News Digest: The Property Declaration d’Occupation is Back! Plus, How to Get a French Visa in 2024

If you owned a property in France last year, then you should have filled in the new 2023 property declaration, known as a Declaration d’Occupation (if you didn’t – read on; this concerns you!). The French tax office has now announced that this form will once again be required in 2024 and beyond (see here for the full text in French). But don’t worry – not everyone will need to fill it in!

The good news is that if you filled this out last year, you don’t need to do it again, provided that the “occupation” (how the property is used) of the property has not changed. So, if you declared your property as a second home and it’s still used as a second home, then you don’t need to do anything.

However, if you didn’t fill out the form last year for whatever reason, you must do it this year. You must also fill in the form again if the use of the property has changed – for example, if you were living in your property last year, but now you have moved back to the UK and are using it as a holiday home or if the property was previously used as a second home and you are now renting it out full-time.

All new property owners who have not already made a declaration must also fill this out in 2024.

From now on, any changes to the “occupation” of the property on January 1st of each year (i.e. whether it’s a primary residence or second home) must be declared before June 30th of that same year.

Another bit of good news, especially for those who struggled to access the form online last year, is that a paper version of the form will also be made available this year. We don’t yet have a date for when this will be released, but we’ll keep you informed. You can also enquire at your local tax office.

Read our guide to filling in the Declaration d’occupation.