{"id":2112880,"date":"2026-08-29T01:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/2026\/08\/29\/french-property-tax-british-owner-new-build-two-year-exemption\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T01:07:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:07:47","slug":"french-property-tax-british-owner-new-build-two-year-exemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/08\/29\/french-property-tax-british-owner-new-build-two-year-exemption\/","title":{"rendered":"French Property Tax for a British Owner of a New-Build Home: How to Claim the Two-Year Exemption"},"content":{"rendered":"

Receiving a French taxe fonci\u00e8re<\/em> bill for a newly completed home can be particularly confusing when you are a British owner living between France and the United Kingdom. The taxe fonci\u00e8re sur les propri\u00e9t\u00e9s b\u00e2ties<\/em> (TFPB) is the French property tax on built property. A new house, reconstruction or qualifying addition may benefit from a temporary exemption for the two years following the year in which it is completed. That relief is not automatic in practice: the owner must make the property declaration within 90 days, and the local authority may have limited or removed part of the relief for its share of the tax.<\/p>\n

Brexit does not remove this French domestic relief, and British nationality does not create a separate exclusion. The difficult questions are usually practical and evidential: when was the building legally complete, which owner had to declare it, what did the commune and the public inter-municipal body decide, and how should a missing exemption be challenged? This guide deals with the legal life of the property after completion, not with the conveyancing process for purchasing a home in France. It sets out the rules, the dates, the evidence and the administrative claim route for a British owner.<\/p>\n

For wider tax issues affecting a British owner of a French second home, see the related guide on challenging French capital gains tax on a second home after Brexit<\/a>. The present article addresses the earlier property-tax question created by the completion of a new building.<\/p>\n

I. Can a British owner claim the French two-year new-build exemption?<\/h2>\n

A. What the French exemption covers, and what Brexit does not change<\/h3>\n

The starting point is Article 1383 of the Code g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des imp\u00f4ts<\/em> (CGI), the French General Tax Code. Its first paragraph states: Les constructions nouvelles, reconstructions et additions de construction \u00e0 usage d’habitation sont exon\u00e9r\u00e9es de la taxe fonci\u00e8re sur les propri\u00e9t\u00e9s b\u00e2ties durant les deux ann\u00e9es qui suivent celle de leur ach\u00e8vement.<\/q> In English, a new residential construction, a reconstruction or an addition to a residential construction is exempt from the TFPB for the two years after the year of completion. The complete current provision is available in the official L\u00e9gifrance text of Article 1383<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Three points follow from that wording. First, the relevant asset is a built residential property. The rule is not a general exemption from every charge connected with land. Secondly, the period is counted by tax years: the two years after the year of completion, rather than two years from the day on which the keys were handed over. Thirdly, the right is conditional on the declaration rules in Article 1406 CGI. A British owner therefore has to treat the relief as a right that must be preserved through a timely and accurate filing, not as a discount that the tax office must discover without an application.<\/p>\n

The relief is normally relevant to a detached house, a flat in a newly constructed building, a reconstruction or an addition that creates qualifying built area. It is not a substitute for checking the description of the property in the tax account. A garage, annex, pool, outbuilding or land may raise separate assessment questions. If the notice includes several components, the request should identify the residential construction and explain which line or assessment base is said to fall within Article 1383.<\/p>\n

Article 1400 CGI determines the person in whose name the tax is established. The first paragraph provides: Sous r\u00e9serve des dispositions des articles 1403 et 1404, toute propri\u00e9t\u00e9, b\u00e2tie ou non b\u00e2tie, doit \u00eatre impos\u00e9e au nom du propri\u00e9taire actuel.<\/q> The second paragraph adds that, where an immovable property is subject to usufruct, the tax is established in the name of the usufructuary. The official Article 1400 page<\/a> should be checked where the title is shared, an usufruct has been reserved, or a French soci\u00e9t\u00e9 civile immobili\u00e8re<\/em> (SCI), meaning a civil property company, holds the property.<\/p>\n

This allocation matters for a British family that has bought a home jointly, transferred a life interest, or arranged a succession. The person writing to the service des imp\u00f4ts fonciers<\/em>, the local property-tax office, should be the taxpayer shown on the account or should attach authority from that taxpayer. A disagreement between co-owners does not change the 90-day declaration deadline. Where an usufructuary and a bare owner exist, the notice and the exemption request should state the legal position rather than simply referring to \u201cthe family home\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nationality is not one of the conditions in Article 1383. The relief is attached to the qualifying construction and the statutory declaration. A British citizen who became resident in France after Brexit, a British owner who remains UK tax resident, and a British family using the home as a second residence can all need to examine the same French TFPB rules. Their income-tax residence and the France\u2013UK double-tax convention may affect other taxes, but they do not replace the Article 1383 and Article 1406 analysis. The UK government\u2019s official guidance on living in France<\/a> also directs individuals towards the French authority or professional advice for personal tax questions; it is not a decision on a French local-tax exemption.<\/p>\n

