Millions of property owners in France still risk fine
Homeowners who did not declare property changes may be penalised by tax authorities as period of tolerance ends
Property owners, including second-home owners, were required to make the declaration
Natalya Bozadzhy / Shutterstock
Millions of properties have not been declared by their owners on the new tax form brought in last year, which could leave them open to a fine as the authorities end their period of tolerance for non-declaration.
The Biens Immobiliers property declaration form is mandatory for all property owners in 2024.
During its first year of introduction in 2023, no fines were issued for not filling in the form. However this year there will be a fine of €150.
The declaration deadline passed on June 30 when only 89% of property owners had completed it, leaving 7.8 million people liable to be fined.
One click to complete form
Biens Immobiliers is not an annual declaration, however when there are changes to your property you will need to update the information for the tax authorities.
The majority of owners who made the declaration in 2023 could complete the form with a simple click this year: it appeared (complete with information from last year) as a checkbox to select at the end of the online income tax declaration.
Property owners only had to update their details if there was a change in the property’s status over the course of the previous year (ie. 2023).
The longer version of the form requires details about how the property is used – whether it is a main or second home, or is rented out, for example – as well as its size, general condition and features.
The Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFiP) tax authorities use the information to determine what property taxes are due.
This is especially pertinent since the taxe d’habitation was ended for main homes.
Read more: French second-home tax errors: How to know if overpaid and what to do
The declaration should have been completed in the first half of 2024 by people who either did not correctly fill out the form in 2023 or who own or owned a property which has seen its situation change.
However, tax officials said on June 30 that 7.8 million properties had failed to declare in either 2023 or 2024.
Fines likely this year
The deadline to submit the form – whether online via your personal space on the French tax website or via a paper form from local authorities – was June 30.
If you did not do this, you can reportedly still ask your local tax office for a paper form, and submit a late declaration. It can also be completed online.
Tax authorities previously said they would be lenient if the person who did not declare had acted in ‘good faith’, and this might extend to those who submit a declaration late.
