I live in the US – how can I pay taxe foncière bill if not in France?

Reader question: I bought a home in Normandy last summer but for now I still live in the US. How can I pay my taxe foncière bill on the property if I am not there?

As you bought your home last year and were the property owner on January 1, 2023, it is your responsibility to pay the taxe foncière local property tax on the home.

Taxe foncière bills have been arriving over August and September for property owners, either via their personal space on the French tax website or by post.

It is probable that you already have a personal space on the French tax website which you used to declare your property for this year’s biens immobiliers property ownership declaration.

If that is the case you can find your taxe foncière bill in the documents section of your personal space.

If you do not, then the letter will have been posted to your French address.

If you do not have mail forwarding arrangements it is probably there although do note that the tax offices have until September 26 to send these, so it may not yet have arrived.

The deadline to pay is October 16 if paying by ‘traditional’ means, such as cheque or bank transfer (only up to €300), otherwise you can pay via direct online payment by October 21.

There are penalties if you miss the payment deadline which in the first 45 days is a 10% surcharge, plus monthly interest at 0.2%.

Paying on the internet

You can use your online space not only to view your taxe foncière bill but also to pay it.

As long as you have a Sepa-approved bank (from one of the 27 EU countries, European microstates, the UK, Norway, Switzerland, or Iceland), you can add this bank account to your profile to pay taxes.

Generally, you will only be able to pay via a current account, and not a savings account or other account.

There will be a payer en ligne button in your personal space which can be use to pay your tax bills from a French bank account.

You can also use the impots.gouv app to pay via a smartphone. Again, this is dependent upon having a suitable account.

Finally, even if you do not have an online space but you know how much tax you owe, you can also make a direct online payment with your French tax number at this link. You will need a reference number from the bill for this.

If you still need to create an online space

Even if you do not have an online space this year, it will still be beneficial to create one to pay your taxe foncière from abroad in future years.

To do this you will need to find your numéro fiscal tax number and create a password for the site.

The article below details the steps to create an account from abroad. The article follows the biens immobiliers declaration, however it is applicable to creating a personal space for other tax purposes.

Read more: How do second home owners fill in new French tax site form?

Alternative payment options

As mentioned, it is also still possible to pay the amount via other methods such as cheque or bank transfer providing the bill is less than €300.

You can find a full list of alternative methods on the service public’s website space on the taxe foncière, which also explains how to pay using that format if you are a non-resident.

If you are still having issues

If all else fails, you should contact the local tax office (the one closest to your property) and explain your situation.

It may also be possible to be given an extension on the taxe foncière payment without facing any penalties.

You can find the correct service to contact via the options at this section of the tax website.

Click particulier domicilié hors de France, then votre taxe foncière, complete the address information and click rechercher votre service.

It will give you the address, email, and phone number of the local tax office you need to contact, as well as the office’s opening hours.

Related articles:

Why do only second home owners pay taxe d’habitation in France?

8 useful dates to know for rest of year for your finances in France