Buildings proper

Property tax on built properties (TFPB) is due for any construction filling the following 2 conditions :

• It is permanently fixed to the ground : the construction must be connected to the ground in such a way that it is impossible to move it without demolishing it. This is the case if the construction is based on foundations or a foundation made of masonry or cement. Regardless of the nature of the materials used in the construction of the building itself (e.g. wooden, fibro-cement, metal frame building). On the other hand, this excludes any construction that is not fixed to the ground and can be transported easily (e.g. cabin, kiosk, booth, fairground).
• It has the character of a real buildingby reason of its nature, its destination, its importance, its method of establishment and its fixed nature.

Conversely, a improper building for any use (ex: dilapidated and ruined building) subject to works affecting its main structure is not taxable for the tax on built properties. This building will nevertheless be taxable at property tax on unbuilt properties (TFPNB).

The real estate accessories for buildings are also subject to property tax on built properties (e.g. lifts, escalators, glass, locksmiths, tiles, sanitary facilities, plumbing, sound and thermal insulation equipment, electricity, lighting fixtures, telephone installations).

Installations comparable to constructions

Property tax on built properties (TFPB) is also due for following properties :

• Facilities for housing persons or property (e.g. hangars, workshops) or to store products (e.g. tanks, tanks, silos, hoppers, gas meters, water towers)
• Masonry works with the character of real constructions (e.g. factory chimneys, atmospheric refrigerants, refit forms, structures used to support the material means of operation)
• Soils of buildings and land forming an indispensable and immediate dependency of these constructions, with the exception of land occupied by greenhouses used for agricultural purposes. These are small pitches adjoining or serving as access or clearance to the building, such as courtyards, passageways, gardens not exceeding 500 m² or parking spaces in a real estate complex.
• Land, whether cultivated or not, used for commercial or industrial advertising (billboards, billboards, etc.) and located more than 100 meters from any agglomeration of houses or buildings
• Vessels used at a fixed point and fitted out for housing, commerce or industry, even if they are only retained by moorings (e.g. houseboat, floating lodge built and fitted out, not for sailing purposes, but for use in meetings of members of a business)
• Works of art and communication routes (e.g. dams, dikes, bridges, platforms, viaducts, forced pipes, railways, roads, cemented tracks), except for railways operated by SNCF and RATP which are subject to the property tax on unbuilt properties (TFPNB)
• Uncultivated land used for industrial or commercial purposes : worksites, places of storage of goods and other similar locations.

Permanent exemptions

The following properties are exempt from property tax on built-up properties (TFPB) permanently and in all cases :

• Buildings assigned to a agricultural use, i.e. barns, stables, granaries, cellars, cellars, wine presses and other buildings intended either to house farm cattle and their keepers or to store crops. The exemption shall continue to apply to buildings which are no longer used for agricultural purposes, provided that they are not used for any other purpose (e.g. wintering of caravans, motorhomes or boats).
• Buildings used for the production of biogas, electricity and heat by methanization. The exemption shall apply provided that the anaerobic digestion is carried out by one or more farmers and that at least 50%, of raw materials from agricultural holdings.
• Buildings intended for the production of electricity of photovoltaic origin, i.e. the technical equipment enabling electricity to be produced, but also the buildings which are the necessary support for it, such as the processing and delivery stations and their earthworks.
• Tools and other equipment for the operation of industrial establishments (e.g. distillation towers, ovens, exchangers, specialized steam cracker units of a refinery), excluding those intended to house persons or store products.
• Hangars belonging to associations of rescuers recognized as being of public utility and used to house their lifeboats.

Other properties also benefit from a permanent tax exemption, provided that the exemption is granted on deliberation of the municipality :

• Hotels, classified premises furnished with tourism and bed and breakfast located in Rural Revitalization Area (RRA). The company must submit an exemption request to the property tax office via the form n°6671-D-SD.
• Buildings used for fodder dehydration (e.g. alfalfa, beet and fodder maize), excluding those used for presses and dryers
• Accommodations located within 3 km of an establishment with a facility classified as ‘ SEVESO 3-SH’. The exemption is granted up to 25% or 50% of the tax.
• Accommodations located in an area of exposure to mining risks. The exemption is granted up to 25% or 50% of the tax.
• Accommodations located within the perimeter defined by a technological risk prevention plan. The exemption is granted up to 15% or 30% of the tax.

Temporary exemptions

Exemptions temporary property tax on built properties (TFPB) are numerous.

Exemption for new and similar buildings

One 2-year exemption applies in the following cases:

• New constructions, reconstructions or construction additions for residential use
• New constructions, reconstructions or additions of construction other than for residential use. In this case, the exemption shall be 40% of the tax.
• In case of conversion of a building for agricultural use into a house or factory
• In the case of the use of land for commercial or industrial purposes such as construction sites, places of storage of goods and other places of the same nature.

