The three exemption routes
The French fiscal representative obligation sits in Article 244 bis A of the Code général des impôts. It applies to any non-resident seller of French real estate above a price threshold, unless one of three named carve-outs applies. The carve-outs are cumulative: if any one of them is satisfied, you do not appoint a representative. Nothing else exempts you, not a treaty benefit, not a notaire's personal guarantee, not the fact that the property is loss-making. Read the three routes carefully and identify yours before you sign the mandate with the estate agent.
View data as table
| Exemption route | Share (indicative) |
|---|---|
| EU and EEA residents | 34% |
| Sales under €150,000 | 18% |
| 22 plus years of holding | 11% |
| Former principal residence | 5% |
| Representative required | 32% |
Route 1: EU and EEA residency
If you are tax resident in an EU member state, in Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein, you are exempt. The rationale is administrative cooperation: France already exchanges tax data with these countries under the mutual-assistance directive, so the representative guarantee is unnecessary. Note the absentees on this list. Switzerland is not in the EEA, Monaco is not, and the United Kingdom fell out of the list on 1 January 2021 when Brexit completed. A UK resident selling in January 2026 needs a representative; a German resident in the same situation does not.
Route 2: the €150,000 threshold
If the share of the sale price attributable to each non-resident seller is at or below €150,000, the obligation is waived. The wording matters. On a jointly owned property sold for €280,000 by two non-resident spouses owning 50/50, each spouse is selling €140,000 of rights; the threshold is respected and no representative is needed. On the same €280,000 property owned 100 percent by one spouse, the threshold is crossed and a representative becomes mandatory. This apportionment rule catches out a surprising number of single-owner sales just above €150,000. Do not round; the tax code uses the precise sale price net of agency fees.
Route 3: 22 or 30 years of holding
If the taxable gain is fully exempt after the statutory taper, no representative is needed, because there is no tax to guarantee. The taper for income-tax CGT hits zero at 22 complete years of ownership; the taper for social charges only hits zero at 30 complete years. If your holding period is between 22 and 30 years, you still owe social charges on a reducing base, and you therefore still need a representative. Full exemption, on both fronts, is the 30-year mark measured at the anniversary of the acquisition date, not the calendar year.
The former principal residence exception
A narrower carve-out exists for former residents of France who sell a property that was their principal residence at the moment they became non-resident, subject to strict conditions: the sale must occur no later than 31 December of the tenth year following the move, the property must not have been rented out during the absence, and the exemption is capped at €150,000 of gain per seller. When it applies, both CGT and social charges disappear on that capped slice, and the representative obligation disappears with them for the exempt portion.
A worked example
An Australian resident sold an apartment in Lyon in 2026 for €220,000. Bought in 2000 for €95,000, held 24 years, no renovations. Income-tax gain fully exempt (holding passes 22 years), but social charges still apply on a base reduced by roughly 60 percent, giving taxable social-charge base of around €50,000. At the standard 17.2 percent, that is a bill of roughly €8,600. Australia is outside the EU and EEA, and the sale price is above €150,000. None of the three routes fits: a representative is appointed, fee around €1,500. If the sale had been structured as two 50/50 shares by spouses, the per-seller share would have been €110,000, the threshold would have held, and no representative would have been needed.
Pitfall to avoid
A tax treaty is not an exemption. Several non-residents assume that a favourable France-Country X treaty removes the representative obligation because it lowers the effective tax rate. It does not. The treaty allocates the right to tax between the two countries; the representative regime is a separate procedural obligation under domestic French law. Treaty-based arguments belong on the tax return, not in the mandate discussion with the notaire. Trying to invoke a treaty to skip the representative is the single fastest way to miss your deed date.
One pro-level tip
If you are close to the €150,000 threshold and jointly own with a spouse, check the ownership split on the original purchase deed before the estate agent prints the sale mandate. A purely symbolic 90/10 split, common on files where one spouse contributed most of the down payment, will push the majority owner above €150,000 and trigger the obligation even though the other spouse is well under. Rebalancing the ownership to 50/50 through a changement de régime matrimonial takes a few months and a notaire's fee of around €2,500, but on borderline files it can save €3,000 to €5,000 of representative fee and remove the guarantee obligation altogether.
Key takeaways
- Three exemption routes: EU or EEA residence, sale at or under €150,000 per seller, and 22 or 30-year full taper.
- Switzerland, Monaco, and the United Kingdom are outside the EU or EEA route; their residents follow the non-resident regime.
- The €150,000 threshold is per seller, not per deed; ownership splits can swing a borderline file in or out of the rule.
- Treaty benefits lower tax rates, not procedural obligations; they never exempt you from appointing a representative.
Frequently asked questions
Does Switzerland count as EEA for this rule?
No. Switzerland is neither EU nor EEA. Swiss residents are treated like any other non-EU resident and must appoint an accredited representative when the sale exceeds €150,000, unless another exemption applies.
Is the €150,000 threshold per sale or per seller?
Per seller. A couple selling a €280,000 property jointly owned 50/50 is two €140,000 shares and falls under the threshold; the same couple selling a property owned solely by one spouse crosses the threshold on the full €280,000.
I am French but living abroad. Do I still benefit from exemptions?
Exemptions depend on your tax residence, not your nationality. A French citizen living in Dubai is a non-resident for this rule and follows the non-resident regime in full, including the representative obligation.
I held the property 25 years. Am I fully exempt?
At 25 years, income-tax CGT is fully abated but social charges are not, since social charges only vanish at 30 years. The representative obligation still applies if the sale price crosses €150,000 and you are outside the EU or EEA.