Must I continue paying French property tax for second home sold in January?

Reader Question: We are selling our second home, and the confirmation should be made in early January. When do we cancel monthly payments of our property taxes, and will our notaire inform the tax authorities of the changes? 

It sounds that you pay your property taxes (taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation) by the mensualisation method, splitting payment into ten monthly payments between January and October.

These are estimated installments related to the taxes of the previous year – for example, the monthly deductions between January - October 2025 will be based on taxes that were due in 2024. Top up amounts can also be due in November (and possibly December) if the actual tax bill for the year in question turns out to be more.

The person who owns the property (or lives in it / has use of it for taxe d’habitation) on January 1 is the one legally liable to pay these taxes regardless of how long they have use of it during the rest of the year. 

However, in the case of selling there is often an agreement between buyer and seller to share the taxe foncière pro rata for the year and this may be written into the sale deed. In this case the buyer should give you some extra towards this at the time of the sale, based on the amount of 2024’s tax.

Either way, you should not immediately cancel the direct debit you have in place to pay these monthly instalments, as you still have responsibility towards the tax office to pay the tax. 

Paying future taxes 

As mentioned, if you are still the property owner on January 1, 2025, you are responsible for paying the property taxes for that calendar year. 

This is the case even if you officially sell the property on January 2 (and part of the reason some people prefer to sell in December rather than January). 

Thai means you will be paying taxes on the property up until at least October 2025.

The notaire should inform the tax authorities of the change of ownership, however you should make sure the payments stop from January 1, 2026. 

You can do this via your personal space on the French tax site, through the Paiements then Gérer les contrats de prélèvement automatique. 

Read more: What you can challenge on a French taxe d’habitation bill - and how to do it

Read more: Why have we not been paying taxe d’habitation on our French second home?

Do not forget declaration 

It is also up to you to make sure the authorities know that the occupancy status of the property has changed as soon as possible. 

This can also be one online through the Biens Immobiliers section of the online French tax site. 

Both you and the new owners should inform the tax authorities of the change this way. 

Read more: Seven million French properties risk fine under new declaration rule