PROPERTY TAX. This year, the local tax increases by an average of 1.9%. Bad news for homeowners who are beginning to read property tax notices.
[Mis à jour le 8 septembre 2022 à 09h31] If you own your principal residence, it is possible that you will look gloomy when you know your property tax notice. This year, this local tax has increased by an average of 1.9%. In some municipalities such as Marseille, the increase observed is quite dizzying: +13.1%. This unprecedented increase can be explained by two main factors. First, the revaluation of cadastral rental values of 3.4%, they serve as the basis for calculating the property tax. Also, inflation is now taken into account in the calculation. With the rise in consumer prices (5.8%), the property tax takes a big hit.
But then, when will the bill have to be paid? In 2022, the deadline for paying your property tax is October 17 if you pay by mail and October 22 if you pay online. We advise you to take a little advance in the payment of your property tax. In case of delay, surcharges will be applied. As a reminder, the method of calculating rental values will change in 2026. It will take into account the rents charged in 2023, and not those charged in 1970 as is still the case today. A new blow for the owners, because this new method should once again influence the tax base of the property tax. And de facto, increase its amount. Finally, keep in mind that your property tax may increase even if your municipality does not increase the rate. In reality, it is the household waste collection tax (TEOM) that could change the situation. An increase of 5 to 10% in 77% of French communities is announced, enough to cringe even more.
Property tax is a local tax that concerns property owners. Its amount depends on your situation on January 1 of the tax year, which means that you are still liable for property tax on real estate, even if you sold it during the year. The calculation is made from the cadastral rental value and the rate voted by the community. There is also the property tax on unbuilt properties. It is due by the owner or usufructuary of land on January 1 of the tax year. It is collected by the local authority (municipality or EPCI with own taxation), on the territory of which the land is located. There are permanent or temporary exemptions (under conditions).
Like housing tax, the calculation of property tax on built properties is based on two distinct values. The first is the cadastral income. It corresponds to the cadastral rental value, reduced by a reduction of 50%. This value corresponds to the theoretical annual amount of rent that would have to be paid if the property were rented. It is established on the basis of around ten criteria. Created from rental market conditions in 1970, cadastral rental values are intended to evolve, as they are now considered obsolete. The tax authorities thus carry out a review on a case-by-case basis. If your property has been expanded or modified, this value is subject to change. The rental value is then multiplied by the tax rate (see below), determined by the local authority.
Who pays the property tax? Exoneration
In theory, all owners of real estate are subject to property tax (land, apartment, house, etc.), whether it is their main residence or not. However, there are two types of property tax exemption: those relating to taxpayers and those relating to assets. To benefit from a total exemption from property tax, as a taxpayer, you must meet one of these conditions: you are a beneficiary of the disabled adult allowance (AAH); vou are over 75; you hold I’Aspa or Asi (additional disability allowance).
If you are concerned, keep in mind that your reference tax income must not exceed a certain threshold. You must also respect so-called cohabitation conditions, explained here. As reminded The particular, the exemption does not apply to the household waste collection tax (TEOM), appearing on your tax notice. What about property? Any new construction or addition of construction allows you to benefit from an exemption from property tax for 2 years from 1 January of the year following the end of the works.
In detail, you must make a declaration to your public finance center within 90 days after the end of the work. As a reminder, this is the H1 declaration for a house and H2 for an apartment. Rural buildings for agricultural use are not concerned property tax. Be aware that some communities allow you not to be subject to property tax. This is the case if your home is energy efficient and you have carried out work in this direction (which may give rise to partial or total exemption for 5 years) or if it is exposed to particular risks, for example . To find out about the property tax exemptions specific to your municipality, you should inquire with its public finance centre.
