In some municipalities, owners who have purchased equipment or carried out work to save energy can benefit from a reduction or even a total exemption from property tax. Provided that they meet several conditions.
Property tax will increase again in 2024. However, there are solutions to limit it or even avoid it. While property tax exemption is available to some people with modest incomes or receiving an allowance for the elderly or disabled, owners of individual houses must not forget to file a declaration to avoid it for several years, if they have carried out certain energy-saving work. To benefit from this reduction or exemption, several conditions must be met.
Condition no. 1: live in a municipality that has voted for the measure
The exemption is only acquired if your municipality has adopted the measure by a deliberation of the municipal council. This vote must take place before 1is October to apply to the following year’s property tax. At the end of 2022, only 453 municipalities (out of a total of 35,000) were affected, according to the Directorate General of Public Finances. To find out if this is your case in 2024, contact your town hall or the public finance center.
Condition No. 2: having carried out work indicated by law
The works concerned include heating or domestic hot water supply equipment running on wood or solar thermal energy, heat pumps, connections to a heat network or the installation of a condensing boiler, or the acquisition of thermal insulation materials. The full list of eligible equipment, materials or devices can be viewed online (art. 18 bis of the General Tax Code, annex IV).
Condition #3: having spent more than €10,000 on the work
To reduce their property tax, the owner must have carried out work costing more than €10,000 (cost including tax excluding labor). The amount required can increase to €15,000 if the expenses were spread over the last three years before the year in which the exemption applies.
Condition no. 4: occupy a dwelling built before 1989 or a new property after 2009
To benefit from the exemption, the legislator has set a limit on the date of construction of the housing. Old housing, built before 1is January 1989, allow an exemption for all energy saving works (article 1383-0 B of the general tax code). On the other hand, the measure applies to new housing completed since 1is January 2009 but only if the work has enabled your accommodation to obtain a level of energy performance higher than the legislative requirements (article 1383-0 B bis of the CGI).
How much is the exemption?
Depending on the municipality, this is either a 50% reduction in property tax or a 100% exemption. This reduction or exemption is acquired for 5 years from the year following payment of the work or equipment if the municipal resolution was voted on before 2019 or for 3 years if the resolution is after 2019.
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How to get it?
To benefit from the tax reduction, you must file your declaration before 1is January of the first year from which it is applicable, with the tax office. The declaration must include all the identification elements of the assets, including the date of completion of your accommodation and be accompanied by the elements justifying the nature and amount of the expenses incurred, namely the invoices for the work (old accommodation) or the last energy performance certificate obtained (recent accommodation).