French second home costs: taxes and fees for non-residents in 2025

Learn the four cost layers of buying a French second home: acquisition fees, annual local taxes, rental income tax, and capital gains tax. Includes worked examples in euros and a verification checklist.

Buying a second home in France as a non-resident involves four separate cost layers: one-off acquisition costs at signing, annual local taxes, French tax on any rental income, and capital gains tax when you sell. This guide walks through each layer in the order you'll meet it, with worked figures you can adapt to your own purchase price.

What you'll end up with: a realistic all-in budget for a French purchase, a list of annual obligations, and a clear idea of what to bring to a cross-border tax advisor.

Who it's for: non-resident buyers of a résidence secondaire or pied-à-terre, including retirees and near-retirees who plan to spend extended periods in France.

Difficulty and time: moderate. Plan about 60 to 90 minutes to read it and fill in your own numbers.

What you need before starting:

• A target price range and a rough idea of whether the property is resale (logement ancien) or new-build (neuf or VEFA, vente en l'état futur d'achèvement)
• A decision, even provisional, on whether you'll rent the property out
• An expected holding period
• Your country of tax residence and, if applicable, your social security affiliation

This is a cost-planning guide, not legal or tax advice. Rates and department-level choices change, so confirm the final figures with your notaire and a tax advisor before you sign.

Step 1: Classify the property before you calculate anything

Almost every number below depends on two classifications: old versus new-build, and furnished versus unfurnished letting. Settle the first one early, because it moves your acquisition costs by roughly five percentage points of the price.

1. Check the listing for the words "neuf", "VEFA" or "programme neuf", and ask whether the seller is a developer subject to VAT.
2. Confirm whether you're buying a built unit or land only. Land-only purchases follow different rules.
3. Ask whether the sale price is quoted "FAI" (frais d'agence inclus, agent fee included) or net of agency fees, and who pays the agent.
4. Decide whether you'll let the property furnished or unfurnished.

If you're shortlisting on Homestra, use the property-type and price-range filters to separate resale homes from new-build programs, then record the classification next to each listing. It keeps your cost comparisons honest across properties.

Checkpoint: each property on your shortlist is tagged old or new, with the agent-fee arrangement noted.

Step 2: Understand what "frais de notaire" actually contains

Buyers often assume "frais de notaire" means the notary's pay. It doesn't. Service-Public ("Frais de notaire : de quoi s'agit-il ?") and economie.gouv.fr describe three components:

1. Taxes and duties collected on behalf of the state and local authorities: the taxe de publicité foncière (TPF), commonly called DMTO (droits de mutation à titre onéreux) in the old-property regime.
2. The notary's remuneration (émoluments), set by a regulated sliding scale.
3. Frais et débours, the administrative costs the notary advances to third parties (cadastre and mortgage-registry searches, document fees).

The large majority of the total in a resale purchase is tax, not remuneration. Agent commissions sit outside the "frais de notaire" entirely and are a separate line.

There's no extra transfer tax for non-resident buyers. The same acquisition regime applies whether you live in Lyon or Los Angeles.

Step 3: Calculate transfer taxes for a resale property

For an older property, the TPF/DMTO is built from three layers: a departmental share, a municipal share, and a state collection charge calculated on the departmental share.

The 2025 finance legislation, described on economie.gouv.fr, allowed departments to raise the departmental ceiling for a defined period running to 2028. Many departments adopted the higher rate, and some kept the standard one. Which rate applies is set by the department where the property sits, so you can't assume it from a neighboring region.

On top of the transfer tax, add:

• Notary remuneration on the regulated scale (details below), plus 20% VAT on that remuneration
• The land registry security contribution (contribution de sécurité immobilière), 0.10% of the price
• Disbursements, which often run to around 1,000 euros on an ordinary purchase (treat that as an estimate and ask the notary for a line-by-line statement)

The regulated scale for émoluments is 3.870% on the slice up to 6,500 euros, 1.596% from 6,500 to 17,000, 1.064% from 17,000 to 60,000, and 0.799% above 60,000. Notaries may grant a discount on the part of the price above 100,000 euros, so your actual figure can be lower than the scale suggests.

Together these produce the 7% to 8% of the price that official sources cite for older properties.

Checkpoint: you've found your property's department and confirmed with the notary whether it applies 4.50% or 5.00%.

Step 4: Calculate costs for a new-build (VEFA) property

In a VEFA purchase, the price already includes VAT. The standard French VAT rate is 20%, so a price of 300,000 euros including VAT contains 50,000 euros of VAT. A 5.5% reduced rate exists, but it targets specific situations such as priority neighborhoods and social-ownership schemes. It generally isn't available for a second home, so budget for 20% unless the developer confirms in writing that a reduced rate applies.

