From January 1, 2025, VAT on equipment and the installation of gas boilers increases from 5.5% to 10%. An increase announced at the last minute which should penalize several million households.
VAT on equipment and the installation of gas boilers, called condensing or very high energy performance boilers, will be increased to 10% from January 1, 2025, compared to 5.5% until today.
Announced on December 24, this development caused astonishment among professionals in the sector and customers. “This leaves one week for companies and individual customers to sign quotes and to move forward with the replacement of their boiler,” laments Cyril Radici, general director of the national union for maintenance and energy efficiency services (Synasav).
On the consumer side, the bill may increase when installing a gas boiler.
“We are, approximately, 200 euros more for an installation from January 1, 2025,” he specifies.
Consumers fiscally penalized
This increase in VAT comes in a tense economic context with weakened purchasing power and “the consequences of which we can measure on a daily basis with businesses,” adds Cyril Radici.
For good reason, according to a survey carried out by Synasav during the year 2024, 75% of respondents pay attention to their energy bill and 25% of them tend to turn off the heating before the end of the month to ensure payment.
The announcement of the change in VAT is all the more penalizing, because the government had made sure to dissuade the French from a tax standpoint from taking a gas boiler. Except that boiler sales continue due to uncompetitive alternatives.
“We know that today, we have 3.4 million French people who cannot replace their boiler with anything other than a boiler, except electric convectors, which no one wants, including the government . These households will not have the choice of changing their boiler, so they are fiscally penalized,” says Cyril Radici.
It is also difficult to choose another option due to a significant price difference: with a boiler, the installation costs around 4,000 to 5,000 euros, while the sum rises to 15,000 to 20,000 for a water pump. heat.
The fear of a new increase
Diverting the consumer from the gas boiler is a positive step, assures the general director of Synasav. What he deplores is the timing of the announcement of the VAT increase, which could have direct repercussions on professionals in the sector.
“In an end-of-year context, companies tend to reduce their workforce to let their employees enjoy the holidays, and there they will have very little time to prepare the customer, so there is a risk of disappointment , and in the end we risk hitting the professional,” he explains.
Cyril Radici also fears a new increase, while the finance bill originally provided for a VAT of 20%.
During the few days between the implementation of the 10%, he recommends that consumers quickly contact the companies that have provided their quote. “The decree issued on December 24 stipulates that to benefit from this 5.5% VAT, it is necessary to have signed a quote and to have paid a first deposit before December 31,” he recalls.
