Transfer duties at 5% in France: who pays, who is exempt

What the law changed

Transfer duties on an older home comprise a département share, a municipal share of 1.20% and assessment and collection charges (impots.gouv.fr). For the département share, article 1594 D of the code général des impôts (General Tax Code) sets a statutory rate of 3.80%, which each département may vary between 1.20% and 4.50% (ANIL, analysis of the Finance Act for 2025). The result is the rate voted by the département (art. 1594 D), which the DGFiP schedule publishes in its own column.

Article 116 of Act no. 2025-127 adds a temporary derogation:

• Ceiling raised to 5% for deeds executed and agreements concluded between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028 (II, A).
• Entry into force depending on the date of notification of the council’s decision (III): notified between 16 April and 30 November 2026, it applies from 1 January 2027; between 1 December 2026 and 15 April 2027, from the first day of the second month following, a window added by the Finance Act for 2026 (ANIL); between 16 April and 30 November 2027, from 1 January 2028 (ANIL).
• Automatic return: for deeds executed from 1 April 2028, the rate reverts to the one in force on 31 January 2025 in the départements that raised theirs (IV).

The départements at 5%

The 1 June 2026 edition is the most recent offered on the “Droits d’enregistrement” (registration duties) page of impots.gouv.fr. The figures below come from our dmto.json file, which reproduces this PDF line by line.

• 88 lines out of 100 show 5.00% for buyers who are not first-time buyers. A line does not always correspond to a département: the Collectivité européenne d’Alsace covers the Bas-Rhin and the Haut-Rhin in a single line, while the Rhône and the Lyon metropolitan area take up two.
• 10 lines remain at 4.50% for everyone: Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Charente, Drôme, Lozère, Oise, Saône-et-Loire, Guadeloupe and Mayotte.
• Indre: 3.80% for everyone, the rate voted by the département (art. 1594 D), with no increase.
• Hautes-Pyrénées: 4.50% for buyers who are not first-time buyers and 3.80% for first-time buyers, the rate voted by the département (art. 1594 D).

The full calculation, département by département, is on our frais de notaire (notary fees) page.

The first-time buyer exemption: the exact conditions

The text is short: “A of this II does not apply where the property acquired constitutes for the acquirer a first home within the meaning of I of article L. 31-10-3 of the Construction and Housing Code and is intended for use as their main residence” (art. 116, II, B) (our translation).

Two cumulative conditions follow:

1. First home. Article L31-10-3, I, covers individuals “who have not owned their main residence or have not acquired the real property rights to their main residence under a bail réel solidaire (solidarity lease) during the two years preceding the issue of the loan offer”. This is the same definition as for the PTZ (interest-free loan).
2. Main residence. The home must be intended for this use. A second home or a buy-to-let investment pays the raised rate.

The two-year condition is lifted in the event of disability (carte mobilité inclusion (inclusion mobility card) marked “invalidité”, or a category 2 or 3 invalidity pension), certain disability-related allowances, or if a disaster has made the main residence permanently uninhabitable (L31-10-3, I).

What rate does the first-time buyer pay? The rate voted by the département (art. 1594 D), which the DGFiP schedule shows in a separate column: 4.50% on 98 of the 100 lines of dmto.json, but 3.80% in two départements, the Indre (where this rate applies to everyone) and the Hautes-Pyrénées. Savoie is at 4.50% under article 1594 D; it also applies a reduced rate of 4.00% under article 1594 F septies, subject to a condition (see below).

A further reduction is possible

The same article 116 created article 1594 F septies of the General Tax Code. A département may, by decision of its council, reduce the rate or grant an exemption for acquisitions that constitute a first home in the same sense. The acquirer must then undertake to use the property as their main residence, exclusively and continuously, for at least five years; a decree sets out the cases where this undertaking is not required (art. 116, I, version published in the Journal officiel, the official gazette).

In dmto.json, only one line carries a rate of this type: Savoie. Its rate voted under article 1594 D is 4.50% (5% for buyers who are not first-time buyers); the 4.00% rate appears in the article 1594 F septies column of the DGFiP PDF. It is a reduction reserved for first-time buyers who undertake to make the home their main residence for at least five years; without that undertaking, they pay 4.50%.

Worked example

An older flat of €250,000, in a département at 5%. Assessment charges of 2.37% of the département share (impots.gouv.fr):

The difference is €1,279.62. In both cases, the contribution de sécurité immobilière (land registry fee, 0.1%, at least €15) and the notary’s fees are added (impots.gouv.fr).

Which professional to consult

The notaire (notary) calculates and collects transfer duties: it is to them that you declare your status as a first-time buyer and your intention to occupy the home as your main residence. The courtier en crédit (mortgage broker) builds these costs into the financing plan, alongside the apport personnel (deposit) and the capacité d’emprunt (borrowing capacity).