French Fiscal Representative for Non-Resident Property Sellers

23 juin
9 min de lecture

A French fiscal representative (représentant fiscal) is often mandatory when a non-resident sells French property at a taxable gain. The role sits alongside your notaire, not instead of it: the notaire receives the authentic deed and calculates capital gains tax, while the accredited representative guarantees payment to the French tax authorities under Article 244 bis A of the General Tax Code.

If you live in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom or another country outside the EU/EEA, and your French sale price is likely to exceed €150,000 with tax due, you should plan representative appointment as soon as the property is marketed. Delays here are a common reason completion slips.

This guide explains who needs a fiscal representative, the three automatic exemptions, who can act, how the role interacts with your notaire, and practical timing. For tax rates and taper relief, see our companion guide to Capital Gains Tax on French Property for Non-Residents. For the full sale process, see Selling Property in France as a Non-Resident.

FrenchNotaires can match you free of charge with a bilingual notaire accustomed to overseas sellers, usually within about 48 hours, to coordinate the deed, capital-gains forms and representative timelines from abroad.

What is a French fiscal representative?

When a non-resident sells French real estate or certain French property-company interests at a gain, France applies a specific withholding and reporting regime. In most cases, tax is paid when the deed is registered, under the responsibility of a représentant fiscal accrédité (accredited fiscal representative) based in France.

The representative:

is appointed by the seller before completion;
files the capital-gains declaration linked to the sale (forms such as 2048-IMM-SD for direct property, or 2048-M-SD for predominantly property shares);
guarantees payment of the French tax due to the administration;
remains accountable if the tax is later adjusted on audit.

The system exists because the seller lives abroad and may leave France after completion. The representative gives the French treasury a local counterparty with accreditation and often a financial guarantee.

Fiscal representative vs notaire

Foreign sellers often confuse the two roles. Both are involved in a taxable non-resident sale, but their functions differ:

	Notaire vs fiscal representative
Role	Function
Notaire	Public officer who drafts and receives the acte authentique, runs title and land-registry formalities, calculates capital gains on the deed, deducts tax from sale proceeds and pays the treasury at signing.
Fiscal representative	Accredited tax agent who guarantees the non-resident seller's French capital-gains obligations to the administration. Cannot replace the notarial deed.

Notaires and avocats cannot act as fiscal representative in this capacity. Your notaire will ask for representative details before finalising the deed if appointment is required. See How to Find an English-Speaking Notaire in France if you still need to instruct a bilingual notaire.

When appointment is required

As a general rule, a non-resident individual who is liable to French capital gains tax on a French property disposal must designate an accredited fiscal representative, unless a statutory dispensation applies.

The obligation covers:

direct sales of French land and buildings;
sales of shares in entities whose assets consist mainly of French real estate (including many SCI structures);
assignments and other onerous transfers caught by the same regime.

If no tax is due because of a full exemption (for example, 22 years of ownership for income tax and 30 years for social levies), representative appointment is not required even for sellers outside the EU. The deed must still record the exemption relied upon.

Three automatic dispensations

French official guidance (impots.gouv.fr and BOFiP) lists three situations where a non-resident seller is automatically dispensed from appointing a fiscal representative:

EU/EEA residence with treaty cooperation: the seller is resident in an EU member state, or in Iceland or Norway as EEA states that have signed the required administrative-assistance agreement with France. Liechtenstein does not qualify on this basis.
Sale price ≤ €150,000 per seller: the disposal price is €150,000 or less, assessed per transferor. For a married or PACS couple selling jointly, the threshold relates to the overall sale price. For company-share sales, the price is apportioned according to the non-resident seller's share of the underlying French real-estate value.
Full gain exempt by ownership duration: the capital gain is completely exempt from both income tax and social levies because of long ownership (22 years for income tax, 30 years for social charges through taper relief).

Meeting one condition is enough. If none apply and tax is due, appointment is mandatory for individuals outside the favoured residence zone.

