Whether you are exempt or not, you have surely received your council tax notice. Charlie Cailloux, legal advisor for the real estate site PAP.fr, takes stock of Emmanuel Macron’s tax reform.
franceinfo: everyone receives their council tax notice, even if we are part of the 80% who are exempt?
Charlie Cailloux: Yes, everyone receives a notice and it should be read because just because you were exempt in 2020 does not mean that you are automatically exempt in 2021: if you were lucky enough to have a salary increase, maybe you will have to pay council tax this year. Conversely, if your income has fallen, you may very well be totally exempt this year when you paid full price last year. The benefit of the housing tax exemption is reassessed each year based on your income from the previous year.
Those who have to pay a housing tax in 2021 still benefit from a reduction of 30%?
Yes indeed, the gradual abolition of the housing tax is continuing and this year it benefits the 20% of the wealthiest households. Next year, the abatement will be 65% before the tax is permanently abolished in 2023 for all taxpayers. Warning ! There is still a great distinction to remember: this gradual abolition of the housing tax only concerns the taxpayer’s main residence. For second homes, the housing tax remains, it is even increased in more and more cities.
Which cities increase the housing tax on second homes?
A large number of cities that are in tense areas, that is, in areas where there is a shortage of housing. The municipal share of the housing tax can be increased up to 60% there, as is the case in Paris, Nice, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier or in several towns on the Basque coast. In La Rochelle, it will be 50%, 40% in Sète. By pushing taxes, we encourage owners to put these underemployed housing back on the rental market: if it is a furnished second home, you pay a super housing tax; if you leave unfurnished accommodation vacant, the tax on vacant accommodation hangs in your face.
What about the contribution to public broadcasting?
It amounts to 138 euros and concerns those who declared that they were equipped with a television on January 1, 2021. You only pay it once even if you have several televisions, even if you have several residences.