You are no longer liable for Council Tax this year. At least if it is your main residence...
Main residence: no more tax!
The taxe d'habitation on main residences is now completely abolished for all taxpayers in France. The Finance Acts since 2018 have gradually reduced the taxe d'habitation. For the lowest 80% of French households, this tax has been completely abolished in 2020 after two years of reductions (30% in 2018, 65% in 2019). The wealthiest 20% of households, who still paid the taxe d'habitation in 2022, will no longer hear about it.
Secondary residence: you still have to pay it
While the taxe d'habitation is abolished for primary residences, this is not the case for secondary residences. These are all the properties you own (or usufructuate) that are furnished but which are not your main residence.
The amount is calculated according to the cadastral rental value of the property and its outbuildings, according to the rates voted by the local authorities. Exemptions are possible under certain conditions, but no deductions can be made on the basis of your age or income.
An increase in council tax on second homes
Some communes have the possibility of applying a surcharge to owners of second homes. These are municipalities located in areas with more than 50,000 inhabitants where the supply of housing is very unequal to the demand, as well as those where the proportion of second homes is particularly high. The amount of this increase, when voted by the municipal council, can range from 5% to 60% of the share of the housing tax assessment due to them.
The Finance Act for 2023 provided for an extension of the number of municipalities authorised to apply this surcharge. The application decree, which will be published in the spring, should allow nearly 5,000 communes to implement it from 2024. That said, of the 1,136 communes that can vote on it, only 255 have applied it.
A tax on unoccupied housing
Owners of dwellings that have been unoccupied for at least two years as of 1 January of the tax year, outside the tax zone, may be subject to the tax on vacant dwellings (THLV). Voted by the municipalities, this tax is calculated on the basis of the rental value of the property and a local tax rate that the authorities could increase until 28 February 2023.
A compulsory declaration to be made to the tax authorities
In order to identify the exact nature of occupation of each dwelling in France, and therefore to apply or not these different housing taxes, the government has launched a new service. On the Impots.gouv.fr website, taxpayers have until 30 June 2023 to declare in which capacity they occupy a dwelling they own. If they are landlords, they must give the identity of their tenant and the amount of rent.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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