Taxe d'habitation on primary residence: abolished for everyone
Since 2023, the taxe d'habitation on primary residences has been permanently abolished for all French taxpayers. If you're still receiving a taxe d'habitation notice for your main home, it's likely an administrative error — notify your Service des Impôts des Particuliers immediately.
What remains: secondary residences and vacant properties
The taxe d'habitation still exists for secondary residences (properties you own but don't use as your main home) and for vacant properties in zones tendues. If you own such a property, you're subject to this tax. In some communes, a vacant property tax (TLV) may also apply.
You may qualify for an exemption even on a secondary residence
Certain people can benefit from an exemption or reduction on secondary residence taxe d'habitation, subject to income conditions: people over 60 whose income doesn't exceed a certain threshold, widows and widowers of any age, holders of the Allocation Adultes Handicapés (AAH), and people with a physical disability or invalidity preventing them from meeting their own needs.
How to claim your exemption
Submit a request to your Service des Impôts des Particuliers before 31 December of the tax year. Attach your latest income tax notice (to prove your resources are below the threshold), proof of your situation (disability card, AAH certificate, spouse's death certificate), and a copy of the taxe d'habitation notice you're challenging.
Received a notice you think is unjustified?
Don't pay without checking first. Check the exemption conditions on impots.gouv.fr. If you believe you qualify for an exemption, file a contentious claim with your SIP within the legal deadlines. The claim suspends the payment obligation — but pay anyway to avoid late penalties, explicitly requesting a payment stay in your letter.