Taxe Foncière Relief for Older Persons
With the final abolition this year of the taxe d'habitation on principal residences, the only local rates bill that such homeowners face is the taxe foncière.
Unlike its sibling, the taxe foncière is a tax on the ownership of real estate, not the occupation of property.
The tax is based on the notional rental value of the property, and, as might be expected, reliefs and exemptions are available.
One of those exemptions concerns over 75s with an income below a maximum threshold, which this year is €11,885 for a single person or €18,233 for a couple.
Adult disabled persons in receipt of 'AAH' (Allocation aux adultes handicapés) also obtain relief, subject to the resources test. Older persons under 75 years in receipt of 'Aspa' (Allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées) are also eligible, when no income test is applied.
For married couples, the age or disability condition need only be met by only one of the spouses.
Until now, however, where the person lived with another family member or third-party, for those over 75 years, the total income of the household was used to determine eligibility, often resulting in disqualification.
That rule has now been abolished, so that relief is granted whether the person lives alone or with another person, and irrespective of the income of that person, who need not be a family member.
Similarly, a person who enters a retirement home/long-term care retains the benefit of any reduction or exemption on their principal residence, irrespective of whether a family member or other person continues lives in the property, provided they retain the right of occupation. Previously, the property was required to be unoccupied, save for the partner or dependents in occupation at the time they moved into care.
For those aged 65+ and less than 75 years, provided you meet the resources test above, an abatement of €100 is applied to your taxe foncière bill. Previous co-habitation tests have been abolished.
Under normal circumstances, the relief should be granted automatically, without there being a need to make an application.
You can read more about the tax in our Guide to Taxe Foncière.
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