If you are an owner, it is in your best interest to check the properties taken into account by the tax authorities to calculate your property tax. Because the automatic tools used by the administration would make errors in their detection of swimming pools.
This is not new, tax services have been using digital tools for years to hunt down fraudsters, well before the arrival of “artificial intelligence”. Among the weapons used, a visual recognition algorithm to study aerial images and detect undeclared constructions, such as verandas, garden sheds and especially swimming pools, which remain one of the favorite amenities of the French.
But according to the testimony of a representative of the CGT Finances Publiques 13, collected by La Provence, these tools are not really up to date, and would generate false positives. Facilities, such as agricultural covers or places for disabled people, are sometimes wrongly identified as swimming pools, due to their shape and color. As the workforce has shrunk in recent years, these algorithmic detections would not always be subject to human verification and, still according to the same representative, the instruction given by management would be “to impose in case of doubt”.
Thus, the number of disputes would have exploded and their processing would be particularly laborious, going against the efficiency objectives targeted by the use of digital tools. So what should you do if you notice an unexplained increase in your property tax and suspect you’re being taxed on a pool you don’t have? Because in this scenario, it is up to you to provide proof that the tax administration is wrong in order to obtain a reduction in your tax.
First of all, carefully consult your property tax notice and check that the increase is not due to other factors, such as the tax base, which changes every year according to inflation, or the tax rates. taxation, which are voted by local authorities and can increase from one year to the next. Once these avenues have been ruled out, you will need to obtain the details of the tax base, and things then become complicated, because it does not appear on the property tax notice.
To avoid being wrongly taxed, you can carry out an initial check on the official Cadastre website, where you can see if a swimming pool is declared on the plot of your property. However, only swimming pools appear in the land register, and above-ground swimming pools may also be taxable, if they cannot be dismantled or if they remain installed for more than three months in the year.
Ultimately, the only solutions at present are to request a detailed statement of your property via the impots.gouv.fr site messaging or to directly contact the tax service on which your property depends, and whose contact details appear on your property tax notice, to check with them if a swimming pool is declared at your address.
But above all, in the event of a dispute, do not suspend payment of your tax! If your claim is accepted, you will then be reimbursed for the overpayment; on the other hand, if it is refused and you have not paid on time, you will then be liable for the amount and an additional 10% surcharge.
