Furnished or Unfurnished? The Tax & Lease Decision for Foreign French Property Owners (2026)

The first thing to understand: this is not a question of how much rent you can charge or how the tenant decorates. It is a question of which legal regime applies to your activity as a landlord. French law treats unfurnished rental as a patrimonial activity (managing your real-estate wealth) and furnished rental as a commercial activity (delivering a service-bundle of accommodation plus equipment). The tax code, the lease law and the regulatory footprint follow that distinction.

Unfurnished (location nue): Title I of Loi n° 89-462 du 6 juillet 1989 governs the lease. Tax regime: revenus fonciers under Article 14 of the Code Général des Impôts. Default tax sub-regime: micro-foncier (30% abatement) up to €15,000 gross rents, then régime réel.

Furnished (location meublée): Title II of Loi 89-462 (Articles 25-3 to 25-11, introduced by Loi ALUR in 2014) governs the lease. Tax regime: BIC (Bénéfices Industriels et Commerciaux) under Article 35 of the CGI. Default tax sub-regime for individual landlords: micro-BIC (50% abatement) up to €77,700 gross rents under Article 50-0 CGI, then régime réel under the LMNP (loueur en meublé non professionnel) statute.

A property cannot be partly furnished — the legal definition (Décret n° 2015-981 of 31 July 2015) requires a defined list of items present and operational at the start of the lease, including a bed with bedding, hob and oven, fridge, freezer or freezer compartment, dishes and cutlery, basic cookware, table and chairs, storage, light fixtures and cleaning equipment. A unit missing any one of these falls back into unfurnished status legally regardless of how the lease is labelled.

Two specifics drive most of the difference between the two regimes:

1. The abatement. Micro-foncier discounts gross rents by 30% before tax; micro-BIC discounts by 50%. On €12,000 of gross rent, the taxable base is €8,400 unfurnished vs €6,000 furnished — about 28% less tax under furnished, before any other consideration.

2. Amortissement. Under furnished régime réel (LMNP), the building (excluding land) can be amortised under Article 39 C of the CGI — typically split into components (structure 25–40 years, finishings 10–20 years, technical systems 8–15 years) and deducted as an expense each year. This deduction does not exist under revenus fonciers (unfurnished régime réel). For a property worth €300,000 (of which roughly €240,000 is building, €60,000 land), amortissement of 2.5% per year on the building portion produces €6,000 of annual deductible expense — without any cash actually leaving your account. Combined with deductions for actual expenses (loan interest, works, insurance, syndic, taxe foncière), amortissement frequently drives taxable rental income to zero or near-zero for the first 8–15 years of an LMNP investment.

Important LMNP rule: amortissement is capped. Under Article 39 C, the annual amortissement deduction cannot exceed the rental income net of other deductible expenses — meaning amortissement cannot itself create a tax loss. Unused amortissement is carried forward indefinitely against future rental income, but it never becomes a deficit foncier you can offset against your salary. This is materially different from unfurnished régime réel, where deficit foncier can be offset against general income up to €10,700 per year (Article 156 I-3° CGI).

3. Social contributions — and the 2026 LMNP-only hike. Until the LFSS 2026 (loi n° 2025-1403 du 30 décembre 2025), both regimes attracted the same 17.2% prélèvements sociaux for French tax residents (CSG 9.2% + CRDS 0.5% + prélèvement de solidarité 7.5%) on net rental income, under Article L136-7 of the Code de la Sécurité Sociale. Article 12 of the LFSS 2026 raised the CSG rate from 9.2% to 10.6% on the revenus du capital category that includes BIC location meublée — bringing the LMNP rate to 18.6% on 2025 income filed in 2026.

The 2026 split for residents:

• Location nue (revenus fonciers): 17.2% — the LFSS 2026 hike explicitly excludes revenus fonciers from the CSG increase. The unfurnished rate is unchanged on 2025 income.
• LMNP (BIC meublé): 18.6% — the new rate applies to net BIC income on the 2025 filing year. Because the 2025 prélèvements à la source acomptes were calibrated at the old 17.2%, the year-end reconciliation in September 2026 will produce an additional PS payment equal to the 1.4-percentage-point gap on the LMNP income base. Plan for the cash-flow shock.

