Property tax is a tax payable annually by property owners. There are many possibilities for total or partial exemption, but as always in France, it is very difficult to see clearly. I provide an update in this article on everything that exists to pay less property tax or to cancel it completely in 2020. Whether for primary, secondary, rental, new, etc… for all taxpayers, retirees, disabled persons, elderly people, etc… I list the possibilities one by one. I will particularly focus on the conditions to be met and on one important point: is it an automatic exemption or is it up to the taxpayer to apply for it?
Summary
Further reading : The personality of the Cancer zodiac sign
- Total exemption from property tax 2020: disabled persons, over 75 years old, disabled persons… what conditions?
- Exemption from property tax if you are 65 years or older? A deduction of €100 only subject to conditions.
- Total exemption from property tax on the primary residence if you are in a retirement home.
- Partial/total exemption from property tax upon request 2020: an approach that everyone can try.
- Partial exemption from property tax upon request if it exceeds 50% of your income.
- Vacant or unoccupied housing: can you be exempt from property tax?
- Exemption from property tax for 2 years on new housing: beware of reporting obligations.
- Total exemption from property tax for 15 years and various cases.
Total exemption from property tax 2020: disabled persons, over 75 years old, disabled persons… conditions?
First of all, I would like to emphasize that the exemptions concern property tax, but never the household waste tax. This often appears on the property tax page and remains to be paid.
The first exemption described here is total and automatic. It concerns the property tax of the primary residence (and secondary for a particular case). The concerned individuals will have nothing to pay, and the tax authorities usually calculate it themselves. These are the following taxpayers: — Recipients of the ASI (supplementary disability allowance) and ASPA (solidarity allowance for the elderly). — Receiving the AH (Allowance for Disabled Adults) also entitles you to the exemption provided that you do not exceed an income threshold. — Persons over 75 years old may be eligible provided they do not exceed an income threshold.
Recommended read : What is the price of a cruise?
Of course, these are not cumulative conditions. Holders of the AAH or ASI are exempt. Only persons over 75 years old and those with an AAH must meet an additional condition: not to have excessively high income. The tax authorities will examine the reference tax income that appears on your tax notice. It must be below the thresholds set out in Article 1417 of the General Tax Code. It specifies that the reference tax income must not exceed €11,098 plus €2,963 per additional unit.
Example: Mr. Corrigo’s tax at the age of 78 and his reference tax income is €12,000. His tax notice indicates that he holds 1.5 shares. The threshold not to be exceeded is €11,098 plus €2,963. Since his reference tax income is below the threshold, he will be exempt from property tax for the coming year.
In such a situation, you have nothing to do. The tax authorities systematically review the tax notice and if your reference tax income is below the threshold, they will cancel the property tax if you are over 75 years old or if you receive the AAH.
Very important clarification: if you meet the resource requirements and are over 75 years old, you should know that there is case law that extends the property tax exemption to secondary residences (CE October 20, 2000 no 205635). It is possible that the property tax on your primary residence is automatically exempt, but not that of your secondary residences. In this case, you must contact the tax administration from your “tax.gov” area or by mail. The exemption will then apply to all your properties.
For married couples or partners, the conditions can be met by only one of the spouses. Finally, note that if you benefit from the exemption and an increase in income makes you ineligible the following year, a smoothing mechanism will automatically apply so that the increase is “smooth”.
Exemption from property tax if you are 65 years or older? A reduction of €100 only subject to conditions.
If you are over 65 years old, you can benefit from a partial exemption which results in a reduction of €100. Being 65 years old is not enough, unfortunately, your income must also be below the threshold observed previously. Your reference tax income must not exceed €11,098 €2,963 per share (see example from the previous point). If this is the case, the tax authorities will automatically apply a tax discount of €100 on your property tax. I have detailed the tax income here: what is the difference between taxable net income and reference tax income?
Total exemption from property tax on the primary residence if you are in a retirement home.
