Local French Property Taxes: How Much Will I pay?
With local property tax bills currently being sent out to all French property owners, who are the winners and the losers?
In a survey of 450 towns and cities of France, the French weekly periodical Capital found that the average level of local property taxes/rates in France for 2008 was €1,502, a figure which had risen by 27% since 2001.
The total figure of €1,502 comprised €731 for the local residence tax, called the taxe d’habitation, and €771 for the property tax, called the taxe foncière.
The town with the lowest local taxes was Haguenau in the Bas-Rhin department of Alsace, whose combined local tax bill this year averages €802.
They were followed by Denain in the Nord Pas de Calais on €863, and Fougères in Brittany, with total taxes of €872.
Places not to live in if you want to keep down your local tax bill are the Ile de France, with towns in the region taking nine of the top ten places for the highest local property taxes in France.
The list is headed up by the commune of Yerres in the Essonne department, which has an average combined local tax bill of €2,524.
Once out of the Ile de France, the most expensive place elsewhere goes to the town of Sète in Hérault department of Languedoc Roussillon, with a total tax bill of €2,166.
The average increase in local taxes in France this year is a modest 2%, although this disguises substantial variations across the country. Thus, the residents of the communes of Blagnac, Epernay, Mantes-la-Jolie, Bezons, Verdun and Sens actually see the level of their tax bill reduce marginally this year.
However, those living in the commune of Henin-Beaumont in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais face an increase of 16%, the highest in France. Amongst the other larger increases are Noisy-le-Sec (11.90%), Oyonnax (9.8%), Istres (9.2%), and Grigny (8.8%).
The survey by Capital did not cover the small towns and villages of France, where the local tax bill is likely to be smaller than those for the towns and cities in the survey. In particular, that element of the local taxes charged by the commune will often be lower in the smaller rural communes as they do not have the responsibilities of those in urban areas.
Property Tax System in France
The local property taxes in France are made up of a precept from all three tiers of local government in the country – the
commune, department and region, each of whom provide a range of local services.
These services are funded in part from the local domestic property taxes, but also by the local business tax, called the
taxe professionnelle, by direct grants from the central French government and by a tax on property sales.
Whilst the French government in Paris has pursued a policy of decentralisation in recent years, the increased responsibilities to local councils has not always been accompanied by a transfer of the financial resources to carry them out. As a result, local taxes have had to rise in order to fill the gap.
The actual level of taxes that will be imposed upon a property will depend on its local rateable value, determined by a number of factors, not least of which will be its size and condition.
There are rebates and exemptions for those on a low income, the elderly and disabled persons.
You can read more about French local property taxes, and the exemptions that are available, in our comprehensive
Guide to Local Property Taxes in France.
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