French Capital Gains Tax on Property: A 2026 Guide for Non-Resident Investors

When British and other non-resident buyers acquire a French ski property, the capital gains tax (plus-value immobilière) treatment on eventual resale is one of the topics most commonly misunderstood — or simply ignored — at the time of purchase. The French system is not complex, but it is different from the UK's, and the interaction with the UK-France double taxation treaty matters. This guide explains how French CGT works on a second home or rental property in 2026, what the effective rate looks like after taper relief, and the practical steps you should take at purchase time to reduce your eventual liability.

A brief framing note: French CGT on property is governed by Article 150 U of the Code Général des Impôts and collected at the point of sale by the notary. For non-residents, the tax is withheld at source by the notary and paid directly to the French Trésor Public before the sale proceeds reach the seller's account. This matters procedurally — you do not file a separate French tax return for the gain; the calculation and payment happen during the acte de vente at the notary's office.

Nothing in this guide is personal tax advice. French CGT interacts with your own UK tax position, with any existing French investments, with the specifics of your purchase and holding structure, and with how you have used the property. For a material transaction, engage a specialist cross-border tax adviser before you sell. For the broader purchase context, see our buying process guide or speak with the Domosno team.

French capital gains tax on property sales for individuals is calculated as sale price minus acquisition cost minus allowable expenses. The gross gain is then subject to two separate charges: the impôt sur la plus-value at a flat 19%, and the prélèvements sociaux (social charges) at 17.2%. The combined headline rate is 36.2% of the gross gain. This applies equally to residents and non-residents, with only minor procedural differences.

Taper relief (abattement pour durée de détention) reduces the taxable base significantly with holding duration. For the income-tax component, the abatement is 6% per year from year 6 through year 21, then 4% in year 22 — meaning full exemption from the 19% CGT after 22 years of ownership. For the social charges, the abatement is slower: 1.65% per year from year 6 to 21, then 1.6% in year 22, then 9% per year from years 23 to 30 — meaning full exemption from the 17.2% social charges after 30 years.

In practical terms, this means holding periods radically change the effective rate. A property sold after 5 years pays the full 36.2%. A sale after 15 years is taxed at roughly 26.8% effective. A sale after 22 years is taxed at 17.2% (only social charges remain). A sale after 30 years is fully exempt. For British buyers planning a long-term Alpine investment, these taper brackets should influence both the purchase decision and the eventual exit timing.

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The taxable gain is not simply sale price minus purchase price. French rules allow three specific categories of addition to the acquisition cost: notary fees actually paid (or a flat 7.5% of purchase price if you prefer the lump sum), renovation and improvement works (but not routine maintenance) properly documented with invoices, and agency fees paid by the buyer at purchase. Together, these additions can meaningfully reduce the taxable base.

Renovation deductibility is the most commonly missed opportunity. If you renovate a kitchen, redo a bathroom, add a terrace, install new windows, upgrade the heating system or carry out any structural improvement, keep every invoice and receipt from day one. These works increase the acquisition cost for CGT purposes. For properties held longer than five years, an alternative lump-sum renovation allowance of 15% of the purchase price is available instead of invoiced actuals, which is often favourable for owners who didn't retain detailed records.

Ordinary maintenance and repairs (repainting, replacing a broken window, fixing a boiler) are not deductible against the capital gain — they are considered current expenses and should be claimed against rental income at the time instead. The distinction between improvement and repair matters and is sometimes tested by the French tax authority; keep your invoices carefully categorised to avoid arguments at sale.

For non-resident sellers of French property above €150,000 sale value, French law historically required the appointment of a représentant fiscal accrédité (accredited fiscal representative) to handle the CGT calculation and act as guarantor for the French tax authority. This requirement was removed in 2021 for EU/EEA residents, and since 2025 the rules have been further clarified for UK residents — meaning British sellers typically no longer need to appoint a fiscal representative, provided the transaction complies with standard documentation requirements.

The practical process at sale is now straightforward: the notary handling the acte de vente calculates the CGT liability based on the purchase documents, the renovation invoices you provide, and the applicable taper relief. The tax is withheld from the sale proceeds and paid directly to the Trésor Public before the balance is transferred to you. You receive a calculation statement as part of the closing paperwork, which you retain for any UK tax filings.

If you have held the property through a French SCI (société civile immobilière) or similar structure, the treatment differs slightly and specialist advice is essential. Most British buyers of Alpine second homes hold property in personal names rather than via an SCI, so this guide focuses on the direct-ownership case — but if you have an SCI structure, raise this with a cross-border tax adviser well before the sale process begins.

