I live in Switzerland, how do I sell or buy property in France?

The 1966 treaty gives the capital gain to France

Paragraph 1 of article 15 of the treaty between France and Switzerland of 9 September 1966 is unambiguous, gains from the alienation of immovable property are taxable in the state where the property is located. The official tax bulletin adds that the French levy applied to a Swiss resident may not exceed that of a French resident, as the Conseil d'État ruled on 20 November 2013, and the rate is now the same for everyone, 19 % under article 244 bis A of the tax code, in full discharge of income tax.

For its part, Switzerland generally exempts the gain already taxed in France, while it may take it into account to set the rate on the rest of the income, depending on the canton and the treaty. The seller's fiduciary confirms it at the time of the cantonal return, with the French notaire's certificate of tax paid.

Social levies, 7.5 % for those insured in Switzerland

Social levies on the gain reach 17.2 % in the general case. Paragraph I ter of article L. 136-7 of the social security code exempts people covered by a compulsory social security scheme of a state of the European Economic Area or of Switzerland who are not covered by a French scheme. The notes to form 2048-IMM confirm it in so many words for people under a Swiss social security scheme, exempt from CSG and CRDS, who pay only the 7.5 % solidarity levy. The seller proves it with a certificate of affiliation to the AVS or to their Swiss health insurer, handed to the notaire before the deed.

The cross-border worker who works in Geneva but lives in Haute-Savoie or the Ain is not concerned by this page, they are a French tax resident, taxed as such, and most often covered by Swiss health insurance or French social security according to their right of option.

Tax representative and exemptions, what changes outside the European Economic Area

Switzerland is not a party to the agreement on the European Economic Area. The Swiss resident who sells property in France for more than 150,000 €, held for less than 30 years, must therefore appoint an accredited tax representative, who is liable for the computation of the gain and for the tax. Below the threshold, or for a property held longer, the exemption from appointment is automatic. The question on the tax representative details who may act and what it costs.

The exemption of article 150 U II 2° of the tax code, 150,000 € of net gain, depends on nationality, not residence. It is open to nationals of a member state of the European Union or of another state party to the European Economic Area who were fiscally domiciled in France continuously for at least 2 years before the sale, and who sell by 31 December of the tenth year following their departure, or without time limit if they have had free disposal of the property since 1 January of the previous year. A French citizen who moved to Lausanne is entitled to it once. A Swiss citizen without the nationality of a Union state is not. The exemption of the former main residence sold by 31 December of the year after departure, for its part, does not look at nationality but at the state of settlement, which must be a member of the Union or bound to France by a treaty on administrative assistance and a treaty on assistance in recovery, a point the notaire checks for Switzerland before applying it.

Buying in France from Switzerland, rent and real estate wealth

Nothing prevents a Swiss resident from buying in France, the question on buying from abroad describes the path, from the preliminary contract signed remotely to the origin of funds checked by the notaire. Once an owner, they declare their rent in France at the minimum rate of 20 % or 30 %, the 1966 treaty also allocating property income to the state where the property stands, and Switzerland exempts it with progression for the rate. The same treaty covers taxes on wealth, so the French building remains subject to the French real estate wealth tax above 1.3 million euros, and the cantonal wealth tax takes it into account under the canton's rules.