Is French second-home property tax levied on garages?

Reader Question: Do I need to pay taxe d’habitation on the garage I use near my second home?

Direct extensions to your property and closely-related amenities, such as conservatories, garages and swimming pools, should be automatically included in the calculations of the taxe d’habitation.

The tax is partially based on the theoretical rental value of a property, which increases as improvements are made.

This is in part why it is important to inform authorities when these extensions and amenities have been built. Failure to inform them could also result in a fine. 

Read more: New shed, veranda, pool: how to declare in France and what time frame

A garage, if directly attached to your property, is automatically included in these calculations. 

Tax authorities should know about them, as they will have been declared during the Biens Immobiliers form of summer 2023 (also required in 2024 under certain conditions). 

Garages within one kilometre of your property are also automatically included in taxe d’habitation calculations as dépendances - related amenities - of your home, even if they are not strictly attached to it in a physical sense. 

Beyond this distance, however, they are not included, and taxe d’habitation is not levied on them. 

Are the rules the same for parking spots? 

In terms of a parking spot, the rules on distance are similar – it has to be within one kilometre of your property to be subject to taxe d’habitation.

The spot also has to be strictly for your personal use - ie. not shared with other drivers - and part of a residential complex of some kind. 

It can be marked out as your own personal spot in any way however, including via markings on the floor (such as white lines and a corresponding parking spot number), and does not need to be wholly closed off from other vehicles with a door, or a gate for example. 

Notices for taxe d’habitation, which only applies to second-homes, will be sent out in November.