The rate of stamp duty payable by the buyer on the purchase of property increased on 1st March from 5.09% to 5.80%, although not in all departments.

The loi de finances 2014 granted the departmental councils of France the discretionary power to increase temporarily an element of the stamp duty payable on the purchase of real estate.

The tax is called la taxe de publicité foncière (also called the droits de mutation) and is calculated on the sale price of the property. The beneficiaries of the tax are the councils, for some of whom it forms a very important part of their annual budget.

Probably as a result, a large majority of departments have elected to adopt the increase. A small number have yet to make a decision and a handful have delayed implementation until 1st April 2014.

Those departments who have made a decision not to impose the increase are Paris, Yvelines, Val-d'Oise, Vienne, Morbihan, Mayenne, l'Isère and Côte-d'Or.

The increase applies for all completions (actes authentiques) that take place from 1st March 2014, having been originally planned to apply from 1st January.

In theory, the increase is a temporary one until February 2016, to compensate for the reduction in government grants that has taken place. It remains to be seen whether it becomes a more permanent feature.

The new rate applies to the purchase of a property at least 5 years of age. A lower rate applies to new property.

The table below gives an approximate indication of the transaction costs that now apply, including the fees of the notaire.

Although these total costs are generally referred to as the 'frais de notaire', in fact only around 1% of the transaction cost is the actual fee, with the rest being taxes and disbursements.

Source: Barème Langloÿs