Property tax: do you think it’s too high? Here’s how to lower it

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2 min

Your 2023 property tax notice, received a week ago, is still sticking in your craw. Be aware that you can ask the tax authorities to cap its amount, under certain conditions.

2,400 euros. This is the amount that appears on your property tax notice received last week and that you must pay by October 15 or October 20, depending on the payment method used. 2,400 euros is the equivalent of a month’s salary for many French people… But there is a tax measure called “capping”which allows you to limit the amount of property tax, so that it does not exceed 50% of your annual income. Subject to meeting several conditions! First, the property concerned by the request for capping of property tax must be your main residence as of January 1, 2024. You cannot claim the property tax cap for your second home or for the studio that you rent to a student, for example.

Then, you must not have been subject to property wealth tax in the previous year, i.e. 2023 in this case. Finally, your total income for 2023 must not exceed certain ceilingsdepending on the composition of your household and where you live (see the table below, which concerns metropolitan France). For example, if you are a married couple or in a civil partnership with a dependent child, which entitles you to 2.5 tax shares, and you live in metropolitan France, your income for 2023 must not exceed 46,905 euros (see table below). To determine the total amount of your income, you must add or deduct certain elements from your reference tax income, such as your payments into a retirement savings planyour capital losses on the sale of securities, your specific allowances or even the interest received on different types of savings.

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– The overall income ceilings not to be exceeded in mainland France to qualify for a cap on property tax.

A property tax cap to be claimed before December 31

Even if you meet these income limits, the property tax cap is not automatic. It is up to you to do so. claim with the tax administration. How? By sending a request to your public finance center, via form 14770 or 2041-DPFT-SD, which “allows you to calculate this property tax reduction”assures the tax authorities. The notice associated with the form tells you what supporting documents you must provide. You can also send your request via your personal space on the impots.gouv.fr website, in the “secure messaging” section.

And don’t delay! You can submit your capping request as soon as you receive your property tax assessment notice and, at the latest, before December 31 of the current year. A claim which “does not exempt you from paying your tax”specifies the tax administration. But this payment will be refunded to you if your claim is accepted and the tax authorities will also pay you so-called late payment interest.