What exactly does maison secondaire mean in France?

Reader Question: I own a holiday property in France, but when I filled out my tax declaration it is classified as maison secondaire. Is that right?

Yes, it is right. In French tax law a maison secondaire is any housing which is not your residence principale. 

As it is a holiday home, it is not your main residence and so the maison secondaire classification seems to be correct. It applies whether the house is rented (long-term) or owned by you.

It can also apply to any property bought for investment purposes, whether it is rented out or not.

The main disadvantage of the classification is that you pay more property taxes on a maison secondaire than you do on a residence principale. 

Read more: Is my French home my ‘main’ or ‘second’ residence?

Communes impose tax on second homes

As well as the taxe foncière all property owners pay, you also pay the taxe d’habitation.

Under new laws, some communes have started to impose surcharges on the taxe d’habitation where properties are left empty for significant parts of the year.

If you are over 75, you can ask to be exonerated from taxe foncière if your declared income is below €14,089.

If you have work done on a maison secondaire you have to pay full-rate VAT, and not the niche fiscale rates you get for work on a residence principale.

And second-home owners cannot get any reductions on taxes if they are in the category where investment taxes on property (formerly known as wealth taxes) apply – usually when the property is worth around €1million.

Read more: Over 1,000 more French towns to levy higher tax on second homes