Buying French Property Through a Foreign Company
- 12 août
- 8 min de lecture
Yes, a foreign company can buy French property. A UK Ltd, US LLC, Swiss company, Luxembourg HoldCo or Monaco vehicle can appear as buyer on the acte authentique. The harder question is whether it should. For a holiday home or simple rental flat, personal title or a French SCI with individual partners is often cleaner. For group assets, institutional investors or genuine commercial holdings, a foreign company can still be the right tool.
This guide is written for buyers deciding before they sign a compromis de vente: structure choice, notaire documents, AML and beneficial-owner checks, banking, and the French tax duties that start the moment the company owns the bricks, including the 3% tax (TVVI) rules from 2027.
FrenchNotaires matches you free of charge with vetted bilingual notaires, typically within about 48 hours, in person or by video call. Say early that the buyer will be a foreign company so the document list and timeline are realistic.
Can a foreign company buy in France?
French law does not reserve residential title to French nationals or French companies. A foreign legal entity can purchase, subject to:
corporate capacity and a corporate object that allows the acquisition;
valid authority for the person who signs;
notarial AML checks on the company and its ultimate beneficial owners;
clear source-of-funds evidence for the price and costs.
You do not need a French SIREN merely to complete the purchase. You will often need one later if the company must e-file form 2746-SD for the annual 3% tax. Plan that after completion, not as an afterthought in May of year two.
General buyer context: Buying Property in France as a Foreigner and Buying French Property from Abroad.
Should you? A practical decision filter
Start with purpose, not with "everyone uses a Ltd".
Signal | Foreign company may fit | Prefer personal title or SCI |
Use of the asset | Part of a wider investment or trading group | Family holiday home or simple long-term let |
Owners | Institutional / multi-company structure already in place | One couple or a small family wanting simplicity |
Home-country reasons | Clear corporate, financing or liability rationale at home | No strong domestic reason; France would be the only asset |
Appetite for filings | You already run cross-border compliance calendars | You want minimal French annual paperwork |
Exit plan | Likely corporate sale or group restructuring | Likely personal succession or simple resale |
If the only goal is "privacy" or "avoid French tax", stop. Opaque structures attract heavier KYC, and TVVI exists precisely to force disclosure of owners behind entities.
Personal name, French SCI or foreign company
Individual(s) | French SCI (individuals) | Foreign company on title | |
Notaire file | Lightest | Heavier (SCI deeds, partners) | Heaviest (foreign corporate pack + UBO trail) |
TVVI (3% tax) | Not on you as an individual | Often handled via SCI filings (e.g. 2072) under current guidance | Usually needs annual analysis; 2746-SD from 2027 if disclosure exemption claimed |
Banking / mortgage | Most familiar to French lenders | Common for non-residents | Often hardest; many retail mortgages assume people, not Ltds |
Resale | Standard personal CGT path | SCI sells or partners sell shares (form rules apply) | Corporate CGT path; non-EU sellers often need accredited fiscal rep |
Best for | Simple second homes | Family co-ownership and share planning | Group / institutional holdings with advisers on retainer |
Read next: Buying Through an SCI, SCI Advantages and Disadvantages and UK Ltd / US LLC Holding French Property.
Direct title vs foreign company above an SCI
Two patterns dominate:
Foreign company buys the property directly (company name on the land registry).
French SCI buys the property; a foreign company owns some or all SCI shares.
Pattern 2 does not remove TVVI analysis for the foreign company. The tax looks through ownership chains. You may run SCI filings and a separate 2746-SD analysis for the foreign shareholder. Co-partners of the SCI can also be affected if notices are deemed served on the entity closest to the property under Article 990 FA.
Detail: SCI With a Foreign Corporate Partner.
Purchase steps when the buyer is a company
Stage | What to do |
1. Structure memo | Confirm buyer entity, directors authorised to sign, and whether an SCI will sit underneath. Get French + home-country tax notes in writing. |
2. Match a bilingual notaire | Flag the foreign corporate buyer immediately so translations and apostilles start early. |
3. Offer / compromis | Name the correct buyer. Changing from "Mr X personally" to "X Ltd" after signature can force renegotiation or a new contract. |
4. Corporate pack | Assemble certificates, resolutions, UBO chart, translations and any power of attorney. |
5. Funds path | Agree how price and notaire costs reach the notaire's escrow account from the company (or documented shareholder funding). |
6. Acte authentique | Completion in person or by French procuration. Land registry records the company as owner. |
7. Day-one compliance | Insurance, syndic notification, tax accounts, and a TVVI / SIREN plan for the next 1 January. |
Cooling-off rules that protect many individual residential buyers do not always map neatly onto corporate purchases. Ask the notaire how withdrawal rights apply to your draft before you rely on a "10-day" assumption.
Name the buyer correctly before the compromis
A bilingual notaire can tell you whether the deed should show the foreign company, a new SCI, or individuals, and what corporate papers must be ready by completion.
Documents the notaire will ask for
Exact lists vary by country of incorporation, but expect:
certificate of incorporation / registration extract (foreign equivalent of a Kbis);
up-to-date articles / bylaws / operating agreement;
evidence of good standing where your jurisdiction uses it;
board resolution or partner decision authorising the purchase and the signatory;
identity documents for directors / managers who act;
ultimate beneficial owner details (and an ownership chart if there are layers);
certified translations of the key pieces;
apostille or legalisation where required;
French power of attorney if nobody attends completion in person.
