(If you’d like us to show you options that combine all of this and fit your lifestyle and family-raising style, we’re ready to help. Writing to us is the first step toward your new life on the French Riviera!)
- 🏦 Residency, visas, and taxation.
Even if they are EU citizens, Danish families spending more than 90 days in France must apply for a long-stay visa and possibly register officially as residents. Furthermore, for tax purposes, if the house becomes your primary residence, you would be exempt from several local taxes.
- 🧾 Purchase Structure: PHE vs. SCI
Buying in your own name or through a Société Civile Immobilière (SCI) changes your situation:
-The SCI allows for orderly family organization and efficient estate planning.
-It facilitates succession and shared control, crucial for families planning to use the home in the future.
- 💸 Hidden costs when buying
Beyond the price, consider:
-Notary fees (“frais de notaire”): 7–8% on the purchase of existing homes, or 2–3% on new construction (VAT already included)
-Stamp duty: 5.8% on older properties, less on new construction.
- 🏛️ Taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation
-Taxe foncière: annual tax on the owner; It may increase if the locality imposes surcharges on secondary residences.
-Taxe d’habitation: Already exempt for primary residences since 2021, but still applicable and with surcharges for second homes.
- 🧑💻 Rental Income and Tax Regimes
If you plan to rent out the property:
-Registration as a professional or non-professional landlord (LMNP/LMP) can allow for significant deductions (furniture, renovations, VAT).
-Withholding tax is a minimum of 20%, plus social security contributions that can reach 7.5% if you are within the EU.
- 📈 Capital Gains and Wealth Tax (IFI)
-If you sell before the age of 22, pay 19% tax + 17.2% contributions. After that time, you are exempt.
-IFI applies to properties over €1.3 million, with progressive rates ranging from 0.5% to 1.5%.
- 👥 Tax Representative for Non-Residents
If you are a non-resident and sell a property over €150,000, you must appoint a tax representative authorized in France. This is mandatory to ensure tax compliance.
- 🗝️ Estate Planning
French law imposes strict rules on inheritance (children, spouse, etc.). Although you can use wills and structures like the SCI to adapt the succession to your country of origin, planning is essential.
- 📊 Financing for non-residents
You can get a mortgage from French banks, but they usually require a 20–30% down payment and solid documentation. Terms (interest rates, terms) are optimized by comparing national and international banks.