For a property generating €15,000 of net LMNP income, the 1.4-point hike adds €210 of social contributions for the 2026 filing — small absolute but a structural reason the unfurnished/furnished gap narrows on the social-contributions axis. Sources: legifrance.gouv.fr for loi n° 2025-1403 art. 12 ; service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2329 ; impots.gouv.fr CSG 2026 page.

For non-resident landlords, the EU/EEA/Switzerland-affiliated rate stays at 7.5% (Article L136-7-I bis CSS) — the LFSS 2026 hike applies to CSG, which non-residents in the EU/EEA/CH zone do not pay. See our non-resident landlord first-year guide for the full split.

The amortissement advantage is large but not universal. Unfurnished comes out ahead when:

Tenant stability matters more than tax efficiency. The 3-year lease floor under Article 10 of Loi 89-462 produces structurally longer tenancies than furnished's 1-year (9 months for students). For a single rental that is your only French income, two unfurnished tenants in 6 years versus six furnished tenants over the same period is materially less operational work — fewer états des lieux, fewer marketing rounds, fewer dépôt de garantie cycles. That weight scales when you are remote.

The property has high deficit-foncier potential. If you bought a property requiring significant renovation (€20,000–€60,000 of works), unfurnished régime réel allows the deficit foncier (loss after deductions) to offset general income up to €10,700 per year (Article 156 I-3° CGI). The remaining loss is carried forward against rental income for 10 years. Over a multi-year renovation programme, this can be more valuable than amortissement.

You don't want the commercial-activity footprint. Furnished triggers a SIRET registration with the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce (form P0i for individuals) and Cotisation Foncière des Entreprises (CFE) payable annually — typically a few hundred euros per municipality but can reach four digits in expensive zones. Unfurnished does not produce a SIRET and does not attract CFE. For a foreign owner who already has a complicated tax footprint at home, the commercial-activity registration can be a meaningful added complexity.

Rent levels keep you safely in micro-foncier. Under €15,000 gross rents, micro-foncier requires no accountant, no separate tax form (just box 4BE on form 2042), and produces an automatic 30% abatement. The simplicity matches the rent.

Both micro-foncier and micro-BIC are defaults, not requirements. You can opt out of either into régime réel — and the directionality of the lock matters.

Micro-foncier → régime réel foncier (unfurnished). Opting out is 3-year binding under Article 32-4 of the CGI. The option auto-renews tacitly afterwards unless explicitly revoked. The reverse — going back into micro-foncier — is automatic the year your gross rents drop back below €15,000, no formality required.

Micro-BIC → régime réel BIC (furnished, LMNP). Opting out under Article 50-0 CGI is annual and renews tacitly. The lock-in is materially weaker than on the unfurnished side — you can switch back to micro-BIC the following year if your circumstances change and the rents have dropped under €77,700.

When to opt for régime réel:

• Unfurnished: when actual deductible expenses (loan interest + works + charges + insurance + property tax) exceed 30% of gross rents. For a financed property in renovation, this is almost always the case for the first 5–10 years.
• Furnished: when the combination of expenses + amortissement exceeds 50% of gross rents. Given that amortissement alone often hits 25–35% of gross rents on a typical purchase, this threshold is met in most LMNP cases. Many tax advisers consider micro-BIC sub-optimal as a default once the property is over a certain value, regardless of rent level.

The opt-in mechanism: for unfurnished, send a free-form letter to your tax office (or SIPNR for non-residents) before the filing deadline of the year you want régime réel to apply. For furnished, indicate the option directly on the BIC declaration filed with form 2031 + 2033.

Unfurnished. Article 10 of Loi 89-462: minimum 3 years for individual landlords (6 years for SCI/société landlords). Tacit renewal at term unless either party gives notice (6 months for landlord, 3 months for tenant). Notice grounds for the landlord: sale, intention to live in the property, serious lease breach. Outside these grounds, the tenant has near-absolute right to renew.