Companions: Documents Needed for a French Notaire Appointment, Foreign Documents for French Notarial Acts, Apostille and Legalisation, Certified Translation and Power of Attorney in France.
AML, beneficial owners and source of funds
Notaires, agents and banks are obliged entities under French anti-money-laundering rules. For a company buyer they must identify the company and the natural persons who ultimately own or control it (typically more than 25% of capital or voting rights, or equivalent effective control).
Opaque chains, funds from higher-risk jurisdictions, or money arriving from accounts that are not in the buyer's name create delay. Build a clean pack early:
company bank statements showing the purchase funds;
if shareholders funded the company, documents explaining those contributions;
loan offer if a bank finances part of the price;
consistent names across company registers, bank accounts and the draft deed.
Banking, mortgage and funds transfer
French retail lenders often prefer individual or French SCI borrowers. A foreign corporate buyer may need:
a larger deposit;
specialist or international banking channels;
longer KYC on both the company and the UBOs;
proof that the company account can send SEPA / international wires to the notaire.
Opening a French account for a foreign company is possible but slower than for an individual. See Opening a French Bank Account as a Non-Resident and French Mortgage for Non-Resident Buyers.
Tax duties that start on day one
Buying through a company does not remove French local taxes. It adds entity-level questions.
Transfer costs at purchase: duties and notaire fees still apply (often around 7% to 8% all-in for older residential property, with different maths for some new-builds).
Taxe foncière and, where relevant, second-home taxe d'habitation: due on the property regardless of the corporate wrapper.
TVVI (3% tax): legal entities holding French real estate on 1 January fall within Articles 990 D to 990 G CGI. Exemption is common if you disclose properly, but from the 2027 campaign Law no. 2026-534 abolishes the old standing commitment shortcut. Plan annual 2746-SD filing by 15 May, a French representative if you have no French PE (Article 990 FA), and often a SIREN for e-filing.
IFI: individuals behind the company may still count French real-estate wealth for personal IFI above €1.3 million net.
Rental income: French-source rent remains taxable; corporate vs transparent treatment depends on the vehicle and elections.
Guides: TVVI Reform 2027, Form 2746-SD, SIREN and E-Filing, TVVI vs IFI vs Local Taxes and Notaire Fees When Buying.
Holiday use, free occupation and tax caution
Putting a family villa in a company and letting directors or shareholders occupy it rent-free can create French corporate-tax issues if the administration treats the arrangement as an abnormal management decision (for example deemed income at company level). Recent case law has been unsympathetic to "it was in the articles, so it is fine" arguments for capital companies.
If personal enjoyment is the real purpose of the purchase, that is usually a reason to prefer personal title or a carefully designed SCI, not a trading-style foreign company. Take written advice before completion.
After completion: calendar you must own
Diary the next 1 January TVVI snapshot and the following 15 May filing.
Start SIREN / Guichet unique registration if e-filing will be needed.
Engage a French contact for Article 990 FA if you have no French PE.
Put taxe foncière, insurance and syndic drafts on accounts you monitor from abroad.
Keep a valuation file consistent with later IFI or sale computations.
If you later regret the structure: Dissolving or Unwinding a Foreign Holding.
Commercial property is a different brief
Shops, offices, warehouses and mixed-use buildings add bail commercial, VAT, operating-company questions and different financing. Do not use a holiday-home checklist. See Buying Commercial Property in France Through a Company.
Pre-compromis checklist
Written structure recommendation (France + home country).
Correct buyer name for the draft compromis.
Corporate authority documents identified and translation/apostille booked.
UBO chart ready for the notaire and bank.
Funds path tested (company account or documented funding).
Mortgage feasibility checked for a corporate borrower, if relevant.
TVVI / SIREN / representative budget accepted for 2027 onwards.
Exit sketch: sell asset, distribute in kind, or keep long term.
Where the notaire fits in
Does: verify capacity and authority, run AML checks, draft and receive the deed, register title, collect transfer duties, flag obvious structural risks.
Does not: replace your corporate lawyer abroad, design home-country tax, or automatically file annual 2746-SD after completion.
Frequently asked questions
Is buying through a foreign company illegal or blocked for non-residents?
No. It is common. The constraints are documentary, AML and tax compliance, not a nationality ban.
Is a foreign company better than an SCI for a holiday home?
Usually not. An SCI with individual partners, or personal title, is typically simpler for French day-to-day formalities and TVVI exposure.
Do I need a SIREN before completion?
Not for the purchase itself. You often need one afterwards to e-file TVVI declarations.
Can we sign the compromis in personal names and switch to the company later?
Risky. Sellers and deposit terms may not allow a substitution. Decide the buyer before you bind yourself.
Will the company pay the 3% tax every year?
Only if no exemption applies. Most legitimate structures aim for disclosure-based exemption via annual filing from 2027. Missing that filing can cost 3% of gross market value.
What about trusts?
Trusts are a separate category with their own French reporting. See Trusts Holding French Real Estate rather than treating a trust like a simple Ltd.
Sources
Choose the buyer before you fall in love with the house
A bilingual notaire can stress-test whether a foreign company, an SCI or personal names fit the French deed. Bring your corporate chart and your intended use of the property.
Find a bilingual Notaire within 48 hours · Free matching · In person or video · e.g. Paris or Cannes