Tax on the sale of bare land made constructible

Verified 11 January 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Are you selling unbuilt land that has been made buildable as a result of the change to the local city planning plan (PLU)? You have to pay the tax on the sale of bare land that has been turned into buildings, which is a tax on the added value carried out during the sale. The statement is made by a notary. We'll tell you what you need to know.

Seller

The tax applies whoever sells it :

  • Natural person (e.g. private individual, farmer, craftsman, sole trader transferring land in the course of a professional activity)
  • Legal person (SCI: titleContent, business of persons having an industrial, commercial, craft, agricultural or non-commercial object, real estate business of co-ownership in particular)
  • Taxpayer domiciled outside France.

Bare land made constructible

The tax applies to the following lands:

  • Bare land
  • Land with a construction unsuitable for any use (building rendered unusable in a durable state of abandonment or in ruins, building subject to a risk order, unfinished construction in particular).

Tax on the sale of bare land made buildable does not apply in the following cases:

  • Assignment as a result of expropriation, following a declaration of public interest
  • Land made buildable before 13 january 2010
  • Land that has already been sold (or several) since it was classified as a building zone
  • Land transfer made more than 18 years after the land was made constructible
  • Disposal of less than €15,000

Please note

The tax on the sale of vacant land made available for construction does not apply to mutations free of charge (by donation or in the case of succession)

The sales tax on the sale of bare land made available for construction does not apply if the sale price is less than 10 times the purchase price.

Example :

For land purchased €10,000 and resold €70,000 :

Added value: €70,000 - €10,000 = €60,000

The gain is less than 10 times the purchase price (10 x €10,000 = €100,000), so it is not taxed.

The tax on the sale of bare land made available for construction does not apply to the transfer for consideration (sale) of rights in respect of bare land. These are the rights in rem in immovable property on bare land (usufruct, bare-ownership, easements, joint citizenship, emphyteotic lease, etc.).

The assignment of social rights or shares are also not affected by the tax.

As a seller, you must pay tax at the time of 1re assignment for consideration (sale) of the land, after its classification as a construction zone.

The tax on the sale of bare land made available for construction applies if 2 conditions the following are completed:

  • Amount of sale greater than €15,000
  • Gain greater than 10 times the purchase price

The tax applies on the capital gain realized when the land is sold.

This is calculated as the difference between the following 2 amounts:

  • Acquisition price (or market value actual on the date of entry into the seller's estate, in case of inheritance for example)
  • Sales price (actual price stipulated in the bill of sale)

FYI  

if the property is disposed of for a life annuity, the transfer price used shall be the capital value of the annuity, without interest.

Depending on the situation, the determination of the purchase price may require several steps.

Convert purchase price to euros

Where the purchase has not been made with a price in euro, it is necessary to convert it.

Tableau - Conversion of a price into euros

Original Price

Calculation to get a price in euros

Price expressed in francs (before January 2002)

Divide By 6.55957

Price expressed in old francs (before January 1960)

Divide By 655.957

Index purchase price with inflation

The purchase price must be revalued in line with developments in thenon-tobacco consumer price index (published by INSEE).

You have to multiply the purchaser price by the change in the consumer price index between the acquisition and disposal dates.

You must use the following calculation formula:

Valued acquisition price amount = Acquisition price x (Last published monthly consumer price index on the day of sale / Last published monthly consumer price index on the day of acquisition)

If you acquired the land before 1998 (last base 100 in force), the update covers several generations of indices.

In this case, you must proceed in as many steps as you need to proceed in series of indices concerned.

FYI  

For disposals made since 2012, you can use the monetary erosion coefficients to simplify the calculation.

You can use the following calculator :

Euro-franc converter: purchasing power of the euro and the franc (or the old franc)

It allows you to calculate the purchasing power of a sum in euros or francs (or old francs) of a given year into an equivalent sum for another year, adjusted for the inflation observed between the 2 years.

Enjoy a reduced plate

The plate of the tax is reduced by 1/10e per year from 9e year according to the classification of the land as a construction zone.

Example :

For land made buildable in 2017:

  • If the sale takes place between 2021 and 2024, the tax is collected on the entire capital gain.
  • If the sale is made between 2025 and 2033, the tax is reduced by 10% every year.
  • If the sale is made as of 2034, the transferor no longer pays tax.

Using a flat rate calculation

In some situations, the purchase price of the land is not known or is not determinable.

This is the case, for example, in the case of an undeclared succession, a non-taxable succession in France or an acquisition by acquisition prescription.

The tax is then calculated on a flat-rate basis equal to 2/3 of the price of transfer of land.

The rate of tax on the sale of bare land made available for construction purposes is progressive.

It's increasing according to the amount of the capital gain.

The tax applies at the following rates:

  • 5% the capital gain between 10 and 30 times the purchase price
  • 10% the capital gain exceeding 30 times the purchase price

Example :

For land purchased from €20,000, then resold to €220,000 after urban classification.

The added value is €200,000, or 10 times the purchase price.

The capital gain is therefore taxed to the extent of 5%, or a tax on the sale of bare land made available for construction by €10,000.

The formality is complete by the notary.

Notarial Declaration

At the time of sale, the declaration signed by the seller (or his representative) must be filed by the notary.

It is used to calculate the capital gain.

It must be accompanied by the payment of the fee, to the land advertising service (ex-retention of mortgages) on which the land concerned depends.

FYI  

If it's exempt land or a non-taxable transfer, you're exempt from reporting. But the bill of sale submitted for registration must specify the reason for the exemption (e.g. land made constructible before 2010).

Other

If the sale of your land is established by a court order, the declaration must be filed with the tax department on which your domicile depends.

The formality must be completed within one month of the transfer.

2023 Building Land Transfer Surplus Declaration

If the sale of your land is established by an administrative act, the declaration is filed with the public authority concerned, which forwards it to the tax authorities.

The payment varies depending on whether the declaration of the capital gain is notarized or not.

Notarial Declaration

Payment must be made when the declaration is lodged, before the notarial act is registered.

If the declaration is lodged out of time, interest on late payments are applied from 1er day of the month following the month in which the declaration should have been lodged.

Other

If the sale of your land is established by a court order, the capital gains tax must be paid to the tax department responsible for your domicile within one month from the date of payment of the transfer price.

If the sale of your land is established by an administrative act, the capital gains tax is paid to the tax department, by the accountant of the DGFIP: titleContent, on the price due to the seller, in the light of the declaration sent by the public authority.

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