On January 1st, 2023, a new reporting requirement was introduced in France, the property owners return.
This new reporting requirement applies to owners of properties located in France, whether private individuals (French tax residents or not) or companies (incorporated in France or abroad).
For example, if you own a property in France via a deemed real estate entity (i.e., “société civile immobilière” or “SCI”), your entity is subject to this reporting requirement. If you own a property in France directly, you must comply with the filing of the property owners’ return.
Additionally, in France, the ownership of an asset, such as real estate, can be divided between the bare ownership (“nue-propriété” which corresponds to the right to own and alienate the property) and the usufruct (“usufruit”, or the right to use and enjoy the property). This new reporting requirement also applies to owners of the usufruct.
The owner of the French must indicate the capacity in which the property is occupied. If they do not occupy the property themselves, they must give the identity of the occupants and the period of occupancy (as of January 1st, 2023).
The purpose of the property owners return is to allow the French tax authorities to check the status of the property in respect of the housing tax (“taxe d’habitation”).
Initially, the deadline to file the property owners return (“déclaration relative aux biens immobiliers”) was June 30th, 2023. However, the French tax authorities announced on June 23, 2023, that the deadline was postponed to July 31st, 2023.
After this deadline, owners of French properties will have to file a new property owners return every time there is a change in the occupancy of the property.
The property owners return must be filed on your tax account or the entity’s tax account accessible via the French tax authorities website.
If you would like our team to assist you with the filing of the property owners return, please contact us.