There is, however, an important limit: the headline \u201ctwo-year exemption\u201d does not guarantee that every euro on a French tax notice disappears. Article 1383 allows the commune to limit the exemption for its share to 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90%. The \u00e9tablissement public de coop\u00e9ration intercommunale<\/em> (EPCI), a public inter-municipal cooperation body such as a community of communes or an agglomeration community, may remove the exemption for its share. The decision may also distinguish buildings financed with certain state-supported or approved loans. The local decision therefore has to be identified before calculating the amount claimed.<\/p>\n

Article 1639 A bis CGI sets the timing for those local decisions. Its first paragraph states: Les d\u00e9lib\u00e9rations des collectivit\u00e9s locales et des organismes comp\u00e9tents relatives \u00e0 la fiscalit\u00e9 directe locale, autres que celles fixant soit les taux, soit les produits des impositions, et que celles instituant la taxe d’enl\u00e8vement des ordures m\u00e9nag\u00e8res mentionn\u00e9e \u00e0 l’article 1520 ou la taxe d’am\u00e9nagement mentionn\u00e9e \u00e0 l’article 1635 quater A doivent \u00eatre prises avant le 1er octobre pour \u00eatre applicables l’ann\u00e9e suivante.<\/q> The official Article 1639 A bis text<\/a> is useful when the tax office says that the local share was limited or suppressed. Ask for the commune and EPCI deliberation, the effective year and the exact share affected.<\/p>\n

The temporary relief should also be separated from the taxe d’enl\u00e8vement des ordures m\u00e9nag\u00e8res<\/em> (TEOM), the household-waste collection tax commonly shown on the same tax notice. The official French tax administration answer on a newly built house<\/a> explains that the new-build property-tax exemption does not remove the TEOM. A British owner who sees a residual sum after the TFPB relief should therefore inspect the notice line by line before assuming that the exemption has been refused.<\/p>\n

Finally, the tax year is governed by the situation existing on 1 January. Article 1415 CGI provides: La taxe fonci\u00e8re sur les propri\u00e9t\u00e9s b\u00e2ties, la taxe fonci\u00e8re sur les propri\u00e9t\u00e9s non b\u00e2ties et la taxe d’habitation sur les r\u00e9sidences secondaires sont \u00e9tablies pour l’ann\u00e9e enti\u00e8re d’apr\u00e8s les faits existants au 1er janvier de l’ann\u00e9e de l’imposition.<\/q> The official Article 1415 text<\/a> explains why an owner cannot simply prorate the annual tax by the date of arrival or departure. It does not remove the separate question of whether a completed new building should have benefited from Article 1383 in the relevant years.<\/p>\n

B. Which completion date and local decision control the exemption?<\/h3>\n

The decisive date is the date of definitive completion, not the date of the planning permission, the date of the notarial deed, the date on which a British owner first stayed overnight, or necessarily the date printed on a developer\u2019s welcome letter. The building is generally treated as complete when its condition permits normal occupation. The French tax administration says that a house can be considered complete when it is habitable even if minor finishing work, such as paint or floor coverings, remains. That practical explanation appears in the official impots.gouv.fr new-construction guidance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The legal assessment still depends on the facts of the whole property. In CAA Paris, 16 July 1991, no. 90PA00423<\/a>, the court stated: l’occupation partielle d’une partie habitable de ce local ne suffit pas \u00e0 faire courir le d\u00e9lai de d\u00e9claration<\/q>. The decision concerned a building whose different parts could not be used separately and emphasised the completion of the relevant whole. This is not an invitation to wait casually: it means that the evidence must show when the qualifying building, or a separately usable part recognised by the facts, was definitively completed.<\/p>\n

For a house bought from a developer, including a vente en l’\u00e9tat futur d’ach\u00e8vement<\/em> (VEFA), meaning an off-plan purchase completed as construction progresses, collect more than the handover certificate. The file should distinguish practical handover from tax completion. Useful documents include the declaration of completion filed with the mairie, the developer\u2019s completion notice, utility connection records, an expert\u2019s report, photographs, insurance documents, the certificate showing that the home was usable, and correspondence recording any work that remained. Do not turn the article into a purchase-process guide: the purpose of these documents is to establish the tax date after the construction exists.<\/p>\n

Article 1406 CGI imposes the filing obligation. It states: Les constructions nouvelles, ainsi que les changements de consistance ou d’affectation des propri\u00e9t\u00e9s b\u00e2ties et non b\u00e2ties, sont port\u00e9s par les propri\u00e9taires \u00e0 la connaissance de l’administration, dans les quatre-vingt-dix jours de leur r\u00e9alisation d\u00e9finitive et selon les modalit\u00e9s fix\u00e9es par d\u00e9cret.<\/q> The official Article 1406 text<\/a> also states in paragraph II that the benefit of temporary exemptions depends on the declaration of the change that gives rise to them, and that a late declaration leaves the exemption only for the period remaining after 31 December of the following year.<\/p>\n

The 90 days are calendar days counted from definitive completion. The safest practice is to calculate the last day immediately, file before it, and preserve proof of filing. If completion was on 10 May 2026, the owner should target a filing no later than 8 August 2026, subject to the precise calculation of the period and the filing channel. If completion was on 20 December 2026, the period can extend into March 2027. The date should never be inferred from the first tax notice, because the notice may arrive after the declaration period has already expired.<\/p>\n

