Foreign property owner in Paris: the year-end checklist

December arrives, and with it the reflex to take stock. For a foreign owner of a property in Paris, the year end is a key moment to verify that all obligations have been met, anticipate those for the coming year, and ensure the apartment is in good condition, even thousands of kilometres away. At Home Select, we have supported more than 1,200 buyers since 2011, and many of them live abroad. Here is the checklist we share every year with our non-resident property-owning clients.

October: has the property tax been paid?

The payment deadline is set for mid-October, and a rejected direct debit triggers a 10% late penalty. The property tax notice (taxe fonciere) is available online at impots.gouv.fr from September. If you have opted for direct debit or monthly payments, check that the debit has been processed correctly. A rejected debit (insufficient funds, outdated bank details) triggers a 10% late penalty.

The amount of property tax can vary from year to year: municipal and departmental rates are voted annually, and the cadastral rental value is adjusted by a yearly coefficient. An increase of 3 to 5% from one year to the next is not unusual.

For non-residents: if your correspondence address has changed, update it in your impots.gouv.fr account. A notice not received does not exempt you from payment. It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to come forward.

November: how is a non-resident’s rental income taxed?

A non-resident’s net rental income is subject to a minimum withholding of 20%, plus 17.2% social contributions. The declaration is filed in May, but November is the right time to gather the documents. If your Parisian apartment is let, you receive rental income (revenus fonciers) taxable in France, regardless of your tax residency.

Form 2044 requires the breakdown of rents received, deductible expenses (property tax, maintenance works, insurance, management fees, loan interest) and net taxable rental income. For a non-resident, net rental income is subject to a minimum withholding of 20% (or 30% above 27,478 euros), plus 17.2% social contributions. Check whether the tax treaty between France and your country of residence provides for a reduced rate or a tax credit.

The micro-foncier simplified regime (flat 30% deduction on gross rents, without itemising expenses) is available if your gross rental income does not exceed 15,000 euros per year, which is often the case for a single let property. But for owners with high expenses (mortgage, works), the actual expense regime is generally more advantageous.

December: what should you check before the year ends?

Three concrete items: home insurance, which renews automatically on 1 January, the annual adjustment of co-ownership charges, and getting works onto the agenda of the next general meeting. December is also the last deadline to pay for works deductible from this year’s rental income.

Home insurance

The home insurance policy typically renews automatically on 1 January. December is the time to check the cover is adequate: does the insured contents value match reality? Are optional guarantees (theft, electrical damage, holiday home liability) activated? If the property has been renovated, the insured value must be updated. A claim on an underinsured property triggers the proportional rule, which reduces the payout.

To cancel or switch insurer, the Hamon law allows cancellation at any time after the first year, with one month’s notice. The procedure is done by registered post, or via the new insurer, who handles the cancellation.

Co-ownership charges: the annual adjustment

In a co-ownership building, routine charges are paid as quarterly provisions. Once a year, after the general meeting approves the accounts for the past financial year, the building manager carries out the adjustment: the provisions paid are compared with actual expenditure, and the difference is either called (top-up) or refunded (overpayment).

This adjustment can hold surprises: an unexpected rise in collective heating costs, emergency works voted during the year, an increase in the building manager’s fees. For a non-resident owner, monitoring the general meeting minutes is essential, as it is the only way to know what is happening in the building without being there. Ask your property manager or the building manager to send you the meeting notices and minutes systematically by email.

Planning works: the right time to vote

If works are needed in your apartment or in the building’s common areas, December is the last opportunity to add them to the agenda of the next general meeting (often held between January and June). Works voted at a co-ownership general meeting and paid before 31 December of the current year are deductible from that year’s rental income, an important point for the tax optimisation of landlord-owners.

Discover how Home Select supports international buyers

January: who pays the IFI wealth tax, and on what basis?

Any owner whose net French property assets exceed 1,300,000 euros on 1 January, valued at market value on that precise date. January is therefore the month for valuation and for gathering the supporting documents for the May declaration.

