increases than others.
The taxe foncière – or property-owners’ tax – is paid by everyone who owns property in France, including those who live in another country.
It is calculated based on the individual rentable value of the property, which is updated yearly and takes inflation into consideration.
READ MORE: Taxe foncière: What exactly is the French property tax and do I have to pay it?
Basically, if you added a pool or a new veranda, then you can expect your bill to go up.
Then the taxe foncière also considers the local tax rate, which is decided by local authorities, including the commune, département and région.
Where are rates increasing?
The good news is that unlike last year, fewer municipalities opted to increase their tax rates. A recent study showed that among France’s 42 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, only seven opted to increase the taxe foncière.
READ MORE: Taxe Foncière: What you need to know about 2024 French property tax bills
Here is the list of the highest average increases, according to BFMTV.
- Nice, increase of 15.8 percent
- Saint-Étienne, increase of 14.1 percent
- Nancy, increase of 13.4 percent
- Annecy, increase of 13.4 percent,
- Villeurbanne, increase of 9.8 percent
- Montreuil, increase of 5 percent
- Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion, increase of 2.7 percent
As for smaller cities, with 40,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, 18 of the 154 cities opted to increase the taxe foncière.
These include;
- Saint-Priest, 16 percent increase
- Neuilly-sur-Seine, 10 percent increase
- Meaux, 9 percent increase
- Clichy-la-Garenne, 9 percent increase
- Le Cannet, 8.8 percent increase
- Rezé, 7.7. percent increase
- Gennevilliers, 5.2 percent increase
- Fontenay-sous-Bois, 5 percent increase
- Thionville, 5 percent increase
- Créteil, 3.9 percent increase
- Anglet, 3.2 percent increase
- Bayonne, 3.1 percent increase
- Antony, 3 percent increase
- Rueil-Malmaison, 3 percent increase
- Bourg-en-Bresse, 2.9 percent increase
- Saint-Pierre, 2.2 percent increase
- Saint-Louis, 1.4 percent increase
- Poitiers, 1 percent increase
There were also five areas that opted to decrease the tax, including Brive-la-Gaillarde (down 0.40 percent), Wattrelos (down 0.40 percent), Tarbes (down 0,60 percent), Castres (down 1 percent) and Mantes-la-Jolie (down 2.60 percent).
How much does the increase actually amount to?
Taking Nice – the city with the largest increase – as an example, estimates from Actu Nice in May found that the rise in taxe foncière would be ‘modest’.
The initial estimates showed that it would come out to about €12 a month on average, depending on the surface area of your flat or house.
For homes sized 54 metres squared, the increase would be closer to €9.50 per month, while 100 metre squared homes would see a rise of €16 on average per month.
Ultimately, the exact value of your bill depends on individual factors about your house, as well as location.
How does this compare to last year?
In comparison, in 2023, property owners saw minimum increases of 7.1 percent, which represented one of the largest increases in 30 years.
Some locations, such as the city of Paris raised the taxe foncière rate by a record 52 percent, while Grenoble raised it by 25 percent and Bordeaux by 11.6 percent.
This guide by The Local can give you a better idea of how much property owners paid in 2023.
What about the taxe d’habitation?
Second-home owners also have to pay the taxe d’habitation, which is a separate type of property tax. This is usually sent out later in autumn, around early to mid-November.
In places with a housing shortage – known as zones tendues – local authorities can increase the taxe d’habitation by a maximum of 60 percent per year.
As for 2024, 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.
READ MORE: The French towns hiking taxes for second-home owners in 2024
We live in Nice and have an apartment of 94 sq m. Our Taxe Fonciére this year was 1800€ so a 15.8% increase for next year will bring it up to c 2084€ so an increase of 284€ about 24€ per month rather than 16€ estimated. Our taxe d’hab is already 2700 a year and we certainly don’t look forward to any substantial increase in this.