French CGT on French property is payable in France first — that is the baseline rule under the UK-France double taxation treaty. The treaty then allows the UK resident to credit the French tax already paid against any UK CGT liability arising on the same gain. In practice, this means the effective rate is the higher of the two: if the French rate after taper is 25% and the UK rate is 28%, you pay 25% to France and 3% to HMRC for a combined 28%.

A key detail: UK taper relief does not apply to French properties, but the UK's annual CGT exempt amount (£3,000 in 2025–26) does. UK CGT rates for additional-rate taxpayers are 24% on residential property gains as of 2026. For a property held 15+ years where the French effective rate has dropped below the UK rate, you will top up to the UK level. For holds of 22+ years where the French income-tax component is fully exempt, the UK CGT rate is almost always the binding figure.

Plan the sale timing in both jurisdictions. A realised French gain in the UK tax year 6 April to 5 April triggers UK self-assessment reporting and payment. You need to report the gain in the UK within 60 days of completion if the property is residential and subject to UK CGT — the short window catches out many sellers. Engage a specialist well ahead of the sale to avoid penalties and optimise the interaction between the two tax systems.

The main exemption available to non-residents is the principal residence exemption — but in practice this rarely applies to second-home buyers, because to qualify the property must be the seller's primary residence at the time of sale. A variant exists for French expatriates who previously lived in the property: if you once had your primary residence in France in the property being sold, you may claim a limited exemption for the first sale after expatriation, capped at €150,000 of gain. Most British buyers do not qualify for either variant.

A specific exemption exists for non-residents selling their only French property: up to €150,000 of the capital gain can be excluded from CGT, provided the seller has been a French tax resident for at least two consecutive years at some point before the sale, and the sale takes place within 10 years of the seller ceasing French tax residence. This is narrowly targeted at former expatriates and does not help UK buyers who have never been French tax residents.

For long-term holds (22+ years for income tax, 30+ years for social charges), the statutory taper relief provides the most commonly applicable "exemption". A chalet bought in 2006 and sold in 2036 would be fully exempt from both the 19% CGT and the 17.2% social charges — a powerful argument for planning Alpine purchases as genuinely long-term investments rather than short-hold flips.

The single highest-impact tax planning you can do is at the moment of purchase, not the moment of sale. Keep comprehensive records of everything: the notary completion statement, the full purchase price breakdown, every agency invoice, every renovation receipt, every furnishing bill (for VAT-reclaim purposes if applicable), and every document the French administration could conceivably ask for. Many owners lose tens of thousands of euros of deductible expenses simply because the invoices were never kept.

If you are planning significant works on the property, use registered French tradespeople and obtain proper invoices with SIRET numbers. Cash deals or foreign contractors without French registration will not qualify as deductible renovation costs, even if the work is objectively identical. This is a specific trap for British buyers who try to economise by bringing UK contractors for a major renovation — the saving on the labour often disappears at eventual sale through lost CGT deductions.

Think about the holding period at the point of purchase. If you intend a long-term family investment, the 22-year taper bracket is a meaningful consideration. If you expect to sell within 5–7 years, you should model CGT into your total return analysis — a 3% net annual yield will be eroded significantly by a full 36.2% tax on the eventual gain. For investors particularly focused on post-tax returns, new-build VEFA purchases with the 20% VAT reclaim, LMNP rental structure and longer holds consistently outperform short-hold flips.

French capital gains tax on property is straightforward, predictable and increasingly favourable for long-term holders. Short holds (under 5 years) carry the full 36.2% headline rate and should be planned carefully. Medium holds (5–15 years) benefit from meaningful taper relief and typically produce effective rates in the 25–33% range. Long holds (22+ years for CGT, 30+ years for social charges) produce full exemption on the French side, leaving only the UK-side rate as the binding figure.

The single most common mistake among British chalet owners is failing to retain renovation and improvement invoices — which often leads to tens of thousands of euros of unnecessary tax at eventual sale. Keep everything, categorise it properly, and archive it somewhere retrievable. A small administrative discipline at the time of each renovation can produce outsized benefits at the time of sale.

For buyers at the start of the process, the CGT picture is one more reason to model your purchase as a long-term asset rather than a speculative flip. The French system rewards patience: each year of ownership gradually reduces the effective tax rate until the taper brackets take full effect. Combined with the VAT reclaim available on new-build VEFA, the LMNP tax regime on rental income, and the potential capital appreciation of well-positioned Alpine resort property, the net after-tax economics are often more favourable than buyers initially expect. Our new-build ski apartments page shows current VEFA inventory and the French mortgage tool models leveraged returns.