Important: the €150,000 threshold is a price test, not a tax test. A sale at €200,000 with a small taxable gain still triggers representative rules for a US seller unless another exemption applies.

Who can act as fiscal representative

Official sources confirm that the following may serve, subject to accreditation rules:

a company or body permanently accredited by the tax administration for fiscal-representation work;
a French bank or credit institution carrying on business in France;
the buyer, if the buyer is tax-resident in France (sometimes used in domestic chains, less common with foreign buyers);
any other French tax-resident individual or entity, except notaires and avocats, provided they obtain case-by-case accreditation for that transaction.

Most overseas sellers use a specialist accredited firm rather than asking a French-resident friend. Accreditation involves compliance checks and often a guarantee mechanism. Onboarding typically takes several weeks, so short-list representatives when the property is listed, not when the notaire sends the draft deed.

Accreditation and 2025 rule updates

Fiscal representatives must be accrédités (accredited) by the French tax administration. There are two layers:

Permanent accreditation: held by established firms that regularly act for non-resident sellers. Reserved to operators approved at national level (DGFiP bureau GF-2B for open-ended accreditation).
Case-by-case (ponctuelle) accreditation: requested for a single transaction when a French-resident party acts. The request goes to the departmental or regional tax office of the representative's French tax domicile or registered office, even when the property sold is elsewhere. The Non-Residents Income Tax Service (DINR/SIPNR) is not the accreditation office for this step.

Decree n° 2025-502 of 6 June 2025 and its implementing arrêté updated accreditation procedures for representatives under Article 244 bis A. If your sale spans 2025 and 2026, your representative should confirm it meets the current accreditation standard before completion.

Timeline: when to appoint

Practical sequence for a non-resident seller who needs a representative:

At marketing stage: confirm dispensation status with a provisional capital-gains estimate from a notaire or tax adviser.
Before accepting a firm offer: sign terms with an accredited representative if required; provide ID, proof of ownership and acquisition documents.
During compromis stage: share representative contact details with the notaire; align completion date with accreditation and guarantee setup.
Before deed signing: representative validates form 2048-IMM-SD or 2048-M-SD figures and confirms guarantee coverage.
At completion: notaire deducts tax from proceeds; representative stands behind payment to the administration.

If you may sign by power of attorney, parallelise POA work with representative onboarding. See Power of Attorney in France: How It Works.

Align notaire and fiscal representative early

A bilingual notaire can flag representative requirements before you sign a binding preliminary contract and keep the deed on schedule.

Speak to a Notaire · Free matching · 48-hour response · In person or video

What happens at completion

Capital gains tax on non-resident property sales is generally collected when the deed is registered, or within one month if there is no registrable deed. The notaire:

computes the net taxable gain, taper relief, surtax on large gains if applicable, and social levies;
deducts the tax from the seller's net proceeds;
transmits the payment to the French treasury;
files the linked declaration with representative involvement where required.

The fiscal representative's guarantee covers the risk that additional tax might be reassessed later. If you also receive other French-source income in the year, you may need to report the gain on your French income-tax return (form 2042 C). Your notaire and representative will tell you if that applies.

Representative fees are separate from notaire emoluments and from the tax itself. Budget for all three when modelling net proceeds.

SCI and share sales

Selling shares in a French société civile immobilière or similar property-heavy entity can trigger the same non-resident withholding regime as selling the underlying apartment or house. Representative rules apply to the non-resident shareholder's portion.

For share disposals, the €150,000 dispensation is measured with reference to the part of the sale price attributable to the non-resident seller's rights over French real-estate assets, not necessarily the headline share price alone. Form 2048-M-SD replaces 2048-IMM-SD.

Coordinate shareholder approvals, pre-emption clauses and tax treatment with your notaire before marketing shares. See Buying a French Property Through an SCI: Pros and Cons and SCI Share Transfer in France.

