On the list of costs you agree to pay when buying a ski property in France, the notaire fees tend to come as a shock. They are large, they are due in cash at completion, and — since 1 April 2025 — they are now higher in both Savoie and Haute-Savoie than they were twelve months ago. Both departments voted to raise their transfer tax rate (droits de mutation à titre onéreux, or DMTO) from 4.5% to 5%, under powers granted by the Loi de Finances 2025. For resale property buyers, the increase is real and immediate. For new-build VEFA buyers, it changes nothing at all.
What the Loi de Finances 2025 Changed
DMTO is the component of notaire fees that most buyers actually mean when they say the purchase process is expensive. It is a property transfer tax collected by the notaire on behalf of the state and the local département. For many years, the maximum departmental DMTO rate stood at 4.5% of the gross purchase price. The Loi de Finances 2025, passed in late 2024, temporarily gave every French département the option to raise their rate by up to 0.5 percentage points — to a maximum of 5%. The authority lasts until 31 March 2028, after which departments need renewed legislation to maintain the higher rate.
The decision was left to each département's conseil départemental. Not all chose to act: Ain and Alpes-Maritimes, for example, kept their rate at 4.5%. But both of the departments covering the French Alps' principal ski property markets voted to raise. Service-Public.fr confirmed that the increase applied from 1 April 2025 to all qualifying transactions — including completions on compromis signed before that date.
Both Alpine Departments Voted to Raise
The two departments that contain the vast majority of French Alps ski resorts both adopted the new rate with effect from 1 April 2025:
- Savoie (73) — DMTO raised to 5%, with a reduced rate of 4% for eligible primo-accédants (first-time buyers purchasing a principal residence under qualifying conditions).
- Haute-Savoie (74) — DMTO raised to 5%, with no additional first-time buyer reduction announced at the time of writing.
In practical terms this affects resale buyers in Courchevel, Méribel, Val d'Isère, Tignes, Les Menuires, La Plagne and Les Deux Alpes (all in Savoie) as well as those purchasing in Megève, Morzine, Les Gets, Chamonix, Samoëns, Les Carroz and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (all in Haute-Savoie). Local property professionals in Haute-Savoie confirmed the vote was clear and took immediate effect.
What It Adds to a Resale Purchase
When you buy a resale ski property in France, the total frais de notaire bundle together several elements. DMTO is the dominant one — it typically accounts for around 75–80% of the total bill at ski resort price points. Add the notaire's emoluments (a regulated fee on a sliding scale of roughly 0.8–1% of the purchase price) and minor administrative charges, and a resale buyer in Savoie or Haute-Savoie now needs to budget approximately 7.5–8% of the purchase price in total frais de notaire.
Here is what the 0.5-point DMTO rise adds in absolute terms:
- €300,000 resale apartment: +€1,500 versus pre-April 2025
- €500,000 resale apartment or small chalet: +€2,500
- €800,000 resale property: +€4,000
- €1,500,000 resale chalet or penthouse: +€7,500
None of these amounts is catastrophic relative to total transaction value, but notaire fees must be paid in cash at completion — they cannot be mortgaged. A buyer purchasing a €500,000 resale ski apartment in Morzine or Saint-Gervais needs approximately €37,500–40,000 in liquid funds for notaire fees alone, up from around €35,000–37,500 before April 2025. Build this into your budget before agreeing a purchase price.
New-Build VEFA Purchases: Exempt from the Rise
This is the structural difference that makes the DMTO increase particularly relevant for buyers comparing new-build and resale options. When you buy a new-build property under a VEFA contract (Vente en l'État Futur d'Achèvement — the off-plan purchase structure used for all new developments in France), the standard DMTO mechanism does not apply.
Instead of DMTO at 5%, a VEFA buyer pays a taxe de publicité foncière at approximately 0.715% of the net (pre-TVA) price. Since the sale price for a new-build already incorporates 20% TVA, and since this tax is charged at a fraction of the DMTO rate, the total notaire-related costs on a new-build purchase typically come to just 2–3% of the all-inclusive (TTC) purchase price. The DMTO rise in Savoie and Haute-Savoie does not alter this. As France Tax Law's guide to the changes explains, the 5% rate applies specifically to resale (ancien) transactions.
