Non-Resident Landlord French Rental Tax: The 2026 Declaration Guide (2044 / 2042)

Start with the principle that surprises many new non-resident landlords: rental income from a property located in France is taxable in France, regardless of where you live. Almost every double-taxation treaty France has signed allocates taxing rights over immovable property to the country where the property sits.

That does not mean you are taxed twice. Your country of residence will usually either exempt the French rental income (with progression) or tax it and give you a credit for the French tax paid — depending on the treaty. But the first declaration, and the first tax, happen in France.

For an unfurnished rental, the income is revenus fonciers, and there are two ways to declare it:

• Micro-foncier: available if your gross annual rents are €15,000 or less and you do not hold special-status property. You declare the gross rent on form 2042 and the tax office applies a flat 30% allowance — no expense tracking, but no deduction of real costs either.
• Régime réel: mandatory above €15,000, and optional (by election) below it. You declare on form 2044 and deduct actual expenses — loan interest, repair and maintenance works, management and insurance costs, the taxe foncière, and co-ownership charges. If expenses exceed rent, the resulting déficit foncier can reduce your taxable income within limits.

If you have a mortgage or significant works, the régime réel almost always wins — the 30% flat allowance rarely beats real deductions when interest is involved.

Non-residents are taxed on French-source income at a minimum rate: 20% up to a threshold (around €29,315 of net taxable income for 2025 income, indexed each year) and 30% above it.

Crucially, this is a minimum, not a flat tax. If you can show that applying your average worldwide rate (taux moyen) — the rate that would result if all your global income were taxed in France — produces a lower figure, you can claim it by ticking the relevant box and reporting your worldwide income for reference. For landlords with modest French rents and modest total income, the taux moyen often beats the 20% minimum, so it is worth computing both.

On top of income tax, French rental income carries social levies (prélèvements sociaux). The headline rate is 17.2% — but there is a major carve-out:

If you are a resident of another EU/EEA country or Switzerland and you are covered by that country's social-security system (not the French one), you are exempt from the CSG and CRDS components and pay only the 7.5% solidarity levy. This follows from EU case law (the de Ruyter line) and a long-standing French administrative position. You claim it by reporting your situation on the declaration; keep proof of your foreign social-security affiliation (e.g. your S1, or an EHIC/national equivalent) in case of a check.

Non-EU residents generally pay the full 17.2%.

Non-resident landlords file with the Service des impôts des particuliers non-résidents (SIPNR), online via your impots.gouv.fr space once it is set up. The annual income declaration runs in spring, with deadlines staggered by country/zone — non-residents typically have the later end of the calendar.

The practical sequence each year:

1. Total your gross rents received during the calendar year.
2. Choose (or confirm) micro-foncier vs réel.
3. For the réel, complete form 2044 with your deductible expenses, carry the result to 2042, and tick the social-levy box if you qualify for the 7.5% rate.
4. Consider the taux moyen box if your worldwide income is modest.

Keep every supporting document — leases, rent receipts, works invoices, interest statements, the taxe foncière notice — for at least three years; the tax office can ask for them.

The non-resident declaration is far less stressful when the paperwork is already in order. The figures the tax office wants — rents received, the lease terms, the expenses you are deducting — are exactly the documents you generate during normal rental management: leases, monthly rent receipts, and a running record of works and charges.

Keeping these in one place, generated consistently and stored securely, turns the spring declaration into a copy-across exercise rather than a scramble. It also means that if the SIPNR ever asks for proof, you can produce a clean, dated trail in minutes.