Lay My Hat

We have a maison secondaire but are not residents (just using the house for holidays while living in Denmark the rest of the year). We have started renting out via AirBnB and I am trying to figure out what taxes we need to pay on this income and how we go about declaring it.

Would appreciate if somebody can tell, or link to where I find this information and the place or forms to use.

Miremont

You will be required to pay tax on the rentals plus cotisations (social charges).
As a non-French foreign owner, I found it invaluable to use a French accountant to prepare my tax returns. The accountant will arrange all the bureaucracy and will be able to advise you on the allowances available to you.
You will probably save his fees many times over in reducing your tax liability.

Thanks Moliere,
Sound advice which makes sense if you are running a business. However, we are just renting out 3-4 weeks a year so it seams a bit overkill to start engaging a local accountant and my French is not very suited to having business discussions with non-English speakers.

Moliere wrote:You will be required to pay tax on the rentals plus cotisations (social charges).
As a non-French foreign owner, I found it invaluable to use a French accountant to prepare my tax returns. The accountant will arrange all the bureaucracy and will be able to advise you on the allowances available to you.
You will probably save his fees many times over in reducing your tax liability.

Miremont wrote:Thanks Moliere,
Sound advice which makes sense if you are running a business. However, we are just renting out 3-4 weeks a year so it seams a bit overkill to start engaging a local accountant and my French is not very suited to having business discussions with non-English speakers.

Moliere wrote:You will be required to pay tax on the rentals plus cotisations (social charges).
As a non-French foreign owner, I found it invaluable to use a French accountant to prepare my tax returns. The accountant will arrange all the bureaucracy and will be able to advise you on the allowances available to you.
You will probably save his fees many times over in reducing your tax liability.

The french system is complicated and the advice to get an accountant is good... could save you a lot of heartache. However, you're also only thinking of renting out 3-4 weeks a year... is it really worth renting it out at all? Once Airbnb have taken their cut, and the tax man, and the cleaner, maintenance person, etc, etc you could find yourself running at a loss. It's annoying that platforms like Airbnb lead people to believe that renting a holiday let out is easy money - it isn't at all... it's a lot of hassle and if you then have to spend your holidays sorting out maintenance issues/replacing worn goods, etc. it can take the shine off your trip away. If I were you, I wouldn't bother renting at all and simply continue to enjoy relaxing holidays at your place when you can.

Agreed. For three or four weeks, it really isn't worth it. People regularly underestimate how much work and effort it takes to let out a holiday home, particularly one remote from your main residence.
Forget it and just enjoy it yourself, and you'll sleep better!


Mols

Moliere wrote:Agreed. For three or four weeks, it really isn't worth it. People regularly underestimate how much work and effort it takes to let out a holiday home, particularly one remote from your main residence.
Forget it and just enjoy it yourself, and you'll sleep better!


Mols

+1

Not worth the hassle for a couple of grand

You don't need to use an accountant if you earn less than 23000 euros from rental income - you declare your earnings to the French tax authoroities as a micro-BIC and pay a flat rate tax on your income - see https://www.pap.fr/bailleur/choisir-inv ... es-fiscaux
You are taxed on 50% of your rental income at 20% - so you end up paying 10% of your rental income in tax.[/code]

You do need to pay taxes on your earnings in France as the others have said, not to do so risks incurring the wrath of the authorities which is something I am sure you don't want. You need to pay tax not only on the income plus the social charges as others have said but also the taxe de sejour which your local tourist office should be able to help you with.
As others have said you need to consider whether it's worth renting out for a few weeks a year.

Dusty wrote: As others have said you need to consider whether it's worth renting out for a few weeks a year.

I think it depends whether you want to make it a business or just cover the costs of owning the property so that you and your friends can enjoy it "for free". That's what we do. I'm only taking five lots of paying guests over nine weeks this coming year and we won't make any money on that but it will pay for the tax fonciere, the water and electricity bills and any routine repairs. It won't cover major stuff - for example I'm thinking of replacing the beds and getting zip lock beds for both bedrooms - but it means we can offer somewhere special for friends and we keep the property to a high standard, which I suspect we wouldn't do if we were "just" using it for friends coming for free. Also, one day it will be an asset when we sell - a five star gite already generating an income, with the possibility for someone to work it much harder.