# Taxes Foncieres et d'Habitation.



## David John Davis (Sep 19, 2019)

Hello Everybody

I am a retired local government officer aged seventy-one living off a pension. I have been living in France since 2015 and bought a little sous-sol bungalow in 2016 in Méasnes, the most northerly village in La Creuse. I paid 55,000€ for it but have modernised it extensively. It has grounds of 4000 square metres and three bedrooms one of which is used as an office/library. 

I have received a bill for Taxes Foncieres amounting to 683€ which is much higher than that of any of my friends who live nearby, admittedly in different communes. One of my friends who lives near Bussiere Dunoise for example pays only 393€ pa and she has several hectares of land and keeps a horse. That said her house has only two bedrooms. Another friend who owns a small farm in the Indre pays less than 300€.

My Taxe d'Habitation last year was 632€. If we assume that I will be charged a similar sum this year then the cost of both taxes will amount to over 1300€ which is about 10% of my entire annual disposable income.

I have two questions for you:

1. What are the criteria used to asses Taxes Fonciere and d'Habitation?

2. Given the circumstances described above, is there any way of my being able to reduce these payments and if so what is the process I need to undertake?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

David John Davis said:


> I have two questions for you:
> 
> 1. What are the criteria used to asses Taxes Fonciere and d'Habitation?


The Taxes Fonciere starts from the "rental value" of the property, which is determined based on the habitable surface in square meters, which is then adjusted for upgrades, various types of "features" (extra bathrooms, among other amenities). They get much of this information from the local records (like when you applied for whatever permits you may have needed for the improvements to the property). And then there is (at least in the town where I live) a sort of a panel that is made up of citizen volunteers to review changes to the property and the general state of the property and the area in which it is located. The ultimate number of sq. meters is then multiplied by a specific multiplier for the town (maybe for the area, I'm not sure) to arrive at the "rental value" and that is then used to calculate the tax due to each of the various taxing districts.

I'm not so sure about how the Taxe d'Hab is calculated, but it is possible to get some relief based on your income, status, age and other features. Most of that is documented in your income tax declaration and should be applied automatically, but you may want to check with either the mairie or possibly the tax office.



> 2. Given the circumstances described above, is there any way of my being able to reduce these payments and if so what is the process I need to undertake?


Probably the first step is to talk to the local mairie to get clarification on how the rental value of the place is/was determined. They may send you to the tax office (or not).


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Both local taxes are determined by the individual commune, although the (out of date) rental data is part of the calculation. That means that what people in neighbouring communes pay is irrelevant.

Taxe d'habitation is being phased out for primary residences, and I understand will be phased out for all homes in a few years. Unfortunately the phasing out (by the national government) is fuelling taxe foncière increases in many communes.

Edit:
I live in a regional town in a 69 sq m apartment and I pay way more than the OP and it is also a significant proportion of my total income. Although it may be the case that there are more services in my town, even if they are sadly lacking.

Edit:
I no longer pay taxe d'hab and it may well be the case that the OP will not be charged taxe d'hab this year (the proportion of my income is for taxe foncière only - haven't had the bill yet because I pay monthly, but last year it was 1150€ and it has apparently increased again this year.


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## cirrus (Aug 2, 2014)

This may explain a bit for you.

https://www.french-property.com/guides/france/finance-taxation/taxation/local-property-taxes/fonciere


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## David John Davis (Sep 19, 2019)

Thank you everybody, very informative.


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