The consequences of delay are easier to see with a tax-year example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Completion and filing<\/th>\nLikely statutory window<\/th>\nPractical consequence<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Completion in 2026; declaration within 90 days<\/td>\n2027 and 2028<\/td>\nThe two years can be claimed, subject to the local commune and EPCI decisions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Completion in 2026; declaration late but filed during 2026<\/td>\nUsually the period remaining after 31 December 2027<\/td>\nThe 2027 year is normally lost and the 2028 year may remain, subject to the other conditions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Completion in 2026; declaration filed during 2027 after the 90-day period<\/td>\nPotentially no remaining period<\/td>\nThe late filing may arrive too late to preserve either year of the temporary relief.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This table is a planning tool, not a substitute for applying the current statutory wording to the exact completion date and local decision. Article 1406 is unforgiving because the late-filing rule is attached to the statutory period, not to the date on which a taxpayer first understood the French form. In Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat, 26 November 2018, no. 419798<\/a>, the court held that the taxpayer had to notify the administration of the new construction within 90 days to obtain the Article 1383 exemption. The judgment expressly says: il appartient au contribuable de porter \u00e0 la connaissance de l’administration l’existence d’une construction nouvelle dans les quatre-vingt-dix jours de sa r\u00e9alisation d\u00e9finitive<\/q>.<\/p>\n

That case is a warning against relying on a later reminder from the tax office. The court rejected the idea that a reasonable period after a reminder could replace the statutory deadline. In Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat, 21 November 2019, no. 420352<\/a>, the court also accepted that a declaration was late where la d\u00e9claration adress\u00e9e le 17 juin 2015 \u00e0 l’administration fiscale avait \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9pos\u00e9e hors d\u00e9lai<\/q>, with the result that the temporary exemption was unavailable for the years in dispute. These decisions are directly relevant when a British owner argues that the developer, conveyancer or accountant should have warned them.<\/p>\n

Check the local decision separately. Article 1383 permits a commune to reduce its share of the exemption and allows an EPCI to suppress its share. A tax notice can therefore be correct as to one part and wrong as to another. Ask the service des imp\u00f4ts fonciers<\/em> to identify the local measure applied to the property, the tax year from which it applied and whether the property\u2019s financing falls within an exception. If the authority cannot identify that legal basis, the point belongs in the written claim.<\/p>\n

The UK side of the situation should not distract from the French calendar. A British owner may have a UK correspondence address, a UK mortgage, a UK pension, or a French second home. None of those facts extends the French 90-day period. It may, however, explain why an online French notice or message was missed. Correct the correspondence details in the French tax account and keep a copy of the account change, but treat that correction as a separate step from the new-build declaration.<\/p>\n

II. What should a British owner do if the exemption is missing, reduced or refused?<\/h2>\n

A. How to make the declaration and preserve the claim<\/h3>\n

The first objective is to create a traceable file. A British owner should save the date of completion, the date the declaration was sent, the filing reference, the property address, the cadastral identifiers if available, and every response from the tax office. Screenshots alone are not enough if they do not show the date, the property and the confirmation number. Download the confirmation, retain the original attachments and store an English explanation beside the French documents.<\/p>\n

The declaration channel depends on the type of property and the administration\u2019s current instructions. The tax administration\u2019s official obligations page<\/a> explains that a new construction must be declared within 90 days and that this declaration is connected to the temporary exemption under Article 1383. For many private owners, the online \u201cBiens immobiliers\u201d area, meaning \u201cReal estate\u201d, is the practical starting point. A paper property declaration may still be required for the relevant house or flat, so use the form and route indicated by the account or by the local tax office. Do not send a generic email that does not identify the statutory relief.<\/p>\n

If a builder did not make a required filing, do not assume that the British buyer has no remedy. The official impots.gouv.fr guidance on declaring a new home<\/a> explains the owner\u2019s obligation and addresses the situation in which the builder failed to declare the construction. A buyer can have a special period connected with the acquisition in that situation. The documents should prove both the builder\u2019s omission and the date on which the buyer acquired or became responsible for the property. Because this is an exception to the ordinary timetable, state the facts precisely rather than relying on a bare assertion that \u201cthe developer dealt with it\u201d.<\/p>\n

When filing or correcting the declaration, make the exemption request explicit. In Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat, 25 November 2009, no. 301031<\/a>, the court held that a declaration by itself ne peut, de ce seul fait, \u00eatre regard\u00e9 comme ayant demand\u00e9 le b\u00e9n\u00e9fice de l’exon\u00e9ration temporaire<\/q>. The lesson is simple: include a sentence expressly requesting the Article 1383 relief. For example, in an English explanation attached to the French filing, identify the French request as Je sollicite le b\u00e9n\u00e9fice de l’exon\u00e9ration temporaire pr\u00e9vue par l’article 1383 du CGI.<\/q> Then explain the completion date, the 90-day filing date and the documents attached.<\/p>\n

A concise file should contain:<\/p>\n