To benefit from this exemption, the owner must make a declaration, informing the property tax center of the location of the property, the construction or the change in the 90 days of its realization. Where the declaration is made out of time, the exemption shall apply for the period remaining after 31 December of the following year.

Exemption for new companies

A new company that creates or buys a local for the needs of its activity may benefit from a property tax on built-up properties (TFPB) when the municipality or the EPCI so decides by deliberation.

The conditions to be met vary according to location of the company to be set up:

• Either in a zone France ruralités revitalization (ZFRR)
• Either in a regional aid area (RAFA).

The company must declare the acquisition of the premises, at the property tax office of the location of the property, in 15 days from the signing of the deed. The declaration must specify the nature of the property, its location (address and, if possible, cadastral references) and the references of the deed (date, registration number, etc.). Failure to submit a declaration within the time limit shall result in the loss of the exemption for the year following that in which it should have been taken out.

Exemption for Young Innovative companies (JEI)

One 7-year exemption shall apply, on deliberation by the local authorities, in favor of premises belonging to Young Innovative companies (JEI) created until 31 December 2028. It shall cease to apply from the year following 7^e anniversary of the creation of the company or in advance when the company no longer fulfills the conditions of the specific status.

To benefit from the exemption, the company must indicate it on plain paper before 1^er January of the first year in respect of which the exemption is sought from the property tax office of the place where the premises are situated.

Exemptions in priority areas

Companies benefit from a property tax exemption when their establishment is located in a priority area :

• 5-year exemption in the following areas:
  
  • Priority neighborhoods of city policy (QPV)
  • Employment areas to revitalize (BERS)
  • Defense Restructuring Areas (DRZs)
• Exemption of 7 years in the following areas:
  
  • Urban basins to be energized (BUD)
  • Priority Development Areas (PDAs)

To benefit from the exemption, the company declares to the property tax office of the location of the property, before 1^er January of the year for which the exemption takes effect. Failure to submit a declaration within the time limit shall result in the loss of the exemption for the year concerned.

Reporting obligation

The owner must declare the new constructions and the changes in consistency or assignment of the built property.

The declaration must be made within 90 days of completion of works, i.e. as soon as the progress of the works allows an effective use of the property, even if there are still interior design works to be carried out (e.g. paints, wallpapers, floor coverings).

In the case of a paper declaration, it must be filed, at the option of the personal income tax service (SIP) or at property tax center (CIF) the location of the built property.

Penalties for non-declaration

The owner or usufructuary who makes an inaccurate declaration or out of time is exposed to 2 types of sanctions cumulative:

• Tax Fines : failure to produce a document within the prescribed time limits, which must be submitted to the tax authorities, results in the application of a fine of €150. In addition, each inaccuracy or omission in the same statement is also punishable by a fine of €15, without the total of the fines applicable per declaration being less than €60 or greater than €150.
• Loss of entitlement to temporary exemptions : in the case of late declaration (beyond 90 days after the completion of the works), the temporary tax exemption for a property shall apply only for the period remaining after 31 December of the following year.

Calculation of the taxable amount

The property tax on built-up properties (TFPB) is established according to the cadastral rental value of these properties. This rental value corresponds to the annual rent that the property could produce if it were rented.

This rental value is reduced by one abatement from 50% to compensate for the owner's management, insurance, depreciation, maintenance and repair costs. In other words, the taxable amount of the property tax is equal to 50% of the cadastral rental value taxable property.

Then, the property tax is calculated by applying to the cadastral income (i.e. to the tax base) a tax rate voted by local authorities.

The tax administration provides a simulator to visualize and compare the local tax rates applicable per municipality. Simply indicate an accounting year, your region and then your department.

Know the local direct tax rates per municipality

Relief in the event of non-operation

The owner can benefit from a relief tax when a building (e.g. building, building site, place of deposit) for commercial or industrial use, which it operates itself, undergoes a interruption of its operation.

The relief shall apply where the non-operation fulfills the 3 following conditions :

• It is independent of the will of the owner. The owner must clearly establish that a circumstance beyond his control has inevitably prevented the continued operation (economic crisis, lack of raw materials, state of health, etc.).
• It lasts for at least 3 continuous months. No relief would be granted in the case, for example, of a building used by an industrial or commercial establishment that would be unoperated, regularly every other week.
• It affects the whole of the building or a part liable to be operated separately.

To obtain the rebate, the owner must apply to the property tax center on which the immovable depends no later than December 31 of the year following that in which the inexploitation has reached the minimum required duration.

The relief shall be calculated from the first day of the month following the beginning of the period of non-operation until the last day of the month in which it ended.