There’s a second in virtually each overseas property proprietor’s life in France when the romance of a pied-à-terre in Paris, a stone village home in Provence, or an ethereal house in Good runs headlong into the fact of French administration.
In case you personal property in France and have by no means filed a déclaration d’occupation (occupancy declaration), the deadline to take action was July 1st 2026, even when nothing about your state of affairs has modified not too long ago. In case you’ve missed it, the high quality is €150 per property.
For anybody who’s simply having fun with a vacation residence, that is an administrative inconvenience value finding out. In case you’re relocating to France particularly to launch a enterprise, nonetheless, it is a change you want to concentrate on. Get the property aspect fallacious, and you might find yourself complicating the enterprise aspect in ways in which received’t be apparent till you are mid-application.
What’s altering for French property house owners?
Since 2023, each property proprietor in France has needed to declare through the Gérer mes biens immobiliers portal to outline how every property is occupied: as a principal residence, a second residence, rented long-term, rented seasonally, vacant, or occupied by another person. This single declaration is what tells the tax authorities which native taxes apply to you.
The rationale it issues greater than ever is what’s generally known as the taxe d’habitation. Whereas this was carried out away with a number of years in the past, that was just for major residences. The tax nonetheless applies in full to second properties, and in high-demand areas it additionally typically comes with a surcharge, as native authorities use it to push underused housing again onto the rental market.
In the meantime, the taxe foncière (the tax each proprietor pays, no matter how the property is used) hasn’t gone anyplace. Primarily based on the valeur locative cadastrale (the property’s theoretical rental worth), this tax is multiplied by locally-set charges, which is why a equally sized house in Paris, the Dordogne, or Good can generate very completely different payments. Nationally, taxe foncière payments are rising by round 0.8% this yr consistent with inflation, on prime of no matter your commune decides so as to add domestically.
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Then there are vacant properties. French tax regulation attracts a pointy line between a furnished second residence and a genuinely vacant, unfurnished property. Whereas a furnished residence counts as a second residence no matter how typically it’s occupied, an unfurnished one can fall underneath separate vacant-housing taxes in high-demand areas. This typically means a furnished Paris house ready to your subsequent go to counts as a second residence, not a vacant one, which may add as much as a hefty tax invoice!
Why this impacts enterprise house owners
This may not appear too impactful for anybody who owns a enterprise, or is seeking to begin one. However once you register most firm buildings in France, you have to present a registered enterprise tackle, or what’s generally known as a siège social. For a lot of first-time founders, this could imply utilizing their French residence to keep away from the price of a business lease, or paying for a digital workplace.
Whereas that is allowed, French guidelines typically require that tackle to be your major residence, not a second residence. In case you use a property that is not your declared principal residence as your organization’s registered tackle, the domiciliation is capped at a most of 5 years slightly than being open-ended. Relying in your lease, co-ownership guidelines, or native city planning restrictions, it will not be permitted in any respect, which means that your selection of tackle can find yourself shaping which firm formation route is on the market to you.
For anybody who has owned a French property as a second residence, after which decides to relocate and begin a enterprise, that may make issues difficult. If that property was declared as a second residence slightly than a principal residence, merely shifting in and beginning to work from it is not sufficient. You’ll want an up to date occupancy declaration reflecting that it’s your principal residence change earlier than it may be used as your corporation tackle.
Associated article: How To Begin a Vacation Cottage or Gîte Enterprise in France
There’s additionally one other regulation that’s value realizing about. France’s actual property wealth tax (the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière (IFI)) applies to web property wealth above €1.3 million. Nonetheless, actual property genuinely used for an expert exercise can, in some circumstances, qualify for full or partial exemption. In case you’re working a enterprise from inside your house, reminiscent of a mattress and breakfast, this might expose you to the wealth tax. Lawmakers are actively debating whether or not to broaden IFI right into a wider ‘unproductive wealth’ tax within the 2026 finances, making correct classification much more vital.
Sensible steps earlier than registering an organization in France
In case you’re an expat who already owns property in France, and is now planning to kind an organization, it is value working via a brief guidelines earlier than you begin the formation course of:
- Log into your impots.gouv.fr account and examine the Biens immobiliers part to verify how every property is presently labeled (principal residence, second residence, rented, or vacant).
- Replace the declaration in case your circumstances have modified.
- Verify your lease, co-ownership guidelines (règlement de copropriété), or native planning restrictions earlier than assuming you’ll be able to register an organization at that tackle.
- Determine whether or not residence domiciliation is the precise selection, or whether or not a business lease is extra acceptable.
- Organise all your property documentation, as any inconsistencies between your tax file and your organization registration file will sluggish issues down.
None of this must be sophisticated, but it surely does should be sequenced appropriately. Whereas property tax standing and firm registration are dealt with by completely different elements of the French administration, a slowdown in a single course of can impression the others. Finding out your occupancy declaration earlier than submitting for firm formation would possibly find yourself saving you weeks of back-and-forth—and keep away from that notably French expertise of getting to wade via paperwork to kind out a mismatch in paperwork.
In case you’re weighing up whether or not to kind your organization at your French residence tackle or go the business route, we can assist. We’ve been guiding expats and entrepreneurs via the French formation course of for greater than 15 years, and can assist you to navigate property and firm regulation. To be taught extra, check out our article Methods to Begin a Enterprise in France in 8 Steps, go to our French firm formation web page, or get in contact with us immediately.