If you are in a retirement home, the exemption mentioned in the previous point applies. Receiving the UPS or ASPA will allow you not to pay property tax on the former primary residence. Even if you are over 75 years old or if you receive the AHA and your reference tax income is below the threshold described above. Be careful, you must always keep your former property free and unoccupied. If you are in one of the described situations and still pay property tax, you must send a letter to the tax authorities (or request from your “tax.gov” area) to benefit from the exemption.
Partial/total exemption from property tax upon request 2020: an approach that everyone can try.
An article from the Tax Procedure Book allows everyone to request a partial or total exemption from property tax. All you have to do is write to the tax authorities under this article of the law to explain why it is difficult to pay or why you believe you should be exempted this year. The tax authorities then analyze this free request on a case-by-case basis. Each year, more than 50% of requests are processed… moreover, today, it is enough to send an email from your “tax.gov” area if mail does not suit you. A very simple step that does not cost much… I can only advise you to try. I have detailed the cases regularly accepted by the tax authorities and attached a pre-written request letter with the procedure to follow in the online space to send it here: free request for exemption from a tax by mail (the article is written with a focus on the housing tax but it also applies to property tax).
Partial exemption from property tax upon request if it exceeds 50% of your income.
Article 1391B of the General Tax Code states that your property taxes cannot exceed 50% of your income. If, for example, you have an income of €2,000 per year, the property tax should not exceed €1,000. If this is the case, the taxpayer must report it to the tax authorities in order to be reimbursed for the excess. You must use form 14770*06 by filling it out and sending it to the tax authorities. This approach is reserved for taxpayers with limited resources (even the income threshold reference index as indicated in point 1 of the article). In fact, I strongly advise you to prioritize the request for free remission from the previous point (exemption upon request, see point 4) if you are concerned. It has a higher chance of successful completion with a higher refund. If and only if the remission request from point 4 fails (and of course, your property taxes exceed 50% of income), you can then fill out form 14770*06 to ensure you recover the overpaid amount.
Vacant or unoccupied housing: can you be exempt from property tax?
If you own a vacant property, you may benefit from a partial exemption from property tax. In simple terms, this often involves a property that is rented but not occupied without the fault of the taxpayer. If a property has no occupants for three months or more, the tax administration calculates an allowance for each unoccupied month. The request must be made to the tax authorities before December 31 of the following year. To go further, I have detailed all the conditions and attached a pre-written exemption request letter here: how to be exempt from property tax on vacant housing?
Exemption from property tax for 2 years on new housing: beware of reporting obligations.
If you purchase new real estate, you may be exempt from property tax for two years. I am talking about all new constructions (VEFA, built house, etc…) and the tax authorities even extend this concept to renovated and modernized buildings (the text specifies multiple conditions for the exemption from property tax for transformed properties). The cherry on top concerns primary residences as well as secondary residences. The first year of exemption is the year following the completion of construction. You will not pay property tax for two years. Be careful, the tax authorities impose a reporting requirement if you wish to benefit from it. It is imperative that the construction is reported within 90 days once the work is completed. In most cases, form H1 is required (see: how to download form H1 to report the construction of a single-family home). If your submission is made late, you may completely lose the benefit of the exemption and have to pay property tax in the first year.
Finally, it is worth noting that the municipality can refute this exemption for part of the property tax that belongs to it. Some new owners must then pay this part of the property tax for the first two years… so we can talk about a partial exemption.
Total exemption from property tax for 15 years and various cases.
Finally, there are many cases of total exemption over several years, but each of them is particularly specific. The most well-known (to say the least unknown) concerns the exemption from property tax for a period of 15 years. It is granted to those who have acquired a new home with more than 50% of the purchase financed by loans benefiting from external assistance to PTZ. Similarly, housing built with funding from the HLM program is exempt from property tax for 15 years.
There are also several cases of exemption from property tax on particular buildings. Difficult to list them all, we can quickly mention the following acquisitions that are exempt from property tax: low-energy housing or conversion of premises by decision of local authorities, construction near hazardous sites, furnished rental in certain ZRR, etc… The list is long and there are also some undeveloped properties (organic agricultural land…). In each case, the exemption from property tax concerns really specific acquisitions. I would clarify certain types of property if requests appear as comments.
Tag : monthly property tax