Furnished. Article 25-7 Loi 89-462: minimum 1 year, with one variant — 9 months for student leases, expressly non-renewing tacitly. Standard furnished lease tacitly renews at 1-year term; either party can give notice (3 months for landlord, 1 month for tenant). Same notice grounds for the landlord.

What this means operationally:

• Unfurnished produces longer median tenancies (often 4–7 years) → less marketing, fewer transitions, lower vacancy rate, more predictable cash flow.
• Furnished produces shorter median tenancies (typically 1–3 years) → more marketing rounds, more états des lieux entrée/sortie, higher operational pulse. For a remote foreign owner, this is the bottleneck. Several furnished cycles per year on a single property without a mandataire requires either local presence or partial mandates (see our remote-management guide).

Bail mobilité is a third option — short-term furnished leases of 1–10 months for tenants in defined situations (training, internship, professional mobility, mission). Article 25-12 Loi 89-462. Useful in dense university or business cities where rotation is high; not suitable for a primary residence rental strategy.

Furnished rental is technically a commercial activity in French law, even when the landlord is an individual managing one property. This produces three administrative consequences that unfurnished does not:

SIRET registration. Required at the start of activity by registration with the Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce (or via the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises — Greffe for non-commercial individual furnished rental). The registration produces a SIRET number, which appears on the BIC tax return (form 2042-C PRO for micro-BIC, forms 2031 + 2033 for régime réel). Process is online, free, and typically takes 2–4 weeks. Foreign owners can register with their foreign address.

Cotisation Foncière des Entreprises (CFE). A local business tax payable annually to the municipality where the property sits. Calculated on a notional rental value of business premises — for a furnished rental the base is typically the cadastral value of the property — multiplied by the municipal rate. Range: €100–€2,000 per property per year depending on the commune. First year often exempt; from year 2, an annual notice arrives in November–December. Payment is automated via direct debit on registration.

Tenue de comptabilité (under régime réel). Régime réel BIC requires a basic income/expense book and balance sheet — significantly more involved than unfurnished revenus fonciers. Most LMNP owners use a small accountant (typical fee €600–€1,200 per year per property) or an LMNP-specialised online service. Micro-BIC keeps accounting requirements minimal.

None of these are show-stoppers, but they add to the operational weight of furnished. For a single property where the rents are modest and the owner is abroad, the unfurnished revenus fonciers route is materially simpler.

A simplified decision tree for the foreign-owner case:

The hybrid strategy. If you own multiple French properties, you don't have to apply the same regime to all. Each property is its own decision. Owners with 3+ properties commonly mix — one furnished LMNP for tax efficiency, two unfurnished for stability — distributing the operational pulse and balancing the cash-flow profile. The only constraint is that within a single property the regime is consistent: a single property is either entirely furnished (with the legal furniture list) or entirely unfurnished, not a hybrid.

Whichever regime you choose, the operational artefacts are similar — lease, rent receipts, état des lieux, dépôt de garantie receipts, annual charge regularisation, tax filings. The volume scales with the number of leases per year, not the regime. A furnished property with 1-year leases produces roughly four times the lease + EDL paperwork of an unfurnished property with 4-year tenants over the same period.

For that paperwork to be retrievable three years later when the FISC opens a control on the 2026 tax year (the 3-year window under Article L169 of the Livre des procédures fiscales) — or when an LMNP audit examines amortissement schedules — the discipline of one place, one moment of filing remains the dominant lever. Tools that help here include the AdminLanding web dashboard at adminlanding.com/location, which produces ALUR-compliant bails (both furnished and unfurnished templates), monthly quittances, état des lieux entrée and sortie, and groups them under the lease they belong to. A self-managed cloud folder works equally well — the discipline is more important than the tool. What does not work is a regime decision made on intuition without checking the math, then a paper trail that cannot reconstruct itself when the FISC asks.

For the actual filing process this May, walk through our step-by-step French tax declaration guide; for the underlying lease mechanics, see the French bail complete legal guide. If the property requires energy renovation (déficit foncier renforcé applies only to the unfurnished régime réel side, intersecting directly with the regime decision), GreenDailyFix's MaPrimeRénov' for landlords guide covers the landlord-specific 6-year commitment that pairs with the renovation aid.