Contrary to popular belief, notary fees are mainly the responsibility of the state and local authorities. They are payable by the purchaser when a property is sold, and are added to the purchase price.
It's impossible to avoid paying notary fees when buying a property. Even if the purchaser of the property pays them directly to the notaire, the latter pays a very large proportion of them to the State. The correct term is ‘droits de mutation’, which refers to ‘the transfer of ownership of a property’. Generally paid by the purchaser, these duties are added to the purchase price of the property. They amount to approximately 7 or 8% in old property and 3 or 4% in new property.
The notaire's remuneration
The notaire is a public official who must guarantee the legal security of the transaction, while also acting as a tax collector on behalf of the State and local authorities.
As such, his remuneration represents only a very small part of the sale price, around 1.30% of the amount of duties to be paid. His fees are regulated and calculated according to brackets based on the purchase price of the property:
● From €0 to €6,500: 3.870%.
● From €6,500 to €17,000: 1.596%.
● From €17,000 to €60,000: 1.064%.
● More than €60,000: 0.799%.
Source: French Commercial Code
The remainder of the transfer duties is mainly made up of taxes and levies that are not due.
Taxes
This is what costs the buyer the most: taxes, which account for 80% of the total amount of transfer duties. This tax revenue, equivalent to 5.81% of the sale price of an old property, is paid by the notaire to the State and local authorities. They break down as follows:
● Departmental tax, set at 3.80% of the total purchase price. This may be increased to 4.50% by decision of the departmental councils.
● Communal tax, set at 1.20% of the purchase price.
● The assessment fee payable to the State, set at 2.37% and calculated on the amount of the departmental fee.
● The contribution de sécurité immobilière (CSI), paid to the land registry. It amounts to 0.10% of the sale price.
Disbursements and formalities
These costs represent approximately 20% of the transfer duties. Advanced by the notary on behalf of his client, they are used to remunerate the various parties involved in the sale and to pay the expenses incurred by the notary in compiling the numerous administrative documents needed to secure the sale: town planning notes, requests for cadastral extracts, etc.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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