A capital gain made in France on a property other than the main home is taxed at 19% income tax, whatever the seller’s country of residence, plus 17.2% social charges, reduced to 7.5% for a seller covered by the social security system of another European Economic Area state, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. Taper relief for the holding period eases the bill year after year, and the tax is settled on the day the deed is registered.
For a villa on the French Riviera held as a second home, it is the first item to anticipate before settling on a price, because it shapes your net proceeds far more surely than a few points of negotiation.
Calculating the gain, from gross gain to taxable base
The gross gain is the difference between the sale price and the purchase price. The sale price is taken net of the costs the seller bears to sell, such as the agent’s commission where it falls on the seller, the mandatory surveys or the release of a mortgage. The purchase price, for its part, is increased by the acquisition costs and certain works.
- Acquisition costs (transfer duties, notaire’s fees), taken at their actual amount on receipts, or at a flat 7.5% of the purchase price for a property bought for value
- Construction, extension, reconstruction or improvement works carried out by a contractor, taken on invoices, or at a flat 15% of the purchase price beyond five years of ownership, without receipts
- Maintenance and repair costs, by contrast, never increase the purchase price
Taper relief for the holding period
The gross gain is then reduced by relief that starts from the sixth full year of ownership, on two separate scales. Income tax is fully exempt after 22 years, social charges after 30 years. Between those two milestones, only social charges remain, on a reduced base.
- For income tax, 6% per year of ownership from the sixth to the twenty-first, then 4% for the twenty-second
- For social charges, 1.65% per year from the sixth to the twenty-first, 1.60% for the twenty-second, then 9% per year up to the thirtieth
The surcharge on large capital gains
Where the taxable gain exceeds €50,000, a progressive surcharge of 2 to 6% is added, building land aside. It is assessed seller by seller, on each one’s share, and a smoothing mechanism at the start of each band removes threshold effects. Two spouses selling a jointly owned property therefore each calculate it on their half.
Non-resident sellers, what changes
The 19% rate applies whatever the country of residence. Social charges, however, fall to 7.5%, as the solidarity levy alone, for a seller covered by a mandatory social security scheme of another European Economic Area state, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. They stay at 17.2% otherwise, for a seller based in the United States, Dubai or Singapore for instance. The tax treaty between France and your country of residence may give entitlement to a tax credit.
A seller domiciled outside the European Union, Iceland and Norway, in Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States in particular, must in principle appoint an accredited fiscal representative, who answers to the tax authorities for payment. This is waived when the sale price does not exceed €150,000, a married couple counting as a single seller, or when the gain is fully exempt through the holding period.
Exemptions worth knowing
- The seller’s main home on the day of the sale, for a French tax resident
- Ownership of at least 30 years, which exempts from both income tax and social charges
- For a former resident, a national of the European Union or European Economic Area among others, tax-resident in France for at least two consecutive years, an exemption capped at €150,000 of net taxable gain, for one home only. The sale takes place by 31 December of the tenth year after leaving, or with no time limit if the property has been at the seller’s free disposal since at least 1 January of the previous year
- The former main home of a seller who moved to a European Union state or to a state bound to France by an administrative assistance treaty, sold by 31 December of the year after leaving, without having been made available to anyone in the meantime
Who calculates the tax, and when it is paid
The notaire prepares the capital gains return and settles the tax when the deed is registered, out of the sale price. The seller therefore receives a price already net of this tax. Our capital gains simulator gives an estimate before any meeting, whether you are resident or non-resident.
This guide describes the general French framework for information, based on service-public.gouv.fr, impots.gouv.fr and the Bulletin Officiel des Finances Publiques, reviewed on 27 October 2026. Rules change and depend on your situation, and only your notaire produces the final calculation.