The IFI wealth tax for assets above 1.3 million euros

If your net property assets in France exceed 1,300,000 euros on 1 January, you are liable for the IFI (Impot sur la Fortune Immobiliere, the property wealth tax). January is the time to estimate the market value of your assets on that date. Reliable sources include the DVF database (Demandes de Valeurs Foncieres) for recent transactions in your area, MeilleursAgents estimates, and local market reports.

Document your estimate: in the event of a tax audit, the administration can challenge your valuation. A valuation report prepared by a professional (estate agent, property surveyor) provides effective protection. Allow 500 to 1,500 euros for a professional estimate.

Preparing the May income declaration

Even though the income declaration is not due until May, non-residents receiving income from French sources must gather supporting documents from January: rental statements, charge breakdowns, deductible works invoices, loan amortisation schedules, property tax notices. Your accountant or tax adviser will need these documents to prepare forms 2042 (main declaration), 2044 (rental income) and 2042-IFI (if applicable).

What should you check if the property is let?

Three things, once a year: that the rent complies with the increased reference rent under Paris rent control, that the rent is revised on the lease anniversary using the IRL index, and that the tenant’s insurance certificate is up to date. Revision is never automatic and cannot be applied retroactively.

Rent compliance with rent control

Paris has applied rent control (encadrement des loyers) since 2019 (reinstated after a first attempt was annulled). Your property’s rent must comply with the enhanced reference rent set by prefectural order for your neighbourhood, the type of dwelling (furnished or unfurnished), the number of rooms and the period of construction. The referenceloyer.drihl.ile-de-france.developpement-durable.gouv.fr website allows you to check the applicable ceiling.

A rent above the ceiling exposes the owner to a financial penalty and a rent reduction imposed by a judge. Check annually that your rent, including after revision, remains within the limits.

Annual rent revision

The rent can be revised once a year, on the anniversary date of the lease, by applying the Rent Reference Index (IRL, Indice de Reference des Loyers) published quarterly by INSEE. The revision is not automatic: you must formally request it by letter to the tenant. If you forget to revise on the anniversary date, you cannot retroactively recover the increase. The limitation period is one year.

Tenant’s insurance

The tenant is required to take out home insurance covering at minimum the tenant’s risks (water damage, fire). As the owner, you are entitled to request an insurance certificate once a year. In the event of a lack of insurance, the procedure can go as far as lease termination, though court timescales are lengthy. Prevention (systematically requesting the certificate in December) is preferable.

How do you monitor an empty apartment remotely?

By keeping the heating at a minimum of 12-14°C and having someone check regularly: the building caretaker or a trusted neighbour every 2 to 4 weeks, or a concierge service at 150 to 300 euros per visit. An unoccupied apartment in Paris during winter is vulnerable: damp, pipe freezing (rare but possible in poorly insulated upper floors), intrusion. If you do not regularly stay in your pied-a-terre, a few precautions are warranted.

Maintain the heating at a minimum of 12 to 14 degrees Celsius to prevent damp and freezing. If heating is collective, it operates automatically from October to April. Check that the radiators are not turned off. Ask the building caretaker or a trusted neighbour to check the apartment every 2 to 4 weeks. Concierge service providers offer quarterly visits for 150 to 300 euros per visit, a modest investment compared to the cost of water damage going undetected for three months.

For non-resident owners of a pied-a-terre or second home in Paris, remote management is a recurring topic. Our network of trusted property managers, built up over more than 1,200 mandates, is available to our clients, because Home Select’s support does not end at key handover.

Which obligations are specific to non-residents?

Three are added to a resident owner’s obligations: appointing a tax representative in certain cases, filing form 2042 even with no rental income, and the second-home council tax, which is maintained for non-residents. The non-resident owner therefore has the same obligations as a resident owner, plus these specific ones. The appointment of a tax representative is mandatory in certain cases (sale of a property worth more than 150,000 euros by a non-resident outside the EU). The declaration of French-source income is mandatory even without rental income: form 2042 must be filed if you own property in France (if only for the secondary residence council tax). Payment of the secondary residence council tax, maintained for non-residents even after its abolition for primary residences, is added to the property tax.

With a 96% client satisfaction rate and support that goes well beyond the transaction, Home Select remains available to guide its clients towards the right contacts, accountants, tax advisers and property managers, at every stage of property ownership.

Talk to us about your project or the management of your Parisian property

---