Although the housing tax has been eliminated for primary residences, 34 million homeowners must report their status online. By Martin Leduc on actu.fr
The The housing tax has been eliminated for primary residences. That is a fact. However, it has not completely disappeared and remains applicable, particularly for second homes.
Therefore, to determine exactly who will still be required to pay this tax, the Directorate General of Public Finance (DGFiP) is asking all homeowners—whether they own a primary or secondary residence—to file an additional tax return with the tax authorities. In fact, 34 million homeowners are affected, the DGFiP confirms to actu.fr. Here's how to take care of this formality.
Who lives there?
For each of their properties, whether vacant or not, landlords must visit impot.gouv.fr, section «My Real Estate Properties» to fill out an «occupancy declaration.».
The idea is to indicate who lives in the dwelling or uses the second home or premises in question, as well as the period of occupancy. «Taxpayers have until June 30 to do so,» says the French Ministry of Finance.
Once the declaration has been filed for the first time, a new one will be required only if there is a change in circumstances.
See also
Note that this applies only to residential properties. «A commercial property, for example, is not subject to this requirement,» the DGFIP clarifies. However, if a parking space is not used for business purposes, you must still include the occupant of that parking space (yourself, a tenant, etc.) on the declaration, even if the parking space is attached to a residential unit.
Why do that?
The goal is simply «to identify properties that remain subject to taxation,» now that the housing tax no longer applies to primary residences but still applies to second homes and vacant properties, as explained by the Ministry of the Economy.
According to the General Directorate of Public Finance, 73 million premises are affected.
