Something promised, something due. Faced with the bronca raised by the prospect of seeing more renters of furnished tourist accommodation subject to VAT (value added tax), a measure provided for by the finance bill (PLF) for 2025, former Prime Minister François Bayrou announced its postponement until 2026 budget. In the PLF for 2026, article 25 precisely provides for setting at 37,500 euros of annual turnover (compared to 25,000 euros in the PLF 2025) the threshold beyond which short-term furnished rentals will have to pay VAT at 10%. “A sum that is certainly large but which is entirely possible to achieve”estimates Baptiste Bochart, lawyer at Jedeclaremonmeuble.com.
In principle, he recalls, the activity of furnished rentale, whether short or long term, is exempt from VAT by article 261 D of the General Tax Code. But an exception exists: this is the case in which, in short-term rental, three of the four performances such as the provision of breakfast, the supply of linen, the regular cleaning of the premises and the reception of customers, even via a key box, are accomplished. “Until a recent change in tax doctrine, few short-term rental companies were affected because most of them did not offer at least three of these four services. But, in the summer of 2024, a first change in tax doctrine eased the conditions allowing these services to be considered as provided within the framework of very short stays, then defined as less than a week.explains the lawyer.
Real estate: the tax status of the lessor ousted from the Lecornu budget, back via a government amendment?
Not meeting a third criterion out of the four
For these short stays, it is now sufficient that the linen is provided on arrival tenants so that the condition of providing linen is considered fulfilled, without it being necessary to renew it during the stay. Likewise, the condition of regular housekeepingr of the premises is now considered fulfilled if it is done only upon their departure. In March 2025, the tax authorities clarified that short stays include a maximum of five nights.
“Owners who rent for stays of five nights at most must bear in mind that the reduction of the criteria constituting the supply of linen and cleaning now leads, so almost automaticthe completion of two out of four services», summarizes Baptiste Bochart. Therefore, “if they want to avoid being subject to VAT, they must ensure that they do not meet a third criterion, in other words not to offer breakfast, and to install a key box without offering another type of reception”he recommends.
