Notary fees in overseas France in 2026: Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte
A scale of its own, a different VAT, locally voted tax rates.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
Buying in Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion or Mayotte does not cost the same fees as in mainland France. The notary’s emolument scale is higher there, with rates applicable since 1 March 2024 published by service-public.fr: from 4.644 % in French Guiana to 5.263 % in Réunion and Mayotte on the first bracket. VAT on these emoluments is 8.5 % in the French Caribbean and Réunion, nil in French Guiana and Mayotte. Transfer tax follows the rate voted by each authority: 5% in Martinique, French Guiana and Réunion, 4.50% in Guadeloupe and Mayotte. For a €220,000 house in Réunion, the total reaches €18,170, against €17,614 in Paris. The calculator applies these scales automatically when you choose an overseas département. The table below compares all five overseas départements with Paris for the same purchase.
Overseas and mainland emoluments
Emoluments incl. VAT locally
€3,181
| Same sale in mainland France | €2,586 |
| VAT applied | 8.5 % |
| Emoluments excl. VAT locally | €2,931 |
Emolument scales by département
| Bracket | Mainland | Guadeloupe | Martinique | French Guiana | Réunion and Mayotte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €0 to €6,500 | 3.87 % | 4.76 % | 4.799 % | 4.644 % | 5.263 % |
| €6,500 to €17,000 | 1.596 % | 1.963 % | 1.979 % | 1.915 % | 2.171 % |
| €17,000 to €60,000 | 1.064 % | 1.309 % | 1.319 % | 1.277 % | 1.447 % |
| above €60,000 | 0.799 % | 0.983 % | 0.991 % | 0.959 % | 1.087 % |
Full fees for the same purchase
| Département | Tax rate | Transfer tax | Emoluments incl. VAT | Total fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guadeloupe | 4.50 % | €12,775 | €2,877 | €16,740 |
| Martinique | 5.00 % | €13,901 | €2,900 | €17,889 |
| French Guiana | 5.00 % | €13,901 | €2,586 | €17,547 |
| Réunion | 5.00 % | €13,901 | €3,181 | €18,170 |
| Mayotte | 4.50 % | €12,775 | €2,931 | €16,766 |
| Paris | 5.00 % | €13,901 | €2,586 | €17,614 |
The table shows that the gap with mainland France comes mostly from the emoluments. In Réunion, despite VAT reduced to 8.5 %, they far exceed those in Paris. In French Guiana and Mayotte, the absence of VAT partly offsets the higher scale. On transfer tax, Guadeloupe and Mayotte, still at 4.50%, are cheaper than Martinique, French Guiana and Réunion, which moved to 5%.
Buying overseas from mainland France or abroad
The legal framework of a purchase in the overseas départements is French law: same notary system, same preliminary contract and final deed, same transfer tax mechanism. What changes is the local market and the tariff. A buyer living in mainland France or abroad can sign through a power of attorney, and the notary’s office will usually send the documents by email before the appointment. Remember that the higher emolument scale applies to all the notary’s proportional fees, including for a gift or an inheritance declaration on an overseas property.
What the calculator uses for overseas France
It applies each département’s scale and VAT, the départemental rate from the DGFiP table of 1 June 2026, the standard municipal surcharge and the land registry contribution. Two approximations are flagged on the result: the formalities fee is the mainland one, as service-public.fr publishes no overseas scale for it, and the reduced surcharge in Lamentin and Tsingoni is not modelled. First-time buyers get the same advantage as in mainland France where the 5% rate was voted: in Martinique, French Guiana and Réunion.
Gifts and inheritances overseas
The overseas scales are not limited to sales. All the notary’s proportional emoluments are raised in the same way, including those on a gift or an inheritance declaration involving a property in one of the five overseas départements. The gift tax and inheritance tax scales themselves, on the other hand, are national: allowances and rates are the same as in mainland France. If you are planning to pass on a house in Réunion or Martinique, the gift calculator gives the tax; ask the local notary for the emoluments, which this site calculates only at the mainland gift scale.
A note on the official Guadeloupe example
While checking the scales, we found a calculation error in the example on the service-public.fr page: for €200,000 in Guadeloupe it gives €2,426.58 excluding VAT, counting €1,348.20 for the last bracket instead of €1,376.20. The rates shown on the same page are consistent with those of the other départements, all raised in the same proportion compared with mainland France. This site applies the rates and obtains €2,454.59 excluding VAT; its tests reproduce the Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte examples exactly.