VAT rate for renovation work on a dwelling

Verified 01 October 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Renovation work carried out in an old dwelling benefits from reduced VAT rates under certain conditions. The rate may be 5.5% or 10% depending on the service provided. Renovation work on social rental housing can also benefit from a reduced rate. In Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion, the applicable rate is 2.1%.

When work is carried out on certain types of premises, it is possible that these services are subject to a reduced rate of VAT.

The premises must meet the following conditions:

  • He must have been completed more than 2 years ago.
  • It must be intended to be assigned or be assigned to a residential use. For example, living quarters that meet the conditions for access to one of the reduced rates are:
    • Detached house
    • Accommodation located in a collective building
    • Light dwellings (mobile homes), houseboats fitted out for housing and moored at a fixed point, provided they are imposed on the housing tax
    • Usual dependence of a dwelling (for example a cellar, an attic, a garage, a loggia, a terrace, a courtyard of a building)
    • Establishment for collective accommodation of natural persons: tourist establishment on which VAT does not apply or establishment of a social nature whose main purpose is accommodation
    • Function housing

The applicable VAT rate varies depending on the nature of the work.

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Improvement, transformation, fit-up or maintenance work

The applicable VAT rates are:

  • 10% in Metropolitan France
  • 2.1% in Guadeloupe, in Martinique and in La Meeting.

It concerns in particular the following works:

  • Emergency work on a collective boiler or an elevator. However, the work must not result in the replacement of equipment and therefore the delivery of new equipment.
  • Works to supply water to a residential building completed more than 2 years ago
  • Stormwater Removal Work
  • Fence work, installation of a gate
  • Roof advances (pergolas, awnings, canopies...) that cover surfaces adjoining the existing construction. The roof overhang must not increase the floor area of the existing construction and must not be on structural work (building framework).

The part of the works which corresponds to the supply of household equipment, furniture or the acquisition of large equipment supplied as part of replacement works of a heating system or elevator is not subject to the reduced rate. This is also the case when the work concerns the sanitary installation or an air conditioning system.

FYI  

Since the 1er March 2025 : the supply and installation of a boiler operating with a fossil energy (including oil or gas, including energy-efficient boilers using such fuel) are subject to the following rates:

  • In Metropolitan France : 20%
  • In Corsica : 20% (or 10% when it comes to real estate works)
  • In Guadeloupe, in Martinique and in La Meeting : 8.5%.

Energy renovation or improvement works

The applicable VAT rates are:

  • 5.5% in Metropolitan France
  • 2.1% in Guadeloupe, in Martinique and in La Meeting.

These rates concern two categories energy renovation services:

Installation, maintenance or improvement of equipment that allows either energy saving or the use of renewable energies

This category includes the following benefits:

  • Thermal insulation:
    • Opaque walls
    • Glass walls
    • Entrance doors to the outside
    • By the installation of insulating shutters
    • By the installation of mobile sun protection.
  • Heating and domestic hot water production equipment using a renewable energy source
  • Dual flow controlled mechanical ventilation systems, single flow hygroadjustable mechanical ventilation systems and hybrid hygroadjustable ventilation systems
  • Insulation of installations for the production or distribution of heat or domestic hot water
  • Heating control devices for manual or automatic adjustment and programming of heating or domestic hot water equipment
  • Appliances for individualizing the costs of heating or domestic hot water in a building equipped with a central installation or supplied by a district heating network
  • Fixed ceiling air brewers
  • The maintenance and repair services of very high energy performance boilers.

To benefit from this reduced rate, these benefits must meet the following two conditions:

Delivery and installation of solar power generation equipment

The delivery and installation of solar panels of a power up to 9 kilowatts benefit from the reduced rate of VAT.

However, all of the following conditions must be met:

To benefit from a reduced VAT rate, the customer must certify on quote or invoice that the services provided meet the conditions of this reduced rate. For example, it may certify that the renovated premises are used for residential purposes.

The obligation to keep these documents varies according to the nature of the work:

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Improvement, transformation, fit-up or maintenance work

These documents shall be drawn up in 2 copies.

One must be given to the company, which adds it to its accounts.

The other must be kept by the customer until 31 December of the 5the year following the completion of the work. For example, for work done in 2023, it must keep the documents until December 31, 2028.

Please note

In case of error on the rate applied due to the fault of the customer, he may be obliged to participate in the refund of the missing tax supplement. This is the case, for example, if he has certified on the quote or invoice that the conditions of the reduced rate are met when this is not the case.

Energy renovation or improvement works

These documents shall be drawn up in 2 copies.

One must be given to the company, which adds it to its accounts.

The other must be kept by the customer until 31 December of the 5the year following the issuance of invoices. For example, for invoices issued in 2023, it must keep the documents until December 31, 2028.

Please note

In case of error on the rate applied due to the fault of the customer, he may be obliged to participate in the refund of the missing tax supplement. This is the case, for example, if he has certified on the quote or invoice that the conditions of the reduced rate are met when this is not the case.

The following renovations are subject to the standard rate of 20% VAT:

  • Renovation work carried out on premises that are not assigned to the dwelling. These include, for example, offices or buildings for agricultural use.
  • Building elevation or refurbishment work completed less than 5 years ago.
  • Work increasing the floor area of existing premises by more than 10%
  • Work on the development and maintenance of green spaces
  • Demolition works which are not caused by renovation works benefiting from a reduced rate of VAT

Equipment purchased directly by an individual to be settled by a company is subject to the standard 20%. Only the installation service can benefit from a reduced VAT rate if it meets the application conditions.

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