French property transfer tax in 2026: rates, calculation and share of notary fees
The tax behind most of your notary fees, and the only item that changes from one département to another.
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Transfer tax, droits de mutation à titre onéreux (DMTO) in French, makes up about 80% of notary fees on a resale purchase. It combines three charges: the départemental tax, whose rate each département votes (5% in 88 tax areas as of 1 June 2026, 4.50% in 11 départements, 3.80% in Indre); the municipal surcharge, fixed at 1.20 %; and the State’s collection fee, equal to 2.37 % of the départemental tax. The overall rate thus reaches 6.319 % in a 5% département. On a €300,000 resale flat in Marseille, that is €18,956 of tax. Sales subject to VAT, on new builds, pay a reduced tax of 0.715 % instead. For an English speaker, the key point is that this is a regional tax, not a national one.
Your transfer tax
Transfer tax
€15,796
| Départemental tax (5.00 %) | €12,500 |
| Municipal tax (1.20 %) | €3,000 |
| Collection fee (2.37 % of départemental) | €296 |
Three taxes in one figure
On the notary’s statement, transfer tax often appears as a single line. It actually goes to three beneficiaries. The département takes the main share: it is one of its key revenue sources, which is why its income tracks the number of property sales in its area. The municipality (commune) receives the 1.20 % surcharge, with very rare local exceptions: as of 1 June 2026, only Lamentin in Guadeloupe and Tsingoni in Mayotte had cut their rate. The State takes a collection fee for the work of its services.
| Component | Goes to | Rate | On €300,000 (Bouches-du-Rhône) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Départemental tax | Département | 5.00 % | €15,000 |
| Municipal surcharge | Municipality | 1.20 % | €3,600 |
| Collection fee | State | 2.37 % of the départemental tax | €356 |
| Total transfer tax | 6.3185 % | €18,956 |
What is in the taxable base, and what is not
The tax is calculated on the price stated in the deed, plus any charges the buyer takes on that benefit the seller. Several items can come out of it if they are presented correctly. Furniture sold with the home, first: a removable kitchen, appliances and furniture, listed and valued at their real worth, are not real estate and do not bear the property tax. The agency commission, second, when the mandate makes it payable by the buyer: it pays for a service to the buyer, not for the property. The guides to agency fees and furniture put figures on both and on their limits.
Conversely, some amounts are added to the price: a capitalised life annuity in a viager sale, a seller’s debt taken over by the buyer, or work the buyer agrees to pay for on the seller’s behalf. The notary identifies them when drafting the deed; they are rare in an ordinary sale between private individuals.
A political choice by each département
Every year, départemental councils vote on their rate. The French tax administration (DGFiP) then publishes the table of applicable rates, updated monthly on impots.gouv.fr, which notaries apply on the date the final deed is signed. That date is what matters, not the date of the preliminary contract (compromis): a sale agreed in March and signed in June bears the June rate. The calculator on this site uses the table of 1 June 2026.
The 3.80% reference rate, which départements could already raise to 4.50%, can be lifted to 5% for deeds signed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028. This option, created by article 116 of the 2025 Finance Act, has been used by almost every département. It has one big exception: it does not apply to a first-time buyer purchasing a main home, who stays at 4.50%. See the guides to the rise to 5% and to first-time buyers.
Overall rates by département
| Départemental rate | Overall rate | Tax on €200,000 | Tax on €400,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.00 % | 6.319 % | €12,637 | €25,274 |
| 4.50 % | 5.807 % | €11,613 | €23,227 |
| 3.80 % | 5.09 % | €10,180 | €20,360 |
When is the tax reduced?
Outside new builds, several schemes lower the tax. Purchases of homes by social housing bodies, buy-backs of flats in distressed co-ownerships and certain overseas operations enjoy exemptions that each département chooses to apply or not; the DGFiP table lists them for each one. For a private buyer, the useful cases are simpler: first-time buyer, first property in Savoie, block sales with a tenant’s right of first refusal in Hautes-Pyrénées, and an allowance voted by Calvados on certain purchases. The calculator applies the first three; for the Calvados allowance, whose scope is limited, it invites you to ask the notary.
Buying out a partner’s share after a divorce, buying shares in a property company (SCI) or a viager sale follow separate rules that the calculator does not cover: the notary then works out a partition duty or a share transfer duty.