Companies and legal entities

The automatic dispensations for individual sellers (EU residence, €150,000 price test, long-ownership exemption) do not extend in the same way to corporate sellers or certain partnership structures. French tax doctrine treats legal entities and non-resident corporate partners as always requiring an accredited representative when Article 244 bis A applies.

If a non-resident company or trust structure holds French property, assume representative appointment is mandatory and allow extra compliance time. Cross-border restructuring before a sale may change the analysis; take advice before transferring shares or assets.

Fees and guarantees

Fiscal representatives charge professional fees for accreditation, guarantee setup, declaration filing and post-completion monitoring. Amounts vary by firm, sale price, expected tax and whether the file is straightforward or contested.

There is no single statutory fee scale published like notaire emoluments. Request a written quote before engagement and confirm what happens if the sale aborts after work has started.

Guarantee requirements may involve a deposit or surety so the representative can answer to the tax office if the seller disappears after completion. Your notaire's completion statement (état des fonds) shows tax deducted; keep it for your home-country tax return.

UK, US and other sellers

Residence determines dispensation, not nationality alone.

United Kingdom: after Brexit, the UK is outside the EU/EEA automatic dispensation. British residents selling above €150,000 with tax due generally need a fiscal representative, even though UK sellers may benefit from the 7.5% solidarity levy rate on social charges rather than 17.2%.
United States and Canada: no EU dispensation. Representative appointment is standard for taxable sales above €150,000. US residents face the higher 17.2% social charge on the gain.
Australia and other non-EU countries: same analysis unless the €150,000 price test or full long-ownership exemption applies.
France/EU residents: if you are tax-resident in France or another qualifying EU/EEA state, the representative obligation normally falls away for individuals, though tax may still be due.
Switzerland: not an EU/EEA member for this dispensation. Swiss-resident sellers typically need a representative on taxable sales above €150,000.

For residence concepts in notarial files, see Tax Residence and French Notarial Matters and the hub French Property for Non-Residents: Legal and Notarial Issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a fiscal representative to sell French property?

Not always. You are dispensed if you live in the EU or qualifying EEA states (Iceland, Norway), if the sale price is €150,000 or less per seller, or if the gain is fully exempt through long ownership. Many other non-residents need an accredited representative when tax is due on sales above that price.

Can my notaire be my fiscal representative?

No. French notaires and avocats cannot act as fiscal representative under Article 244 bis A. You appoint a separate accredited firm, bank or other eligible party while the notaire handles the deed.

Does the €150,000 threshold apply per property or per seller?

Per seller (transferor). For joint sales by a married or PACS couple, official guidance looks at the total sale price. For share sales, the threshold uses the apportioned value linked to the non-resident's French real-estate interest.

Do UK residents need a fiscal representative after Brexit?

In most cases, yes, for taxable sales above €150,000, because the UK no longer qualifies for the EU/EEA residence dispensation. Lower-price sales or fully exempt long-hold disposals may still avoid the obligation.

When should I appoint a fiscal representative?

As early as possible, ideally when the property is first marketed. Accreditation and guarantee setup can take several weeks, and the notaire will need representative details before completion.

What forms does the fiscal representative file?

For direct property sales, declaration 2048-IMM-SD is used with the notaire's capital-gains calculation. Share disposals use 2048-M-SD. The representative guarantees the tax position linked to those filings.

Is a fiscal representative needed if no capital gains tax is due?

If the gain is completely exempt from both income tax and social levies (for example through 22 and 30 years of ownership), appointment is not required. Partial tax due generally means appointment is required unless another dispensation applies.

Who pays the fiscal representative's fees?

The seller, under commercial terms agreed with the representative. Fees are separate from notaire charges and from the capital gains tax deducted at completion.

Plan your sale with a bilingual notaire

Confirm fiscal-representative requirements before you bind yourself in a preliminary contract. FrenchNotaires can match you within 48 hours, including through Notaire Nice and Notaire Chamonix.

Related guides

Sources

This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. For your specific case, speak to a French notaire; FrenchNotaires can match you with a bilingual notaire within 48 hours.