A buyer reserving a new-build ski apartment off-plan today in any Savoie or Haute-Savoie resort faces the same notaire cost structure as they would have done in 2024. Our guide to the VEFA off-plan buying process in the French Alps covers every stage and cost in detail.
The Cost Gap — Quantified Against Current Market Data
The difference in notaire fees between new-build and resale was already the single largest variable in a like-for-like acquisition cost comparison. The DMTO rise makes it wider. Using current developer pricing data from the French Alps new-build market:
Morzine (Haute-Savoie) — 1-bed new-build: developer pricing from around €360,000 to €500,000. Notaire fees on a new-build in this range: approx €9,000–15,000. Notaire fees on a comparable resale: approx €27,000–40,000. Transaction cost saving: €18,000–25,000.
Les Menuires (Savoie) — 2-bed new-build: developer pricing from around €424,500 to €567,500. Notaire fees new-build: approx €10,500–17,000. Notaire fees on a comparable resale: approx €32,000–45,000. Transaction cost saving: €21,500–28,000.
Megève (Haute-Savoie) — 3-bed new-build: developer pricing from around €690,000. Notaire fees new-build: approx €17,000–21,000. Notaire fees on a comparable resale: approx €52,000–56,000. Transaction cost saving: €31,000–39,000.
These figures cover transaction costs alone — before accounting for the 20% VAT reclaim available to new-build buyers who enter their property into a qualifying rental management arrangement. That mechanism can return a substantial sum in the year following completion and is explained in full in our guide to the new-build VAT reclaim. Between lower notaire fees and the VAT reclaim, the all-in acquisition cost picture for a new-build is structurally more favourable than for a comparable resale — and the DMTO rise from April 2025 has made that gap wider still.
The Savoie Primo-Accédant Rate
Savoie's deliberation included a reduced DMTO rate of 4% for eligible primo-accédants. To qualify, a buyer must not have owned their principal residence at any point in the two years before the purchase, and must commit to occupying the property as their main home for at least five years. This relief is designed for first-time buyers purchasing a primary residence — not second homes, holiday lets, or investment properties.
For most international buyers purchasing a ski property in the French Alps as a second home, the reduced rate will not apply. The standard rate for second-home purchases in Savoie is 5%. If you believe your circumstances might qualify for the 4% rate, confirm this with your notaire before signing the compromis de vente — the exemption must be correctly declared at notarisation and cannot be claimed retrospectively.
Which Date Governs Your Rate?
One point that can surprise buyers: the DMTO rate applied to a purchase is determined by the date of the acte authentique — the final deed of sale signed at the notaire's office — not the date of the compromis de vente or any prior reservation agreement. If you signed a compromis before 1 April 2025 but completed the sale after that date, you paid the new 5% rate. If you are currently mid-process on a resale purchase in either department, confirm with your notaire which rate applies and ensure your funds account for it.
For off-plan new-build purchases, the acte authentique is typically signed at completion of construction — often 12–24 months after the initial reservation. The DMTO mechanism does not apply to VEFA transactions regardless of completion date, so the timing question does not arise for new-build buyers.
Budget Figures to Use
When building your total acquisition cost for a French Alps ski property, use these planning figures:
- Resale in Savoie or Haute-Savoie: budget 8% of the purchase price for total frais de notaire. Ask your notaire for a written cost estimate once the final price is agreed — it is a regulated calculation and they will give you a precise figure before you commit to anything.
- New-build VEFA in Savoie or Haute-Savoie: budget 2.5–3% of the TTC purchase price for notaire fees. The DMTO rise does not apply.
- Agency fees: confirm whether the stated price is HAI (honoraires d'agence inclus) or net vendeur before making an offer. These are separate from notaire fees.
The complete guide to purchase taxes and costs in the French Alps covers every line item from reservation through to completion. And if you are weighing your options between resale and new-build, browse new-build ski properties available on Domosno — where notaire fees remain at 2–3%, unaffected by either department's DMTO decision.
