Review of the mandatory declaration for French property owners: important details and innovations.

All owners of primary and secondary residences in France must complete the Biens immobiliers form or potentially face a fine. We explain how to do this.

All property owners in France must make a one-time online or telephone declaration explaining how they use their property by June 30, 2023. This is to ensure tax authorities have up-to-date information on how to tax them and avoid mistakes, officials told The Connexion.

The association that oversees the use of taxpayer money has called the process an "invasion of privacy." It points to the importance of warning people that they could be fined €150 for each''property is a primary residence or not, either in a special part of your personal or business space on the tax website impots.gouv.fr, or by phone. Tax officials say this is necessary because the occupancy tax has been repealed for all primary residences, so they want to make sure it is only taxed on secondary residences.

A spokeswoman for the central tax authority DGFiP said: "We already have a lot of this information, so in most cases the request we make is a simple confirmation that needs to be done once, unless the situation changes in the future.

Olivier Berthaud, tax expert at Contribuables Associés, said: "Fiscal officials say it will simplify the''life to the people in managing their property, but the taxpayers are perfectly capable of handling these tasks themselves. And since they have to point out every little detail, it seems more like the Fiscals are asking the taxpayer to do their job for them. It's an invasion of privacy. It allows them to check the number of rooms, comfort level, garages and basements, etc. This comes in a context where the Fiscal is becoming more and more intrusive, wanting to know everything about what the taxpayers own. "

Mr. Berto said authorities are particularly interested in determining which properties are secondary homes. "Part of that is to avoid a situation where people who own more than one property give the impression that from one year'''on the other both sites are primary residences,' he said. "It's about getting people to make a choice. "

This statement is not part of the income tax return. In any case, you should tell the IRS whether the house is being used as a second home, as there have always been differences in local taxation of primary and secondary residences. The new declaration will not result in additional tax over what would otherwise be paid, and contrary to some reports that indicate that it is part of the income tax return, this is not entirely true. There is no need to file an income tax return, although those who enter the system designed to declare income in this''year, will also be asked to submit a real estate statement if appropriate.

The statement helps keep the status of the property up to date. A DGFiP spokeswoman said they already have information on most primary residences, as well as the nature of properties purchased as secondary residences, but may not have information on a recent change of use - for example, if a person has recently started using a former secondary residence as a primary residence. "The notary is selling the property but cannot know what will happen to it next, whether it will be vacant or used as a primary or secondary dwelling.

She added that in the case of rental properties, there was already a return that had to be filed with the IRS, and the new process replaces that. The IRS used to send a form that owners had to fill out and submit, indicating who occupied their property. She also noted that the information can be used by tax authorities to verify that they are collecting all relevant money under the "tax at source place tax" system, including contributions to the estimated French tax on rental income. The information can also be used to verify that the property has been correctly declared for IFI property tax, if necessary, as well as to notify the tax authorities''s completion of new construction projects to pay a one-time tax on new construction projects and expansions, he said.

It is also likely that the information collected, including the amount of rent, will be used in the reform of the theoretical market rental value of real estate (valeurs locatives cadastrales), on the basis of which local property taxes are calculated, which is due to take effect from 2026, Mr. Berto said. "It is true that at the moment the inclusion of the rental amount is optional, but I do not think it will remain so, nor do I think that in the future the authorities will also want data on land that is not developed," Mr. Bertaud said.

He said property owners should carefully''parking spaces

Any elements that are not physically attached to the house/flat will be listed separately - for example, a garage at the end of the garden or a private parking space. In the case of apartments, this also applies to a cellar in the basement, but not to external terraces attached to the apartment. When completing the declaration for a house/apartment, you will have the option to declare other items (such as a garage) that you use in your daily life on the property as 'relating to this activity' to tie them into the same ensemble.

Description of the property

The square footage will be the actual wall-to-wall square footage, which may be larger than the Carré's Law square footage used in the listings. The number of 'rooms' includes''bathrooms and kitchens, not just bedrooms and living rooms, as listed by real estate agents. Properties get a fiscal category for appearance and construction from 8 ('dilapidated and in disrepair') to 1 ('luxurious'). One that is considered ordinary and unremarkable will have a rating of 6. If something is wrong, let the tax office know (preferably via private message, selecting "J'ai une question sur le descriptive de mon bien immobilier").

Specify how the property is used.

You must report who lived in or used the property as of January 1, 2023 (and since then, if anything has changed), whether it is a primary or secondary dwelling, whether it is rented out, provided free of charge to someone, or vacant (i.e., not used or furnished, therefore''cannot be used). If you are renting it out, you must indicate whether it was provided furnished or unfurnished or used for a short-term vacation rental (as opposed to a regular long-term rental as a residential dwelling).

Personal tax space

Anyone who is liable to pay French income or property tax has a tax identification number (look at the top of the tax bill) and can get a personal web space. You can access the personal web space (if you don't already have one) using data from your last tax account if you submit an income tax return. At the same time, non-residents can apply for a space on this''digitally (you will need a scan of your passport, and note that you need to enter 99 for the department of birth if you were born abroad). If necessary, residents can also call 0809 401 401 with a tax account to make an application over the phone. After the first words in French, press 0, z