Tax on Rental Income in France for Non-Residents (2026 Guide)

Yes. Tax on rental income in France for non-residents is due in France first, whatever your country of residence : rent from a property located in France is « French-source income » under article 164 B of the Code général des impôts, and every double-taxation treaty France has signed — including the 2008 UK-France convention (article 6) — gives the country where the property sits the right to tax it. Your home country then gives you a credit for the French tax, so you are not taxed twice on the same euros, but you cannot choose to declare it only at home.

What a non-resident landlord actually pays in France has two layers :

• Income tax (impôt sur le revenu), calculated on the net rental income with a minimum rate of 20 % (30 % above €29,579), unless you prove that your worldwide « average rate » would be lower.
• Social levies (prélèvements sociaux) of 17.2 % — reduced to a 7.5 % solidarity levy if you are covered by the social-security system of an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

The amount both layers apply to depends on a third choice : how your net rental income is computed — a flat allowance (micro regime) or actual expenses (régime réel) — and on whether the property is let unfurnished (property income, revenus fonciers) or furnished (business income, BIC). The rest of this guide takes the four questions in order, then runs a full example for a UK landlord. For the annual owner's taxes that apply whether or not you let (taxe foncière, taxe d'habitation on second homes), see our guide to French property taxes explained.

Residents of France pay income tax on a progressive scale starting at 0 %. Non-residents use the same scale, but article 197 A CGI adds a floor : the tax on French-source income « cannot be lower » than 20 % of net taxable income up to the top of the second bracket, and 30 % above it. For 2025 income declared in 2026 the threshold is €29,579 (14.4 % and 20 % for income from the overseas départements).

The minimum rate is the default and the trap. A non-resident with €8,400 of net French rent and nothing else taxable in France pays €1,680 (20 %), where a resident with the same income would pay nothing (the scale's first bracket starts at €11,600).

The average-rate option (taux moyen)

The same article 197 A lets you escape the floor if you can show that the rate French law would apply to all your income, French and foreign, is lower than 20 %. You declare your worldwide income on the French return — it is used only to compute the rate, and the rate is then applied to your French income alone. Residents of the EU or of a country with a tax-assistance treaty (the UK and the US qualify) may file a sworn statement and provide the proof later.

The tax office applies whichever is lower, so there is no downside to opting. In its own worked example, impots.gouv shows a non-resident pensioner with €10,000 of French rent and €10,000 of foreign pension paying €924 of tax instead of €2,000 — an average rate of 4.6 % instead of 20 %. Retirees and part-time workers with modest worldwide income are the main beneficiaries ; a UK landlord earning £80,000 at home will not qualify, because the scale applied to that income yields more than 20 %.

Under article 164 A, non-residents cannot deduct the « global » personal charges residents may deduct (alimony, certain pension contributions) from their French income, except where the average-rate option allows maintenance payments to be counted for the rate.

On top of income tax, French rental income of non-residents is subject to the social levies (CSG, CRDS and the prélèvement de solidarité). Article L136-6 I bis of the Code de la sécurité sociale expressly extends the CSG to non-residents' property income ; the total is 17.2 % of the same net taxable amount used for income tax.

The exemption that halves the bill is in L136-6 I ter : people who, under EU regulation 883/2004, are covered by the health-insurance system of another member state and are not dependent on a French compulsory scheme do not owe CSG and CRDS. They still owe the 7.5 % prélèvement de solidarité (CGI art. 235 ter, which is explicitly levied « without application of the I ter »).

Two points the tax office stresses in its English FAQ. The UK exemption survived Brexit : « British residents continue to benefit from this exemption ». And the exemption is not automatic — you claim it by ticking box 8SH (taxpayer 1) or 8SI (taxpayer 2) in section 8 of return 2042 C, and you must be affiliated on 31 December of the year the rent was received. If you forgot, you can file a claim through the secure messaging of your online account with proof of affiliation (an S1 form, a UK GHIC or NHS registration), for the years still open.

The social levies are not income tax for treaty purposes, which matters for US owners : HMRC generally credits them under the UK-France treaty (CSG and CRDS are listed in article 2), while the IRS position has historically been less favourable. Ask your home adviser before assuming the 17.2 % will be relieved.

Rent from an unfurnished property is property income (revenus fonciers). Two regimes :

The €15,000 ceiling is assessed on gross rent excluding recoverable service charges (what the tenant reimburses you for water, lift, bins). Note for non-residents : the €10,700 deficit is deductible from « global income », which for you means French-source income only — if you have no other French income it simply carries forward. For a UK owner with a French mortgage and works in the first years, the réel regime is almost always the better choice ; run both numbers every year before the three-year lock expires.

If you hold the property through a French property company, the regime is decided at company level — see how an SCI works.

Furnished lets — long-term or Airbnb-style — are business income (bénéfices industriels et commerciaux, BIC), not property income, even for an individual. The simplified regime is the micro-BIC ; its thresholds were split by the 2024 holiday-let law (loi Le Meur) and re-indexed on 1 July 2026. The figures now in article 50-0 CGI :

Above the ceiling — or on option — you move to the régime réel : accounts (form 2031 filed with the business tax office), deduction of every actual expense and of depreciation of the building and furniture, which routinely brings the taxable result to zero for years. For a non-resident with an unclassified holiday let earning €20,000, the real regime is no longer a choice : the micro-BIC ceiling is €15,000.