The saving comes on the notary side. Notaires.fr ("Frais de notaire réduits lors de l'acquisition d'un bien dans le neuf") cites a reduced taxe de publicité foncière of 0.715% for qualifying new-build transactions. That brings the overall figure to about 2% to 3% of the price, against 7% to 8% for older properties.

The reduced regime applies where the seller is a VAT-liable developer and the sale is a first transfer of a new property. If the seller is a private individual, the sale is an old-property sale for these purposes, even for a recent building.

Verification checklist:

1. Ask the developer to confirm VAT status and the applicable rate in the reservation contract.
2. Confirm the property is a built unit (or a unit to be built) and not bare land.
3. Ask the notary whether any resale commitment (engagement de revendre) applies to the transaction.
4. Ask for the regime to be named explicitly in the draft deed.

Warning: don't compare a new-build price with a resale price at face value. The new-build price includes 20% VAT, while the resale price carries no VAT. Compare total cost of ownership, not headline figures.

Step 5: Add agent fees and see how they affect the tax base

Agent commissions are a separate cost from "frais de notaire." In France, fees can be charged to the seller (included in the quoted price) or to the buyer (shown separately). The distinction matters: when the buyer pays and the fee is itemized separately in the deed, the transfer-tax base is generally the net price excluding the fee. When the seller pays, the fee is built into the price and taxed with it.

Ask the agent and the notary to confirm in writing which applies, and have the notary show the calculation base on the draft statement. The fee level is negotiated and varies by market, so request it as a percentage and as a figure.

Step 6: Build your all-in purchase estimate

Use this formula:

Total outlay = net price + buyer-paid agent fee + transfer tax + notary remuneration (with VAT) + land registry contribution + disbursements

Worked example A: resale property, 300,000 euros

Assumptions: a buyer-paid agent fee of 5% (15,000 euros), itemized separately so the tax base is 300,000 euros, and disbursements estimated at 1,000 euros. These are illustrative figures in euros, the currency of the French transaction.

The notary-side total sits within the 7% to 8% range cited by official sources. Agent fees add roughly five points on top.

Worked example B: new-build VEFA, 300,000 euros including VAT

Assumptions: 20% VAT (net price 250,000 euros plus 50,000 euros VAT), the 0.715% rate applied to the net price, notary remuneration estimated conservatively on the full 300,000 euros, disbursements at 1,000 euros, and no separate agent fee.

Mini calculator

1. Enter the net price and mark it old or new.
2. Look up the department's transfer-tax rate (resale) or confirm the 0.715% rate (new).
3. Apply the remuneration scale slice by slice, then add 20% VAT.
4. Add 0.10% for the registry contribution and 1,000 euros for disbursements.
5. Add any buyer-paid agent fee.
6. Verify the result against the official notary-fee simulator on Service-Public.

Checkpoint: your estimate lands within the 7% to 8% (resale) or 2% to 3% (new) band, plus agent fees. If it doesn't, recheck the classification.

Step 7: Plan for annual taxes on a French second home

Two local taxes apply every year, and both depend on your status on 1 January of the tax year.

Taxe foncière (TFPB)

Service-Public ("Taxe foncière sur les propriétés bâties") states that the owner or usufruct holder of a built property pays it. Where you live is irrelevant. The amount depends on the property's rental value and the rates set by the commune and other local bodies, so ask the seller for the latest bill before you sign. If you buy mid-year, the notary typically prorates the year's bill between seller and buyer in the deed, but the tax authority still invoices whoever held the property on 1 January.

Taxe d'habitation sur les résidences secondaires (THRS)

The suppression of the taxe d'habitation applies to main residences only. THRS remains due on furnished premises that aren't a principal residence. As a non-resident owner with the use of the property, you're liable.

Some municipalities, mainly in tight housing markets (zones tendues), apply a surcharge (majoration) on THRS. Check your commune's rate and ask whether a surcharge applies before you buy.

Since 2023, owners must declare how each property is occupied through their online property account on impots.gouv.fr (the "Gérer mes biens immobiliers" service), generally by 30 June. Non-residents should create the account soon after completion and keep the declaration on their calendar.

A separate wealth tax, the impôt sur la fortune immobilière (IFI), can reach non-residents with French real estate whose net taxable value exceeds 1.3 million euros. Most second-home buyers fall below that line, but check it if your French holdings are large.

Step 8: Know how French rental income is taxed

If you let the property, France taxes the income because the property is located there, regardless of your residence. The classification from Step 1 matters here.

Unfurnished lettings (revenus fonciers). Non-residents file a French income tax return. A minimum rate applies, 20% on the lower band of taxable income and 30% above a threshold that's indexed each year. If French-source income makes up at least 75% of your worldwide income, you can ask for the average rate instead, which may be lower. Social levies on unfurnished rents are 17.2% under the standard regime described by impots.gouv.fr.

