FACT FILE Taxe de séjour - information supplied by jmlvillas.com This information is not to be relied on

If you are letting your holiday property, then you might well have to charge a daily tourist visitor tax as a hotel owner would normally have to pay. The issue came to the attention of a jmlvillas.com client in the summer of 2005. The local Marie sent a tax demand for 2005 and also advised it had overlooked 2004 and 2003. Naturally there was no way to try and obtain any re-imbursement from 2005 clients who had completed formalities or any from previous years. The Marie in the South of France now requires 70 cents per adult per day.

They state that even though a property owner is paying Taxe d'Habitation and Taxe Foncière the property owner is “still making money” on the letting and they want a small percentage for the village/town.

We asked some of our advertisers from around France and here is a selection of replies. There certainly does not appear a standard for France like with other taxes and you will see from the replies it varies from area to area or even Marie.

“Taxe de Séjour is a local tax set by the Marie usually per head adults and over 12yr in our commune there are variable according to status of rental ,hotel gite camping or immeubles pour location. Our rate is .30€ per head per day so 2.1€ per week so could be 8.4€ per family per week , which is a joke if you have to charge the tourist that sum so its included in the rental . There isn't much of a "control" so I never have more than one family stay in a gite with children always under 12 years old”

“Can't really help but....in our village there is no Tax de Séjour but in neighbouring villages there is...I think perhaps it depends on your Mayor and the rules of your commune”

“Yes we are aware though that it only applied to Brittany( our local rates are 50 cents per night for Adults only between June and August, it is something that apparently was tried a few years ago without success”

“Our experience of this is that each individual Marie has the right to impose the charge but they are not oblige to. We have never registered our 2 little cottages with the tourist board as we stick to clients from anywhere else in the world. Perhaps this has helped us avoid the problem. Our main property in which we do B & B as well as renting it out, was first registered with Gites de France and because of that we just got into the system (we even have a Siret number). But again, our local Marie has never imposed a tourist tax on us - get friendly with the Maire!”

SEE ALSO: Tax in France

and French Property Tax Deadline May 09

French Government plans to tax holiday home owners

Apparently this tax, due to take effect in January 2012, will apply to second homes owned by non-residents, whether they are French or foreign! Up to 360,000 homes could be affected, about half of which are thought to be owned by British nationals. Under the new law, the taxman would charge 20 per cent of the theoretical annual "rental value" of a second home, whether it is rented out or not. Homes rented out full-time will be exempt, since their owners are already assumed to pay sufficient French tax. Holiday home owners currently pay domestic property taxes - Taxe d'habitation (if applicable TV Licence include - L'audiovisuel public) and Taxes foncieres. Find out more on this Here June 2011

French Government drops plans to tax holiday home owners

Following the controvesal proposal to tax holiday home owners in France - A meeting was held on the weekend of the 18th / 19th June -11 with President Nicolas Sarkozy, Budget Minister François Baroin and senators representing French nationals living abroad, the proposed tax was dropped.According to a report in Citywire Money "The decision to scrap the tax may well have rested on the fact that French expats – who would also have been subject to the new tax – will for the first time have a chance to vote next year in the presidential elections. Sarkozy is currently seeking a second term in office". July 2011

©jmlpropertyservices10/05

Do you own a Holiday Home in the South of France or Monaco? Is the insurance policy written in English? Find out more Here

Enjoy your stay in the South of France ....

eat - drink -stay & wake up on the Riviera