Housing tax: the changes for this year 2023

Owners of main residences will no longer have to pay housing tax. The state plans to remove it permanently.

The year 2023 will be marked by the suppression of the taxe d'habitation . Which residences are affected? Will there be other changes? What about block exemptions? We tell you everything in this article.

The housing tax will soon disappear

Emmanuel Macron had announced the abolition of the taxe d'habitation in 2018 . It's about to come to an end. Indeed, the government recently announced that the tax would end for owners of main residences.

A deletion that will come with some changes . Some municipalities plan to apply a surcharge. A surcharge that will only concern second homes, because for the latter, the housing tax will not disappear.

“Local authorities are no longer free to play on the increase or decrease in the rate according to the projects (…) It is an attack on our financial autonomy. This weighs on our fiscal autonomy on the only property tax which is not the fairest”, complained Jean-Marc Vayssouze-Faure, the mayor of Cahors.

The abolition of the housing tax will also be accompanied by property tax hike . This surge, as explained by the government, will apply to compensate for the financial vacuum left by the tax.

Also to be feared, an explosion in the property tax rate by communities. The latter could indeed go to this extreme to stabilize financially in this period of inflation.

Faced with this threat, Gabriel Attal called on the goodwill of communities . He is convinced of it. Soaring property tax rate is not inevitable even after the abolition of the housing tax.

“I call on communities not to blow up their local tax rates. Not to crack all the efforts that are made to protect the purchasing power of the French. Communities can completely lower their municipal rates. A number of mayors have announced that they will,” the Minister of Public Accounts said.

How to calculate council tax?

Until its complete abolition, the housing tax will apply to all homes whether primary or secondary residences. Even if the place is not inhabited all year round, the owner must pay this .

Regarding second homes, their housing taxes will, as explained above, be maintained. The owners of his residences must therefore, in 2023, continue to do as they have always done. That is to say, to pay this fee in due time.

Now, let's see together how to calculate the housing tax. You probably already know that. The council tax is calculated according to your situation on January 1 of the tax year . This means that in the event of a move, the address taken into account remains that of the dwelling registered on 1 January.

To emphasize that the calculation of the housing tax is based on the net rental value of the property. To determine the precise amount of the tax, this value must be multiplied by the tax rates set by the communities.

Tax rates can change every year. They are reviewed and updated by the government depending on the situation.

The end of block exemptions

So-called categorical exemptions have existed since the beginning of the progressive suppression of the taxe d'habitation . These exemptions concern all dwellings, but apply to housing under certain conditions.

The category exemption only applies if the owner's resources fall within government fee schedule . In addition, said owner must meet certain conditions of occupation of the accommodation in order to be exempt.

Here are the people affected by categorical housing tax exemption :

• Beneficiaries of the AAH or allowance for disabled adults
• People who are at least 60 years old
• widowers and widowers
• Disabled or infirm who cannot support themselves by working
• Beneficiaries of Aspa or solidarity allowance for the elderly
• Beneficiaries of the Asi or supplementary disability allowance

Determining the amount of the housing tax is not easy. To achieve this, it is necessary calculate the surface area of ​​the property . This calculation is possible on the Internet thanks to rental area calculation simulators. By using these simulators, you will be able to determine the amount of your council tax more easily and with more precision.

For information, a tax simulator was created thanks to the tax administration . Taxpayers can use it to calculate the amount of tax in accordance with the gradual reduction of the tax.

Source : RTL