Each week Sharon Scott of local estate agency 2 Valleys Properties shares a really useful, interesting and helpful guide to ex-pat life in the mountains. You’ll find the full back collection of Sharon’s blogs on our website, and on Sharon’s Facebook page.
This Week: Taxe d’Habitation & Taxe Foncier
Whether you are a property owner, renter or are living somewhere free of charge, you must pay the taxe d’habitation on your main place of residence and your secondary residence.
How is the taxe d’habitation calculated?
The taxe d’habitation is calculated according to your situation on the 1st of Janaury of the taxable year. This date will determine the property to be taxed, the people to be taxed and any exemptions, rebates or reductions to be considered in relation to income.
The tax is calculated on the NET rental value of the property. This value is equal to the local cadastral rental value of the property reduced if it is your primary residence, with mandatory rebates for dependents and optional rebates based on income or disability.
To sum up, if you are here for the season and are probably on an English contract then this tax does not concern you as you will probably have kept your home address in England as your principal residence, however if you are living here permanently, even if it is in rented accommodation then you have to pay this tax. Second home owners also have to pay.
The taxe foncier is paid by all property OWNERS and not renters. This includes primary and secondary howe owners. This tax goes towards communal, inter communal and department services and equipments. Exemptions for certain periods of time are possible if your are doing extensive renovation works on your property for example, otherwise you gotta pay!
If you have never paid either tax and you think that you should you can pick up a form at the local tax office in St Jean d’Aulps or the tax office in Thonon. If you have bought a property then they will come to you automatically, but if you are just renting then you may have to ask for a form the first year you are taxable.
Pay your taxes or don’t, who am I to judge, but in my experience they will catch up with you at some stage and you don’t want to have to pay for 4 years of unpaid taxes with penalties on top! Also it may mean that you can benefit from government loans, grants and tax breaks.
