In the past couple of years there have been many legal changes around the status of providing tourist furnished accomodation (meublé de tourisme) in France. This article aims to put together in one place as much information as possible about various administrative and taxation aspects of this activity. I expect this article to expand as I collect and process more information – and as/if the legislation on the matter keeps evolving.

Definition

Meublé de tourisme (tourist furnished accomodation) is a real estate property – an apartment or a villa – that fits in the following criteria

• it must be furnished (obligatory equipment includes furniture, bedding, a stove, a fridge and cooking utensils)
• it must be independent (only one group of people can book it for a given period of time, no hotel services, no shared amenities or services); you cannot be present in the property at the same time as the tenant
• one rental to the same person cannot exceed 90 consecutive days per year.
• The property cannot be the primary residence of the tenant (but it can be the primary residence of the owner, if they personally occupy the property for at least 8 months per year)

Long-term rentals do not fall under this category. Please note that in France, the minimum long-term contract duration is 1 year for furnished property, and 3 years for non-furnished. There are also special short-term non tourist rental contracts, that do not fall under the same regulations.

Meublé de tourisme classé (classified tourist furnished accommodation) – the owner of the rental property can request for it to be classified (1 to 5 stars) by a special organisation. To be classified for at least 1 star rating, the property must fulfil a certain range of criteria of comfort, amenities, services etc, the criteria get more exigent for a higher classification. Being classified (regardless of rating) impacts the regime and taxation. The tourist tax (taxe de séjour) is also different for non – classified properties, and classified, and changes for different levels of classification.

Registration – at the local level

If your property is a part of a residence, you must verify that the co-ownership rules (règlement de copropriété) do not forbid short-term rentals. Some cities require that the document contains explicit permission of short-term rentals.

Owners of furnished tourist accommodation must register their accommodation at the town hall using the Cerfa form no. 14004*04, otherwise they will be fined. Owners who occupy the property for at least 8 months of the year so far have been theoretically exempt. In practice, most large cities have made registration mandatory for all tourist apartments or houses. By the 20th of May 2026, all properties will have to be registered. If the property is not your primary residence, some cities and towns additionally require that the owner obtains an authorisation for change of use (from a regular residential property to a tourist furnished accommodation) – link. For example, in Nice such permission is only give to one property per family, for 6 years only. Beyond that, the family should propose a apartment of equivalent surface as a non-furnished long-term rental.

Registration – at the business level

Tourist furnished accommodation is a commercial activity and has to be registered as such. If the owner of the property is an SCI company, the activity must be mentioned in the articles of association. If the owner is a physical person, they must register themselves as self-employed business owners, via INPI website. Depending on the family’s revenue structure, and the rental revenues, the income will be classifies as professional (LMP – loueur meublé professionnel) or non professional (LMNP – loueur meublé non professionnel). One cannot opt in or out of being LMP or LMNP. Regardless of being professional or non professional, one can opt for simplified regime (micro-BIC) under certain conditions. Otherwise, you will be registered under normal regime (régime réel). Let’s look at the implications of each of these.

LMNP vs LMP

	LMPN (non professional)	LMP (professional)
Criteria for the status to apply	* annual revenues below 23 000€ OR * income from the rental activity is less than half of the total household income	* annual revenues above 23 000€ AND * income from the rental activity is more than half of the total household income
Taxation category	BIC (commercial revenues) – non professional	BIC (commercial revenues) – professional
Possible to opt for micro regime, subject to conditions	Yes	Yes
Added value (plus-value) taxation following the sale of the property	Real estate capital gains regime for individuals is applicable. Only sales give rise to taxation. No taxation is therefore required in the case of a donation, inheritance or dismemberment. The capital gain is calculated by deducting the purchase price from the sales price, and applying the reduction depending on the duration of the ownership. The income tax is 19% + 2% to 6% depending on the amount of the capital gains The social charges are 17.2% More details here	You are taxed on the capital gain recorded between the market value and the book value of the property in the context of a sale, an inheritance or a donation. It is possible to obtain a total or partial exemption from this capital gains tax. This is only the case if your rental income is less than 90,000 euros (or partial for a turnover between 90,000 € and 126,000 €) and your activity has been carried out for at least 5 years. * short-term capital gains (sale after less than 2 years of ownership) – taxed at your global household income tax rate * long-term capital gains (sale after more than 2 years of ownership) – flat rate of 30% (12.8% income tax and 17.2% social charges) More details here
Loss imputation	Deficits can be carried forward for a period of ten years and only on profits coming from your LMNP	Deficits are chargeable on your entire income, without limitation of amount and for six years.
Depreciation	Deductible from revenue, under the regime réel	Deductible from revenue, under the regime réel
Subject to social charges on rental income	No, if the income is less than 23 000. Otherwise, yes.	Yes. You also benefit from the social security by validating 1 to 4 quarters per year for pension
IFI (Impôt sur fortune immobiliere) tax on real estate forturne (above 1.3 per family unit)	Possibility of extemption, subject to conditions	Possibility of extemption, subject to conditions

Micro vs Régime réel

	Régime Micro-BIC	Régime Réel
Conditions (as of 2025)	* non classified properties – turnover less than 15 000€ per year * clasified properties – turnover less than 77 700€ per year	* obligatory if revenue above the micro limits * can opt in voluntarily
Social charges	Payable on turnover	Payable on net income, with a fixed minimum
Book-keeping	Ultra-simplified, no separate annual declaration	Need to keep proper books and file a separate business annual declaration
Income tax	Paid on turnover, after applying a reduction: * 50% for classified properties (71% for revenues in 2024) * 30% for non-classified properties (50% for revenues in 2024)	Paid on net income

VAT

Tourist furnished accommodation is normally not a subject to VAT, unless your services a equivalent to hotel services, meaning that you provide at least 3 out of 4 from the following services:

• Breakfast
• Daily cleaning of premises
• Provision of household linen
• Reception, even non-personalized

Other taxes

You need to pay other taxes as well, regardless of whether you’re LMNP/LMP, micro or réel

• taxe fonciere – property tax
• taxe d’habitation – housing tax
• CFE – local business tax

Energy Performance Diagnostic (DPE)

It will be mandatory for all newly offered furnished tourist accommodation in a tense area and subject to authorization for change of use. These accommodations will have to provide proof of a DPE classified (This system only applies in metropolitan France):

• up to F from 2025 (owners can no longer rent accommodation classified G from January 1, 2025);
• up to E from January 1, 2028..

From 2034, all furnished tourist accommodation will have to be classified between A and D. A period of 10 years is thus given to existing owners to comply. The mayor will be able to ask the owner to provide him with the valid DPE of the furnished tourist accommodation. The penalty incurred by the owner who rents their furnished tourist accommodation in violation of the rules relating to the DPE is an administrative fine of 5,000 euros maximum.‍

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to receive personalised information about your business project.

Important: Every situation is different and may need professional advice. The information on the Compte Plus website is general and should not replace legal, accounting, or tax counsel. If in doubt, contact a specialist for tailored advice.