Accountant for non-resident landlords letting furnished property in France

How France taxes furnished lettings owned by non-residents

Rent from a furnished property falls into the category of bénéfices industriels et commerciaux, or BIC (business income). It is not treated as revenus fonciers (income from unfurnished property), which follow different rules. A property counts as furnished when it contains all the furniture and equipment needed for normal occupation.

Most private owners have the status of LMNP, for loueur en meublé non professionnel (non-professional furnished landlord). You become a professional landlord (LMP) only if two conditions are met together: the household receives more than EUR 23,000 of furnished rent a year, and this rent is higher than its other earned income. Since the Finance Act for 2026 of 19 February 2026, the comparison for non-residents also takes into account earned income taxed in their country of residence, where it is subject there to a tax equivalent to French income tax.

The letting must be registered within 15 days of its start through the guichet unique (the one-stop portal for business formalities). The registration is free and produces the SIRET number needed for the tax returns.

Micro-BIC: thresholds and allowances for 2026 income

Under the micro-BIC regime you declare the gross rent received and the tax office applies a flat allowance, with a minimum of EUR 305. No actual expense and no depreciation can be deducted. The rules for tourist lettings were tightened by the law of 19 November 2024, with effect from 2025 income.

The allowance is meant to cover all your costs. For a property bought with a loan, or with high service charges and management fees, real costs are often higher than the allowance, and much higher than 30%.

• Long-term furnished letting: 50% allowance, up to EUR 83,600 of annual rent (EUR 77,700 for 2025 income).
• Classified furnished tourist accommodation (meublé de tourisme classé) and guest rooms: 50% allowance, up to EUR 83,600 (EUR 77,700 for 2025 income).
• Unclassified furnished tourist accommodation: 30% allowance, up to EUR 15,000 of annual rent.

Regime reel: actual expenses and depreciation

Under the régime réel (taxation on actual profit), you deduct the expenses really paid, such as loan interest, property tax, service charges, insurance, management fees and accounting fees. You also deduct depreciation of the building and the furniture. Land is never depreciated.

Depreciation is only deductible up to the amount of rent less the other expenses, so it cannot create or increase a loss. The part that cannot be used is carried forward to later years. A loss arising from expenses can be set against income from non-professional furnished lettings for the following 10 years, but not against other income.

The régime réel applies automatically above the micro-BIC thresholds and is available on option below them. The option has to be filed within a legal time limit, in practice by the deadline for the income tax return filed in the spring of the year concerned: for 2026 income, the deadline for the return filed in spring 2026. The option is then renewed automatically each year unless you give it up. It requires full accounts and an annual business tax return, form 2031, sent electronically.

Selling the property: depreciation is now added back

The gain on the sale of an LMNP property is taxed under the rules for private capital gains. Until 2025, depreciation deducted during the letting period was ignored when calculating the gain. For sales completed from 15 February 2025, the Finance Act for 2025 requires the purchase price to be reduced by the depreciation that was deducted, which increases the taxable gain. Properties located in certain serviced residences for students, for older people or for people with disabilities are excluded from this rule.

For a non-resident seller, the gain is subject to a 19% levy for income tax, plus social levies. Allowances for the length of ownership still apply: the gain is fully exempt from income tax after 22 years and from social levies after 30 years. A simulation before putting the property on the market is now essential for anyone who has been under the régime réel.

Minimum tax rate and social levies

French income tax for non-residents is calculated with the progressive scale, but with a minimum rate. For income received in 2025, the minimum is 20% of net taxable income up to EUR 29,579 and 30% above that amount. The threshold is normally updated each year. The rate applies to the net income, after the micro-BIC allowance or after expenses and depreciation, not to the gross rent.

You can ask for the taux moyen (average rate) instead. It is the rate that would result from applying the French scale to your worldwide income, and it is used only when it is lower than the minimum rate. You must then declare your worldwide income on the French return and keep supporting documents.

Social levies are due in addition to income tax. For non-professional furnished lettings the overall rate is 18.6%, made up of CSG at 10.6%, CRDS at 0.5% and a solidarity levy of 7.5%. This rate applies to income received from 2025, as stated by the French tax administration (impots.gouv.fr). People covered by the compulsory social security scheme of another EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom are exempt from CSG and CRDS and pay only the 7.5% solidarity levy.

Returns, tax offices and tax representative

The annual income tax return is filed with the Service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents, or SIPNR (tax office for non-resident individuals), based in Noisy-le-Grand near Paris. Filing dates are published each year on impots.gouv.fr. Local property taxes remain with the tax office of the place where the property is located.

When selling, a non-resident must in principle appoint an accredited tax representative. This is not required for sellers resident in the European Union, Iceland or Norway, when the sale price is EUR 150,000 or less, or when the gain is fully exempt because of the length of ownership.

This page gives general information based on the rules in force on the review date. The tax treaty between France and your country of residence determines how the French income is treated there and how double taxation is avoided, so each situation must be reviewed individually.

• Form 2042 with its annex 2042-C-PRO: declaration of the furnished rental income, under micro-BIC or régime réel.
• Form 2031 and its annexes: business tax return under the régime réel, filed with the business tax office.
• Boxes 8SH and 8SI of the return: to claim the exemption from CSG and CRDS when you are insured in the EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.
• Form 1447-C-SD: initial declaration for the cotisation foncière des entreprises, or CFE (local business property tax), by 31 December of the first year of letting.
• Declaration of occupancy of the property, made online on impots.gouv.fr (required since 1 January 2023).