12. House Buying Fees and Taxes in France

1. 12.1. Notaire Fees
   12.2. House Buying Taxes
   12.3. Calculating Charges
   12.4. Reducing Charges

12.2. House Buying Taxes on French Property

In the previous section we considered the notaire fees that are payable on house purchase.

On this page we summarise the stamp duty land registration taxes and other local taxes that are payable.

The taxes that are payable depends on the type of property your are buying.

i. Older Property

In the case of existing older property the taxes amount to 5.09% of the purchase price.

ii. Off-Plan Property

In the case of off-plan properties (Vente en l’état futur d’achèvement - VEFA) VAT at the rate of 19.6% is payable, which is added to the basic purchase price.

It is likely the advertised price of such properties will be 'TTC' (Toutes Taxes Comprises). That is to say 'all taxes included', but you need to make sure before you agree the price.

Stamp duty costs are lower, at the rate of 0.7% instead of 5.09%.

iii. New Property

The same applies to new property under five years old being sold to you by a registered property professional, such as a developer or dealer.

Once again the property may well be advertised 'TTC', but you need to check with the seller.

In such cases you pay VAT at 19.6% on the purchase price, but taxes at the rate of 0.7%.

Since March 2010, the sale of new property under five years old between private individuals is not subject to VAT, although the usual stamp duty taxes of 5.09% are payable.

iv. Building Land

In the case of building land, for sales betweeen private individuals the usual registration taxes of 5.09% are payable.

If the building land is being sold to you by a property professional (developer, dealer), then VAT at the rate of 19.6% is payable, although you will pay reduced stamp duty of 0.7%, provided you commit to build within 5 years.

In the next section we show you a tool to help you calculate the total fees and taxes that are payable in the housing buying process in France.