In addition to the rates voted by local authorities, you must not omit a reform, which is often forgotten. Voted last year, the finance bill gave details on the reform of the property tax. The latter must allow the revision of the cadastral rental values - serving as a basis for the calculation of the local tax – which have become obsolete, because established from the conditions of the rental market in the 1970s. This reform is explosive. And for good reason, it has already led to a sharp increase in the amount of property tax. In 2022, these cadastral rental values increased from 0.2% to 3.4% in less than a year, enough to quickly increase the bill for owners when paying their property tax. You want to know what situations could allow you to reduce or even eliminate your local taxes ? Consult our dedicated file without delay:
Even if the exact payment dates for the year 2022 are not known, they should strongly resemble the calendar published for 2021. Here are the payment deadlines according to your situation:
- October 17, 2022 : payment by mail
- October 22, 2022 : online payment
- October 25, 2022 : withdrawal at maturity
Beware. A piece of advice, pay now without delay on the taxes, by logging in with your tax ID and password. In case of late payment, you expose yourself to a 10% increase in the amount of local tax. “The penalty applies if you have not paid your tax within 45 days of the collection date,” it says on public service website.
Note that it is quite possible to monthly pay your local taxes, including property tax. Be careful however, for this, it is necessary to have a bank account or a booklet A, domiciled in France or at monaco. You have the possibility of monthly payment of your property tax until June 30th for the payment of your local taxes of thecurrent year. Remember that the monthly payment is only valid for the following year. The tax for the current year must be paid via a other means of payment.
Have you already found that the note was particularly salty this year? Expect the local tax to be even higher in the years to come! Property tax jumped 27.9% Between 2010 and 2020, according to the National Union of Property Owners (UNPI). The fault of a revaluation of the cadastral rental values, which serve as the basis for the calculation of the property tax. These are indeed based on the rental market conditions of the 1970s! The tax authorities are therefore updating them. A reform has been initiated, the first effects of which should be felt in particular from 2026. Another element to bear in mind: the rate voted by the municipality. Local authorities will no longer be able to count on the revenue generated by the housing tax, which has been abolished for main residences. Logically, the rate of the property tax should therefore be led to grow, an additional element that will weigh in the years to come. Here are the rates for the 10 largest French cities in 2022:
- Paris : 13.5% (unchanged)
- Marseilles : 44.54% (+13.1%)
- Lyons : 29.26% (unchanged)
- Toulouse : 35.35% (unchanged)
- Nice : 29.62% (unchanged)
- Nantes : 46.34% (+7.8%)
- Montpellier : 52.63% (unchanged)
- Strasbourg : 37.44% (+8.9%)
- Bordeaux : 46.38% (unchanged)
The rise was expected in 2022, but the ax fell. On average, the rate of built and unbuilt property taxes increased by 1.9% in 2022. This is the largest increase observed since 2010 according to the FSL firm. In fact, more than a quarter of the big cities and their associations have increased their taxes this year. In some regions, this local tax has simply soared over the past year, such as in Marseille (+13.1%) or Strasbourg (+8.9%).
If you want to know if you are potentially eligible for the housing tax reform, a specific simulator is available in just clicking here.
However, carrying out a pure and hard simulation of its property tax is not possible because of the too many criteria related to the consistency of the taxed property.
The Taxe Foncière (TF) tax notice is generally available 3 weeks before the payment deadline of 15 October. If you have opted for the online opinion, an email is sent to you to inform you of the availability of your opinion in the “Documents” tab of your private space. In 2021, property tax notices are posted online on August 29, 2022 for the non monthly taxpayers and the 19 september for the monthly taxpayers to property tax. If you opt to receive the notice by paper, the property tax notice is sent by post during September if you are not monthly paid, at the end of October if you are monthly paid.
If you are over 65 and under 75 on 1 January of the tax year, you can benefit from an automatic property tax relief and thus benefit from a reduction of 100 euros . Please note that your reference tax income must not exceed a threshold. The relief is automatically applied by the tax authorities. Subject to income conditions, a taxpayer liable for property tax can benefit from a ceiling.
“This device allows the taxpayers concerned to benefit from a reduction in their property tax contribution of more than 50% of their income”, specifies Bercy on its site. You must send a request for a ceiling, by completing form n°2041-DPTF-SD, here. Note that it is also possible to obtain a reduction in property tax if your property, apartment or house, is unoccupied. Attention, you will have to provide supporting documents to the tax authorities