some owners were wrongly taxed on vacant homes, reports the tax authorities

The tax administration committed “some errors” this month on tax notices on vacant housing (TLV) “wrongly sent”reported Tuesday, November 19, the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) in a press release.

“In certain cases, certain users may have been wrongly imposed on the TLV or the THLV [taxe d’habitation sur les logements vacants] even though their declaration was made in “Manage my real estate”on the tax website, notes the DGFiP. “These cases have been identified and will be corrected without any action from the user”she assured.

The public finance department declared that it “this is a technical error by the administration” and that “the cancellation of the notices concerned will be carried out directly by the tax administration”.

The people concerned will be contacted by email “at the end of the week” et “will then receive in the coming weeks by post the letter canceling the initial notice”assured the DGFiP.

The administration has not communicated the number of these errors, especially since the campaign to send housing tax notices on second homes (THRS), TLV and THLV began at the beginning of the month , and continues until December 15 for payment, and until December 31, 2026 for possible disputes.

Increase in the number of municipalities affected by the tax on vacant housing

The tax administration has noticed that, this year, the number of tax notices on vacant housing “has increased significantly due to the significant expansion of the scope to which they apply”.

The scope of this tax, which concerns vacant premises since January 1, 2023 in tense areas marked by difficulties in accessing housing, increases to 3,697 municipalities in 2024 compared to 1,136 last year.

Outside of these tense areas, the number of municipalities having introduced the housing tax on vacant housing increased from 5,447 in 2023 to 6,417 in 2024. It has applied to vacant housing since January 1, 2022.

The public finance department also emphasizes that opinions can, “like every year”having been wrongly issued to owners who had not correctly declared the new situation of their accommodation, “despite the strengthening of communication and support actions implemented by the administration”.

The owners, she recalled, “are required to declare annually changes in the occupation situation of their property: identity of tenants for landlords, primary or secondary residence for owner-occupiers”.