Ever since 2023 anyone who owns property in France – including second-home owners – have been required to complete a property declaration for the tax office. This year, there are some changes.
What?
The Déclaration des biens immobiliers (sometimes also known as the Déclaration d’occupation) is a form that must be completed for the French tax office, giving details of each dwelling in France and what it is used for.
Unlike the annual déclaration des revenus, this is a one-off task. Property owners must complete it once, but then don’t need to do it again unless their circumstances change – eg they sell the property or change its use from a second home into a main residence.
Who?
The form must be completed by anyone who owns a dwelling in France (commercial properties have different requirements).
This includes people who are not full-time residents in France, such as second home owners.
From this year, the form must also be completed by anyone who has the use of a second home in France but does not own it – more on that below.
Tenants are not required to complete the form.
If you own multiple properties in France, you must complete a form for each place that you own.
How?
Although a paper version of the form is available from your local tax office, the easiest way to complete it is via the French tax office website www.impots.gouv.fr.
You can find our complete guide to filling in the form HERE.
If you are having difficulties, you can contact the tax office by phone, email or in person for help. French tax offices are open to walk-in enquiries, and staff are usually surprisingly friendly and helpful – it should be noted, however, that many tax offices in smaller towns cannot deal with property tax-related queries, so they might direct you to another office.
When?
The deadline to have submitted the form is July 1st.
What changes in 2026?
The Déclaration des biens immobiliers has been a requirement since 2023, so most property owners should have already completed it and therefore don’t have to do anything this year.
If, however, circumstances have changed over the past year, you will need to update the form.
When it comes to property taxes, the information relates to the property situation on January 1st of the tax year – so this year that means January 1st 2026. If anything changed before January 1st, you will need to update the declaration – changes including buying or selling a property or changing its use (eg a second home becomes a main residence or vice versa, or a second home gets rented out to long-term tenants).
If anything changed after January 1st, you do not need to update the declaration this year, but you must remember to do it before July 1st 2027.
The French tax office has also announced two small changes this year;
Delegation – property owners whose place is rented out to long-term tenants may delegate the filling out of the form to an agent, likely a rental agent who manages the property for them. It is, however, up to the agent whether they agree to perform this task.
Second homes – previously the form was only required for people who own a second home in France. However, this has now been expanded to people who “have access to a second home without owning it”, who are also required to complete the declaration.
This doesn’t, however, include people who are just enjoying a break at a second-home owned by a friend or family member, it’s aimed at people who have the exclusive use of a second home through a method other than ownership – most commonly a gifted property or someone who has rented a property for at least a year, and is using it as a second home.
The section Location d’une résidence secondaire (renting a second home) has been added to the form for this purpose. It is for people who are tenants in a second home, not for second-home owners who sometimes rent out their property as a short-term holiday rental.
What are the penalties?
People who don’t complete their form by the deadline of July 1st risk a €150 fine.
Those who are found to have deliberately lied on their form (for example, claiming that a second home is a main residence) face much steeper penalties imposed by the tax office.
