French Capital Gains Tax on Property for Non-Residents (CGT Explained)
Dernière mise à jour : 27 août
French capital gains tax (often shortened to French CGT) applies when a non-resident sells French real estate, or certain French property-company shares, at a profit. Searches for capital gains tax in france, capital gains tax france, france capital gains tax or capital gains tax on french property all point to the same core regime: France taxes the French immovable gain even if you live in London, Dublin, Dubai or Miami.
This English guide explains how capital gains tax in France for UK residents and other non-residents is calculated, when an accredited representative is required for real-estate capital gains, how French CGT differs from annual property tax for non-residents, and what your notaire does at completion. It is a practical map of tax in France for non residents on a property sale, not a substitute for deed-date arithmetic.
FrenchNotaires matches you free of charge with vetted bilingual notaires, typically within about 48 hours, in person near the property or by video call from abroad. Ask for a provisional CGT estimate before you fix the price in a compromis de vente.
Key takeaways
France taxes capital gains tax on French property for non-residents at source through the notaire.
Core income-tax rate: flat 19% on the net taxable gain after taper relief.
Social levies: often 7.5% for EU / EEA / Swiss / UK-affiliated sellers, or the full social-charge stack for many other residences (commonly discussed at 17.2% for real-estate gains; confirm at deed date).
An accredited fiscal representative is often required when the sale price exceeds €150,000 and you live outside the EU/EEA with tax still due.
French CGT is not the same as annual property tax (taxe foncière) or IFI wealth tax.
When French capital gains tax applies
France capital gains tax on immovable property hits non-residents who sell, directly or indirectly:
property or real property rights located in France (houses, apartments, land, some building plots); or
shares in a company whose assets consist mainly of French real estate (including many SCI structures).
Living abroad does not remove French taxing rights over French immovable property. Treaties may soften double taxation in your home country; they rarely cancel French tax on the French gain itself.
Sale process from abroad: Selling Property in France as a Non-Resident. Purchase context: Buying Property in France as a Foreigner.
French CGT vs property tax for non-residents
English searches for property tax france non residents often mix several regimes. Keep them separate:
Tax | When it arises | Typical collection |
French capital gains tax (CGT) | On a taxable profit at sale | Withheld by the notaire from sale proceeds |
Local property tax | Annual ownership / occupation (taxe foncière, sometimes taxe d'habitation on second homes) | Tax notices while you own |
IFI | High net French real-estate wealth | Annual wealth-tax filing if above threshold |
Rental income tax | While the property is let | Income-tax returns / withholdings, separate from CGT |
A clean CGT payment at completion does not settle local property tax arrears, IFI or rental income. Give your notaire the use history of the asset so exemptions are not claimed on false facts.
How the taxable gain is calculated
The notaire builds a capital-gains schedule from your papers. The starting point is sale price minus acquisition cost, then allowable deductions, then taper relief.
Sale price
Usually the price in the acte authentique, including furniture or extras allocated in the deed. A price far below market can be challenged.
Acquisition cost
For a purchase: price paid, plus notaire fees and transfer taxes documented at acquisition, plus certain acquisition costs. For an inheritance: generally the value declared in the French succession, not what the deceased paid decades earlier.
Works
Construction, reconstruction, extension or improvement works may be deductible with invoices and planning compliance where required. Routine decoration usually is not. If proof is missing, a flat works allowance may sometimes replace itemised costs depending on ownership length and how you acquired the property.
Capital gains tax rates in France (2026 working map)
Non-residents usually face two French charges on taxable property gains. This is the practical core of capital gains tax in france for a non-resident seller:
Income tax: flat 19% on the net taxable gain after taper relief, regardless of residence country;
Social levies: an extra charge that depends on your social-security affiliation and residence profile.
Your profile | Social charge (working map) | Combined headline before taper |
EU, EEA, Switzerland or United Kingdom (compulsory local social-security affiliation where required) | 7.5% solidarity levy (CSG/CRDS often disapplied) | 26.5% (19% + 7.5%) |
Other countries (e.g. United States, Canada, Australia, many Gulf or Asian residences) | Full social-charge stack on the gain (commonly 17.2% for real-estate capital gains in recent practice) | About 36.2% before taper if 17.2% applies |
Always ask your notaire to confirm the social-levy percentage for your residence and deed date. Annual social-security updates have created mixed commentary online; the deed calculation is the source of truth.
