The report on the status of the private landlord, published at the beginning of the summer, contains a proposal aimed at excluding the goods put in long -term rental of the tax base on real estate wealth, in order to encourage owners to use their real estate heritage to offer rental accommodation. If the future of such a proposal is uncertain, there is in reality a possibility, often overlooked by the rental companies who rent one or more goods, to be exempt from tax on real estate wealth. Explanations.
Who is affected by the IFI?
Introduced in January 2018 to replace the ISF, the tax on real estate wealth (IFI) concerns any tax household whose taxable net value of real estate assets is greater than 1.3 million euros. In this notion of real estate assets, we obviously find the main and secondary residences as well as the rented goods, but not only. Indeed, the shares of SCPI and OCPI, as well as the actions of Foncières, are also part of the tax base of the tax on real estate wealth.
However, it remains important to keep in mind that, for buildings, it is their net value that is taken into account. To obtain it, it is necessary to differentiate between the market value of the property, in other words the price at which it could have been sold on January 1 of the tax year, and existing debts such as loans linked to acquisition, work or maintenance expenses or certain taxes and taxes such as property tax. As for the main residence, its market value also benefits from a 30%reduction, unless the property is held through a management SCI.
If the tax base at the IFI is reached, the taxpayer then becomes taxable, according to a progressive scale per tranche on the same model as that of income tax, up to 1.5% of the value of heritage. Please note, because if the tax plate is set at 1.3 million euros, the progressive scale begins, for its part, from 800,000 euros.
Who can claim an IFI exemption?
Some well -furnished rental companies can obtain an exemption from IFI, but for that they need to fulfill two conditions. The first is that the furnished rental activity must be considered as the main professional activity of the lessor, the second is that it generates higher income than its other activity income. And the least we can say is that they are not easy to fill, because having the furnished rental recognized as a main professional activity will be difficult if another activity, notably employed, is carried out in parallel, but it becomes more accessible once in retirement.
As for the condition of having rental income higher than other revenues, it is not easier, because this time it is the net income of the activity that is taken into account, which requires that the latter is beneficiary. However, it is likely that, thanks to the advantageous taxation of furnished rental, in particular to the real regime, the amount of taxable income is largely reduced, and therefore does not exceed that of other income, in the total of which retirement pensions are not however taken into account. However, it is important to keep in mind that this often overlooked opportunity exists.
Are there other alternatives to pay less IFI?
For the rental companies that fall under the status of a non -professional furnished rental company, and more broadly for those who do not meet the conditions of exemption, it is not for the moment not possible to benefit from an exemption from IFI, but options to reduce the amount exist. Thus, donations to organizations of general interest located in France or in a European state can be deducted up to 75%, up to a limit of 50,000 euros. Be careful however, because it will not be possible to also deduct them from income tax.
In the same sense, in the event that the lessor already pays a tax abroad whose characteristics are similar to the IFI on property and property rights located abroad, it is possible for him to impute the amount on the IFI. This reduction only works for the goods taken into account for the determination of the IFI in France and the amount attributable can only be so on the fraction of the tax corresponding to the goods concerned.
Finally, the amount of the IFI can be capped when the cumulative amount of income tax, social security contributions relating to it, the contribution on high income and IFI exceeds 75% of taxable income.