Non-residents affiliated to a social security scheme in an EU or EEA state or Switzerland (and in certain cases the United Kingdom) may pay a reduced 7.5% levy instead. Confirm eligibility on impots.gouv.fr and keep a certificate of your affiliation.

Furnished lettings. These generally fall under industrial and commercial profits (BIC), often as non-professional furnished letting (LMNP). Allowances, thresholds, and the social levy treatment for furnished rentals have been changing in recent years, so have an advisor confirm the rules for the year you file.

Worked example C: unfurnished let, 12,000 euros annual rent

Assumptions: micro-foncier regime (available up to 15,000 euros of annual rent, with a 30% flat allowance), the 20% minimum rate, and the 17.2% levy.

If the 7.5% levy applied, the social portion would fall to about 630 euros. Actual expenses can beat the flat allowance when you have loan interest, repairs, or management costs, in which case the real regime is worth modeling.

What to keep: the lease, rent receipts, expense invoices, your property tax bills, and proof of tax residence. Retain them for as long as your advisor recommends, since the French tax authority can review past years.

Step 9: Model capital gains tax before you buy

Capital gains on French real estate (plus-value immobilière) are taxed in France when a non-resident sells. Impots.gouv.fr describes an income tax component of 19%, and social levies apply on top. Standard social levies are 17.2%, with the reduced 7.5% scenario for eligible EU/EEA/Swiss-affiliated sellers. Large gains may also face a progressive surtax once the taxable gain passes 50,000 euros.

The notary normally calculates and collects the tax from the sale proceeds at completion. Non-residents outside the EU and EEA may also need to appoint a French tax representative, which the notary can usually arrange. Confirm that early, since it adds cost.

Holding-period allowances reduce the taxable gain. For income tax, the allowance is 6% per year after the fifth year, with full exemption after 22 years. For social levies, the allowance is slower, with full exemption after 30 years.

Your acquisition cost for the gain calculation can be raised by the actual purchase costs or a 7.5% flat allowance, and by 15% for works if you've held the property more than five years. That makes the Step 6 figures useful again at resale.

The main-residence exemption doesn't extend to a second home. If you plan to make France your home later, eligibility depends on the facts at the time of sale, so get advice before relying on it.

Worked example D: net gain of 45,000 euros after 10 years

This keeps the gain under the surtax threshold. A larger gain would need a separate surtax calculation.

Step 10: Avoid paying tax twice

France taxes income and gains from property located there. Your home country generally also taxes your worldwide income, so the bilateral tax treaty determines relief. Treaties usually allocate taxing rights over income from immovable property and gains on it to the country where the property sits, and your country then gives either an exemption (sometimes with progression) or a credit for the French tax.

1. Obtain your French tax assessment (avis d'imposition) and the notary's capital gains statement. These are your proof of French tax paid.
2. Find the treaty between France and your country of residence and identify the articles on income from immovable property and on capital gains.
3. Identify whether your country uses credit or exemption. US taxpayers, for example, typically claim a foreign tax credit using Form 1116.
4. Report the French income and gain on your home-country return in the same tax year or as the rules require, and claim the relief.
5. Have the numbers checked by an advisor who handles both jurisdictions.

What to bring to your advisor:

• The French deed (acte authentique) and the notary's cost statement
• Annual taxe foncière and THRS bills
• French income tax returns and assessments
• Leases and expense records
• Your social security affiliation certificate
• Your intended holding period and letting plans

Step 11: Verify your numbers with official tools

Use the official notary-fee simulator on Service-Public to test your estimate, and read the Service-Public pages on taxe foncière and THRS. For rental income and gains, use the non-resident sections on impots.gouv.fr.

Escalate to a specialist when:

• You're choosing between furnished and unfurnished letting
• You need to optimize treaty credit or exemption
• The sale involves a long holding period, works, or an inheritance

Questions to ask your notaire:

1. Which regime applies (old or new), and what is the exact departmental rate?
2. What is the tax base, and are agent fees included in it?
3. Can you send a line-by-line cost statement before signing?
4. Will a fiscal representative be required at resale?
5. How will the current year's taxe foncière be prorated?

Questions to ask your tax advisor:

1. Does my social security affiliation qualify me for the 7.5% levy?
2. Which letting regime fits my income and expenses?
3. How will my home country credit French tax on rent and on gains?
4. Do I need to consider IFI?

What you've worked out

You now have a method for budgeting a French second home: classify the property, compute the notary-side costs (about 7% to 8% for resale, about 2% to 3% for qualifying new-build), add agent fees separately, plan for taxe foncière and THRS each year, model rental tax and capital gains tax before you commit, and line up treaty relief in your home country.

For next steps, return to your Homestra shortlist, run each candidate through the Step 6 calculation, and send the strongest two or three to your notaire for a formal cost estimate. Then book a session with a cross-border tax advisor using the checklist in Step 10.