Get a capital-gains estimate before you sell
A bilingual notaire can model French tax on your expected sale price, check accredited-representative needs and coordinate completion from abroad.
Capital gains tax in France for UK residents
Capital gains tax in France for UK residents still starts with French rules. Brexit did not remove French taxing rights over French property. In practice:
the French notaire still calculates and withholds French CGT at completion;
UK residents affiliated to a compulsory UK social-security scheme commonly benefit from the 7.5% solidarity levy rather than the full third-country social stack;
HMRC may still tax the same overseas property gain in the UK, with possible credit for French tax under treaty / unilateral relief rules;
UK main-residence relief does not automatically cancel French tax on a French holiday home.
Keep euro and sterling records of acquisition costs, works and the notaire's completion statement (état des fonds). Your UK adviser handles the HMRC side; your French notaire handles French collection.
Taper relief for long ownership
France grants abattement pour durée de détention on full years of ownership. Income-tax taper and social-levy taper follow different schedules.
Income tax taper (full relief after 22 years)
no allowance for the first five years;
6% per year from the 6th to the 21st year;
4% in the 22nd year;
full income-tax exemption after 22 years.
Social levies taper (full relief after 30 years)
no allowance for the first five years;
1.65% per year from the 6th to the 21st year;
1.60% in the 22nd year;
9% per year from the 23rd year;
full social-levy exemption after 30 years.
Example: bought in 2006, sold in 2026 after 20 full years. Income-tax base may fall by 90% (15 × 6%), leaving 10% taxed at 19%. Social levies fall by about 24.75% (15 × 1.65%). Your notaire runs the exact arithmetic on the deed date. Refurbishment alone does not restart the ownership clock.
Main exemptions and reliefs
Former main home in France (full exemption route)
Under Article 244 bis A, a non-resident may be fully exempt when selling the home that was their main French residence before departure, if strict conditions are met: no making the property available to a third party between departure and sale; sale by 31 December of the year after tax residence left France; and new residence in the EU or an eligible mutual-assistance state. This rarely helps a long-let holiday home.
Partial exemption up to €150,000 of net gain
Article 150 U II 2° can exempt up to €150,000 of net taxable gain per seller on a former main home, subject to residence, letting and time-limit conditions. You cannot stack this with the full Article 244 bis A exemption on the same sale.
Small-sale exemption
Gains on sales not exceeding €15,000 for a single seller (or €30,000 for a couple selling jointly) may be exempt under Article 150 U conditions.
Full exemption after 30 years
Once both tapers are exhausted, the gain is free of French property CGT. Many long-held village houses rely on this.
Surtax on large capital gains
Where the net taxable gain after taper exceeds €50,000, Article 1609 nonies G adds a progressive surtax from 2% to 6%. It applies to non-residents as well as residents and can matter on premium Paris, Alps or Riviera sales. Ask for a full simulation before you accept an offer, not after the compromis is signed.
Accredited representative for capital gains on real estate
Many non-resident sellers must appoint a représentant fiscal accrédité: an accredited representative who guarantees payment of French capital gains tax. This is separate from your notaire.
When appointment is not mandatory
you are resident in an EU member state or an eligible EEA state with the required mutual assistance arrangements;
the sale price is €150,000 or less per seller; or
the gain is fully exempt from both income tax and social levies through long ownership.
Residents of the United States, Canada, Australia and many other non-EU countries therefore often need an accredited representative when the price exceeds €150,000 and tax remains due. Start onboarding early: it can take weeks.
Who can act: an accredited company, certain banks, sometimes the French-resident buyer, or another French tax-resident accredited for the file. Notaires and lawyers do not act in this accredited-representative role.
Residence context: French Property for Non-Residents and Tax Residence and French Notarial Matters.