Whether you are a professional (LMP) or non-professional (LMNP) furnished landlord depends on two cumulative tests : receipts above €23,000 and receipts higher than the household's other earned income taxable in France. Most non-residents fail the second test and remain LMNP, declared on return 2042 C PRO (boxes 5ND to 5PD under micro-BIC). Classification of a tourist let (1 to 5 stars) is obtained from an accredited body for around €150-250 and is what moves you from the €15,000 line to the €83,600 line. Tourist communes may also impose registration numbers and limits on the number of nights — covered in our guide to the taxes on a second home in France.

Sarah lives in Manchester, is covered by the NHS, and lets an unfurnished flat in Lyon for €1,000 a month. Her annual costs : €1,200 taxe foncière, €900 co-ownership charges not recoverable from the tenant, €600 insurance and management, and €3,200 of interest on the French mortgage. Her UK salary is £55,000.

The réel regime saves her €632 a year while the mortgage runs ; she must file a 2044 and stays in the regime for three years. The average-rate option does not help her : applying the French scale to £55,000 plus the rent gives a rate above 20 %. Her brother, a retiree with a £14,000 pension and the same flat, would qualify — the French scale on roughly €25,000 of worldwide income produces an average rate near 6 %, cutting his income tax from €1,680 to about €500.

In the UK, Sarah declares the same income on the foreign pages of her self-assessment return and claims a credit for the French income tax under article 24 of the treaty. Because UK tax on £10,000 of profit at 40 % exceeds the French tax, she pays the difference to HMRC — the French bill is a down payment on her UK bill, not an addition to it. When she eventually sells, a different French regime applies : see capital gains tax on French property for non-residents.

A non-resident landlord files a French income tax return every year, even if the result is a loss and even if the rent is also declared at home. Your file is handled by a dedicated office, the Service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents (SIPNR) in Noisy-le-Grand, reachable through the secure messaging of your online account at impots.gouv.fr.

1. Create your online account after your first paper return (you need a tax number, numéro fiscal, issued with your first assessment). From the second year, filing online is the norm.
2. Main return 2042 : identity, residence abroad, French-source income. Tick boxes 8SH / 8SI on 2042 C for the social-levy exemption if you are EU/EEA/Swiss/UK-covered.
3. Unfurnished : box 4BE (micro-foncier) or return 2044 (réel). Furnished : return 2042 C PRO, with form 2031 if under the real regime.
4. Average-rate option : declare worldwide income in the dedicated section and keep proof (foreign tax return, payslips, pension statements).
5. Deadline : non-residents are in the first filing group each spring — typically the second half of May for online returns ; the exact dates are published each year on impots.gouv.fr. The assessment (avis d'imposition) arrives in late summer, with payment due in September, or monthly/quarterly instalments if you opt for them.
6. Owner's occupancy declaration : every owner must report, through the « Gérer mes biens immobiliers » service, who occupies each property (tenant, yourself, vacant) — the tax office uses it to decide on taxe d'habitation for second homes. Update it when a tenant moves in or out.

Keep French and foreign documents aligned : the net profit you declare in France (after the French rules) will differ from the figure your home country computes, and both are correct — the treaty credit is based on the French tax actually paid, shown on your French assessment. Tenancy rules on the French side (lease types, deposits, notice) are covered in our guide to renting in France.

1. Paying 17.2 % when 7.5 % was due. UK and EU-covered owners who do not tick 8SH/8SI are charged the full social levies. Claims are possible for the open years, but it is your move, not the tax office's.
2. Ignoring the average-rate option. Retirees and owners with modest worldwide income routinely pay the 20 % floor when their real rate would be 5-10 %. The option costs nothing and is applied only if favourable.
3. Staying in micro-foncier with a mortgage. With interest and works, the 30 % allowance is often far below actual costs. Compare every year ; opt for the réel before the deadline of the first year it helps.
4. Treating an Airbnb as « micro-BIC 50 % ». Since the 2024 law, an unclassified tourist let gets 30 % and a €15,000 ceiling. Many 2023-2024 guides, including official pages not yet updated, still show the old 71 % / 50 % figures.
5. Not declaring in France because « I already pay tax at home ». The treaty gives France the first right to tax ; the home country gives the credit, not the other way round. Undeclared French rent is assessed with penalties and interest, and the tax office receives tenants' housing-benefit and rental-registration data.
6. Forgetting the exit. Rental income tax and capital gains tax are separate regimes with separate rates ; depreciation taken under the furnished real regime is now partly clawed back when you sell. Plan the sale with the lettings strategy, not after it.

Above a net taxable property wealth of €1.3 million in France, a fourth layer appears, the impôt sur la fortune immobilière — see our guide to the French wealth tax (IFI). And if you are still at the purchase stage, our guide to buying property in France as a foreigner explains the process from offer to keys.