Second home owners of property in France will be affected by the tighter capital gains tax rules on the sale of secondary French residences and properties in future.
The initial decision to replace tapered relief over 15 years of ownership with relief link to the consumer retail price index has been replaced by an extension to the period of full relief to 30 years rather than 15.
The relief for second home owners of French property is outlined below:
· For the initial five years of ownership no allowance is applicable
· 2% allowance per year applies for between six and seventeen years of ownership
· 4% allowance per year applies for between eighteen and twenty-four years of ownership
· 8% allowance per year for between twenty-five and thirty years of ownership
The new rate of capital gains tax for French property owners resident in France will be 32.5% (19% CGT and 13.5% CSG/CRDS).
EU residents will continue to pay at the total rate of 19% as no liability arises for the social charges for non-residents. For French property owners living outside of the EU, CGT will have to be paid at the current higher rate of 33.3%.
It is worth noting that major improvement works to the property can be offset against liability to capital gains tax. Major improvement works are a cost that you can charge like the price you paid for the property.
So if you spend 150 000 Euros renovating an old barn, as is commonly the case with properties in France, you can supply bills and receipt as proof of the work, then some of this cost is added to the purchase price of the French property before calculation of the liability to the tax. Please be aware that only work done by a registered builder in France is eligible for deduction.