What your notaire does at completion
For French CGT, the notaire:
collects purchase, succession and works evidence;
completes form 2048-IMM-SD for direct property sales (or 2048-M-SD for predominantly property-company shares);
calculates income tax, social levies and any high-gain surtax;
withholds tax from the proceeds and pays the French treasury at completion;
records any exemption relied upon in the deed.
You may still need to report the gain on a French income-tax return in some years so it feeds reference income. That reporting step is separate from the cash withheld at completion. French tax paid does not automatically clear home-country tax.
Selling through an SCI or company shares
Holding through an SCI can change stamp duty, governance and the capital-gains paperwork. An indirect disposal of French real estate may still sit inside French CGT if the company's assets are mainly French property. Share sales use form 2048-M-SD and often a notarial transfer. Compare routes in Buying a French Property Through an SCI.
Inherited property
Heirs usually calculate the gain from the French succession value or later partition value, not from the deceased's historic purchase price. Missing succession values distort later CGT. Co-heirs may need an acte de partage before one person can sell alone. See also inheriting-property guidance on FrenchNotaires for succession choreography.
Cross-border tax beyond France
Tax in France for non residents on a sale is only the French layer.
United Kingdom: report overseas property gains to HMRC; credit for French tax is not automatic.
United States: worldwide US tax continues for citizens and tax residents; foreign-tax-credit rules apply; US residents typically face the fuller French social-charge stack.
Australia, Canada and others: home-country main-residence rules rarely mirror French holiday-home treatment.
FrenchNotaires finds bilingual notarial expertise. It does not replace a home-country tax adviser.
Practical steps before you sell
Step | Action |
1 | Gather purchase deed, completion statement, or succession / partition deeds. |
2 | Collect major works invoices and planning proofs. |
3 | Ask the notaire for a provisional French CGT calculation before the compromis. |
4 | If outside the EU/EEA and above €150,000 with tax due, engage an accredited representative early. |
5 | Confirm any former main-home exemption in writing (dates, letting history). |
6 | Plan repatriation of net proceeds after tax, mortgage and fees. |
Purchase-side costs that later affect the gain: Notaire Fees When Buying Property in France.
Frequently asked questions
Do non-residents pay capital gains tax on French property?
Yes, in most cases. France taxes gains on French real estate and on shares in predominantly property companies, wherever the seller lives, unless a full statutory exemption applies.
What is the capital gains tax rate in France for non-residents?
Income tax is a flat 19% on the net taxable gain after taper. Social levies add either the 7.5% solidarity levy for many EU/EEA/Swiss/UK-affiliated sellers or the fuller social stack for many other residences. Combined headline rates before taper are often discussed as 26.5% or about 36.2%.
Is French CGT the same as property tax for non-residents?
No. CGT is a sale tax on profit. Property tax usually means annual local taxes such as taxe foncière, or sometimes IFI wealth tax. Different filings and payment routes.
Do I need an accredited representative for capital gains on real estate?
Often yes if you live outside the EU/EEA, the sale price exceeds €150,000 per seller, and French tax remains due. Dispensation also applies when long ownership fully exempts the gain.
After how many years is French property capital gains tax-free?
Income tax after 22 years of ownership; social levies after 30 years, through taper relief. Separate exemptions can apply earlier if conditions are met.
Does the notaire pay French CGT for me?
Yes. The notaire withholds French capital gains tax and social levies from the sale proceeds and remits them at completion. You receive the net balance after other agreed deductions.
Is UK tax also due on a French property sale?
UK tax residents may owe UK tax on the same gain, with possible credit for French tax paid. Keep the notaire's completion statement and speak to a UK adviser.
Can I avoid French CGT on a holiday home?
A holiday home that was never your French main residence rarely qualifies for main-home exemptions. Practical reliefs are usually taper relief, the small-sale threshold, or lawful planning before purchase.
Related guides
Sources
Speak to a bilingual notaire about French capital gains tax
Before you accept an offer, confirm French CGT, accredited-representative needs and deed timing.
Match with an English-speaking notaire within 48 hours · Free matching · In person or video · e.g. Nice or Chamonix