The tax may concern an individual, a company or a private or public body in one of the following situations at 1^er January :

• Owner (freehold, condominium or undivided) of a taxable premises or area
• Holder of a right in rem in a taxable premises : usufructfor example, temporary occupation of the public domain (AOT).

If it is a commercial or professional lease, the landlord can make the tenant pay. This must be provided for in the lease agreement. Without a special clause, the tax cannot be recovered by the lessor, who remains liable for it.

The tax is applicable annually in the PACA region, in the following 3 departments :

• Bouches-du-Rhône (13)
• Var (83)
• Alps-Maritimes (06)

Taxable Premises

The annual fee applies to the following types of premises:

• Premises for office use : these are the offices themselves and their immediate and indispensable dependencies intended for the exercise of an activity. This also includes professional premises for the exercise of private activities (premises used for medical offices, architects, lawyers, veterinarians, consultants, etc., as well as waiting rooms for clients and clearing rooms) or used by private organizations, whether for profit or not.
• Commercial premises : premises intended for the exercise of a retail or wholesale trade activity and the provision of services of a commercial or craft nature and their adjacent reserves (covered or not), and adjacent locations permanently allocated to sales. This includes stores, shops, retail spaces, market halls, covered supply markets, maintenance, repair shops, etc.
• Storage Premises : covered premises or areas intended for the storage of products, goods or goods and which are not integrated topographically with a production establishment. This includes all storage premises (warehouses, logistics platforms, storage cabinets...) with the exception of premises directly dependent on an industrial or production establishment or a farm. Exhibition parks and congress rooms are treated as storage rooms.
• Parking Surfaces : covered or uncovered premises or areas intended for parking vehicles and which are not integrated topographically with a production establishment.

The premises or surfaces may be whole buildings or only part of buildings.

In case of premises undivided inmates, the calculation for the exemption shall take into account the entire area of the premises. In practical terms, even if an individual owns an area below the exemption limits, corresponding to his share, he is liable to pay the tax.

The tax is payable for a full year, even if the property is transferred or reallocated during the year, and even if the premises are vacant or unoccupied.

Premises exempt from tax

The following premises are exempt office tax:

• Offices and business premises with an area of less than 100 m²
• Commercial premises of less than 2,500 m²
• Storage premises belonging to agricultural cooperative businesses or their unions
• Storage rooms with a surface area of less than 5 000 m²
• Parking spaces of less than 500 m²
• Commercial parking of less than 500 m²
• Premises used by foundations and associations recognized as being of public utility
• Premises specially adapted for administrative archiving and research activities
• Premises of a health (clinic, pharmacy, health care facility), social (social action center, funeral home, company nursery), educational (school or university) or cultural (theater, cinema, entertainment or circus establishment, animal park, artist's workshop, museum, library) nature
• Administrative premises of public educational institutions and private institutions under contract with the State
• Premises and areas of park and ride facilities whose sole purpose is to facilitate access for passengers to the various public transport networks
• Premises hosting computer servers
• Pitches adjoining a commercial premises and adapted for the exercise of sports activities
• Premises in the revitalization areas of city centers
• Premises in rural commercial revitalization areas (Zorcomir)
• Premises in the priority neighborhoods of the city policy (QPPV)
• Vacant premises at 1^er January of the taxation year in respect of which an undertaking to convert into residential premises is given within 4 years of the issue of the urban planning authorization

The amount of the tax shall be fixed in euro/m². Rates vary depending on the type of premises.