Key takeaways
- France abolished the housing tax on main residences on 1 January 2023, but not the housing tax on second homes (taxe d’habitation sur les résidences secondaires, THRS), as Service-Public points out. With a dual residence for work, according to the same page, the home you occupy near your workplace is “considered a second home, subject to the THRS”.
- The tax is charged to whoever has “the use or enjoyment of the taxable premises”, under Article 1408 of the French General Tax Code (code général des impôts), based on the facts as they stand on 1 January (Article 1415).
- In some towns (in high-demand areas, or zones tendues, according to Service-Public), the town council may raise the municipal share of this tax by 5% to 60% (Article 1407 ter).
- For a dual residence kept for work, Article 1407 ter does not speak of an exemption: on a formal claim, it grants relief (dégrèvement) from the surcharge. For the home near their workplace, people compelled to live in a place other than their main home are entitled to it.
All quotations from French law and official French sites in this article are our translations; the links go to the French originals.
You accepted a job three hours’ drive from home. The children stay at their school, and you have taken a furnished two-room flat rented year-round near the office, where you sleep on weekdays. Towards the end of the year, a housing tax notice arrives at that address. A colleague tells you that a second home kept for work is exempt.
Service-Public treats that home as a second home, and for work constraints Article 1407 ter of the French General Tax Code provides relief from the surcharge some towns add, not an exemption from the tax. You will know whether the surcharge can affect you and how to claim relief from it.
Who pays housing tax on the home near your job
The 2023 abolition only covers the main residence. The Service-Public page on the housing tax on second homes says so in its opening lines: “Do you have a second home? You must pay the housing tax.” A boxed note then settles the case of a home kept for work: “If, for professional reasons, you occupy a home near your workplace or if you have a tied accommodation, you have a 2nd residence, which is considered a second home, subject to the THRS.”
Use or enjoyment. Article 1408 of the General Tax Code provides that “the tax is charged in the name of the persons who have, in any capacity whatsoever, the use or enjoyment of the taxable premises”. Owner or tenant, the capacity does not matter.
1 January. Under Article 1415, the housing tax on second homes is set “for the whole year according to the facts existing on 1 January of the tax year”. If your lease started in September 2025, your situation on 1 January 2026 is what counts for the 2026 tax; a lease started in September 2026 only counts from the 2027 tax.
If you rent, the Service-Public page is plain: “If you are a year-round tenant of your second home, you must pay the housing tax for it (you will receive a housing tax notice).”
If you own it, you pay it too, and one more obligation applies: the occupancy declaration. The same page explains that the owner of a residential property must file an occupancy declaration with the tax authorities before 1 July if the home has never been declared or if its situation has changed, with a fine of €150 per property if no declaration is filed or if it is inaccurate. Our article on the pied-à-terre compares buying and renting a home near work.
Exemption from housing tax for a second home kept for work: what the law provides
Article 1407 ter of the General Tax Code allows the town council, by resolution, to “increase by a percentage of between 5% and 60% the share it receives of the housing tax on second homes due on furnished dwellings”. Not every town can do this: Service-Public refers to towns “located in a high-demand area (zone tendue)”. And the surcharge only applies if the town council has voted it.
Its section II provides the relief: “are entitled to relief from the surcharge: 1° For the dwelling located near the place where they carry on their professional activity, persons compelled to reside in a place other than that of their main home”.
The relief (dégrèvement) applies to the surcharge, not to the tax itself. It covers the home near the workplace, for a person “compelled” to live somewhere other than their main home. And it is not automatic: it is granted “on a claim”, filed within the time limit and in the form set by the French Book of Tax Procedures (livre des procédures fiscales), which the article cites.
The Service-Public page speaks of an “exemption from this surcharge” and, in its boxed note, of “relief from the THRS”. Article 1407 ter, for its part, only provides for relief from the surcharge. As for where to file, the page says the request is made “to the tax office responsible for the second home”.
Worked example: what the surcharge adds, and what the relief removes
The Service-Public page warns: “It is not possible to obtain an estimate of the amount of your housing tax on your second home by yourself”. So the surcharge is read as a multiplier on the municipal share.
| Surcharge voted by the town | Municipal share after surcharge | After relief under 1° |
|---|---|---|
| None | × 1 | not applicable |
| 5% (minimum) | × 1.05 | × 1 |
| 60% (maximum) | × 1.6 | × 1 |
A 60% surcharge brings the municipal share, and that share alone, to 1.6 times its level. If the claim succeeds, the relief removes that surcharge and the municipal share goes back to its level without surcharge.
Article 1407 ter does cap the increased rate, though: the town’s rate plus its surcharge cannot exceed the ceiling rate set by the Code. So the municipal share may stay below these multipliers.
For owners: letting a furnished home on fixed days
The housing tax on second homes for a Kowo property is paid by the owner. The contract for this kind of letting is described in the fixed-days lease.
Vacant housing tax, its conditions and exemptions are covered in our article on the vacant housing tax.
Do not confuse: surcharge relief and dual residence expenses
In income tax, “dual residence” (double résidence) also refers to deducting the costs of the second home. That is a different mechanism, with its own conditions; relief from the surcharge only has those of Article 1407 ter.
What to check
- The town. The surcharge applies in high-demand areas, according to Service-Public, after a vote of the town council. With no surcharge voted, there is nothing to claim relief from.
- 1 January. Your situation on that date sets the tax for the whole year.
- The constraint. The relief covers, for the home near their workplace, people compelled to live in a place other than their main home.
- The claim. It goes to the tax office responsible for the home, within the time limit set by the Book of Tax Procedures.
Frequently asked questions about housing tax on a second home kept for work
Is there a housing tax exemption for a second home kept for work in France?
Article 1407 ter of the French General Tax Code speaks of relief, not of an exemption. On a claim, it grants relief from the municipal surcharge for the home near the workplace of a person compelled to live in a place other than their main home. The relief applies to the surcharge, not to the tax itself.
Is the furnished flat I rent year-round near my job subject to housing tax?
According to Service-Public, a home occupied near the workplace for professional reasons is considered a second home, subject to the housing tax on second homes. The same page states that a year-round tenant of a second home pays the tax and receives the notice.
Which date counts for the housing tax on a second home?
1 January. Under Article 1415 of the French General Tax Code, the tax is set for the whole year according to the facts existing on 1 January of the tax year.
Can every French town increase the housing tax on second homes?
No. According to Service-Public, the surcharge concerns towns located in high-demand areas, and it applies after a vote of the town council. Article 1407 ter sets its rate between 5% and 60% of the municipal share.
If you also deduct the costs of your second home from your income, the conditions are in our article on dual residence expenses. The commuters section brings together what matters for a week split between two cities.