Does being an EU citizen affect rate of French property taxes?

Reader Question: I have an Irish passport, making me an EU citizen. I live in Northern Ireland. Should being an EU citizen reduce the property taxes I must pay on my second-home? They seemed to jump by an alarming amount last time.

Property taxes – the taxe foncière and second-home taxe d’habitation – are not based on a property owner’s nationality. 

Whether you are a French citizen or a citizen of another EU or non-EU state, the taxes are the same. 

These taxes are not based on the nationality of the owner of the property, but on the property itself, and how it is used.

In short, a theoretical annual rental value called the valeur locative cadastrale (VLC) is given to all properties and is used as the basis for calculating these taxes.

Annual increases of these are tied to inflation levels and represent an across-the-board rise in property taxes.

Local communes then apply a percentage rate to the VLC to calculate property tax bills (for taxe foncière, in fact, it is applied to only half of the VLC, to take account of expenses and maintenance).

A common reason for a sudden increase in one or other of the main property taxes is the council voting to increase the rate it applies, which it is entitled to do. 

Read more: This will be the minimum property tax increase in 2025 in France

Property taxes may also increase if you have carried out improvements to your property, which can increase its value, thus increasing the VLC.

For second homes, additional amounts of five to 60% can be levied on top of the taxe d’habitation if the property is in an area deemed to have a housing shortage and the local council votes for this.

Read more: More owners will pay French empty home tax

An overhaul of the basic VLC values, to check that they correctly reflect homes’ market values, has long been planned, but will not take place until 2028 at the earliest. 

Other taxes based on residency not nationality 

You mention in your question that the property you own in France is a second-home and you live in Northern Ireland, so you are not a tax resident in France. 

Other readers should be aware that their nationality does not prevent them from having to declare certain tax information to the French authorities annually, if they meet the tests for being a French tax resident (eg. by having their main home in France).

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

Certain exemptions for taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation can be found in our explainer articles below. However, none are based on citizenship. 

Read more: Taxe foncière explainer: Who pays and the exemptions

Read more: Explainer: France’s taxe d’habitation property tax