Form 2042-IFI — French real-estate wealth tax

The French real-estate wealth tax (impôt sur la fortune immobilière, IFI) applies to individuals whose NET real-estate assets exceed 1.3 million euros on 1 January. It is reported on an ANNEX return, form 2042-IFI, filed at the same time as the income tax return, between April and June depending on whether the return is filed online or on paper. Net taxable assets are obtained by adding up the assets entered on the form, then subtracting the debts entered on that same form. If net taxable assets are LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO €1,300,000, there is no IFI and NO return to file. Above that, the scale is progressive and the calculation starts at €800,000 — this is the main trap of the tax: the entry threshold and the starting point of the scale are not the same number. The taxpayer does not compute the amount: the tax authority calculates it from the items declared and issues a tax notice. Anyone with no income taxable to income tax files form 2042-IFI-COV alongside form 2042-IFI.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 12, 2026Official form2042-IFIGuide: about 45 min

Deadlines

On 1 January — the snapshot of the assets: It is the situation on 1 January of the tax year that counts: composition of the assets, value of the properties, and debts existing on that date.
Between April and June — filing: IFI is reported on form 2042-IFI AT THE SAME TIME as income, between April and June, depending on whether the return is filed online or on paper. Exact dates are in the tax calendar, reachable from the "Documentation utile" block of the page "Je déclare mon impôt sur la fortune immobilière".
Deductible debts must exist on 1 January: Debts relating to works carried out (box 9GF) must exist on 1 January of the tax year, have been contracted by the tax household in the IFI sense, and be actually borne by it.
The window for donations giving rise to a reduction: The donation reduction applies to payments made between the filing deadline for the 2024 income tax return and the filing deadline for the 2025 income tax return.
After filing — the tax notice: The IFI amount is calculated by the tax authority from the items entered on the return; the taxpayer then receives a tax notice showing the amount to pay.

Documents to prepare

Market value on 1 January of each built property held directly: main residence, houses, flats, garages, parking spaces, cellars
Market value on 1 January of undeveloped properties: building land, farmland, buildings under construction
Shares in companies and collective investment undertakings, French or foreign, and the items needed to calculate their real-estate fraction (article 973 of the French tax code)
Value of woods, forests and forestry grouping shares, declared at full value
Value of long-term leased farmland and of GFA or GAF shares
Evidence of works debts existing on 1 January (box 9GF) and of the other deductible debts
Amount of property tax due in respect of the properties concerned
Evidence of donations paid to eligible bodies within the open window
For the cap: total taxes due in France and abroad and total worldwide income for the previous year (annex 5, boxes 9PR and 9PX)
For the credit: amount of tax of similar characteristics paid outside France (annex 6)
Form 2042-IFI-COV if you have no income taxable to income tax

Download the official form (2042-IFI)

You download it from the official site — we never re-host a public document.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

Any individual whose NET taxable real-estate assets exceed €1,300,000 on 1 January — a company director holding business premises, shares in a property company (SCI) or rental buildings often falls within this without realising it
Assets held DIRECTLY: built properties (main residence, houses, flats, garages, parking spaces, cellars, etc.) and undeveloped properties (building land, farmland, buildings under construction, etc.)
Assets held INDIRECTLY: built and undeveloped properties held through shares in companies, in collective investment undertakings (OPC) or in other bodies — this is how SCI shares enter the tax base
Shares in companies and bodies established IN FRANCE OR OUTSIDE FRANCE, up to the fraction of their value representing real-estate assets or rights held directly or indirectly by the company
Taxpayers whose tax residence is in France, who alone may benefit from the IFI cap (plafonnement)
People resident in France owning real-estate assets and rights located abroad, taxable both in France and abroad: foreign tax of similar characteristics may be credited
Anyone with no income taxable to income tax: form 2042-IFI is then supplemented by form 2042-IFI-COV
NOT concerned: people whose net taxable assets are less than or equal to €1,300,000 — they must NOT file a return

Worked example

Example: net taxable assets of €2,000,000 and the three brackets that make it up

Claire runs a SARL and owns, on 1 January, her main residence, a leased commercial unit and 40 % of the shares in a family SCI. On form 2042-IFI she enters the market value of each directly held property, remembering to DEDUCT the 30 % allowance she benefits from on the market value of her main residence, then the fraction of the value of her SCI shares representing the company's real-estate assets, valued in accordance with article 973 of the French tax code. She then enters the deductible debts as liabilities: the outstanding capital of acquisition loans, the improvement expenses incurred, the property tax due in respect of the properties concerned, and — box 9GH — her theoretical IFI, which the official page expressly reminds taxpayers not to forget. Assets minus liabilities: her net taxable assets come to €2,000,000. The scale then applies bracket by bracket, and the calculation starts at €800,000 rather than €1,300,000: the bracket from 0 to €800,000 is taxed at 0 %, i.e. €0; the bracket from €800,000 to €1,300,000, i.e. €500,000, is taxed at 0.5 %, i.e. €2,500; the bracket from €1,300,000 to €2,000,000, i.e. €700,000, is taxed at 0.7 %, i.e. €4,900. The IFI comes to €7,400. Claire does NOT calculate this amount on her return: she declares values, and the tax authority calculates the tax and then sends her a tax notice. As her assets exceed €1,400,000, she is outside the discount (décote) band. Had she given €4,000 to a public-interest foundation within the open window, she could have deducted 75 % of that payment, i.e. €3,000, within the overall annual limit of €50,000 — provided the same amount is not used a second time for income tax.

How to fill it in, step by step

Fix the composition and value of your real-estate assets AS AT 1 JANUARY of the tax year: that date determines everything, not the filing date.
List the assets held DIRECTLY: built properties (main residence, houses, flats, garages, parking spaces, cellars) and undeveloped properties (building land, farmland, buildings under construction).
Deduct the 30 % allowance on the market value of your MAIN RESIDENCE — the official page makes this an express reminder, and it is the costliest omission on the form.
Declare woods, forests and shares in forestry groupings: the amount declared is exempt up to 75 %, and the exemption is calculated AUTOMATICALLY by the tax authority — do not deduct it yourself.
Declare farmland leased long-term and shares in GFA or GAF groupings: they are exempt up to three quarters where their total value does not exceed €101,897, and by half above that; the limit applies SEPARATELY to farmland and to GFA or GAF shares, and the taxable amount is calculated automatically by the tax authority.
Declare assets held INDIRECTLY through shares in companies or collective investment undertakings, by applying to the value of the shares, valued in accordance with article 973 of the French tax code, the ratio of the actual market value of the taxable real-estate assets or rights to the actual market value of all the company's assets.
Enter debts relating to WORKS carried out in box 9GF: they must exist on 1 January, have been contracted by the tax household in the IFI sense, and be actually borne by it.
Enter the other deductible debts: expenses of acquiring real-estate assets or rights; improvement, construction, reconstruction or extension expenses; maintenance expenses actually borne by the owner or borne on the tenant's behalf by the owner without reimbursement obtained by 31 December of the year the tenant left; taxes due in respect of the properties concerned, for example property tax; and share acquisition expenses, in proportion to the value of the taxable assets.
Remember to add your THEORETICAL IFI to your debts in box 9GH: the official page flags it expressly among the other debts.
If you claim the cap, calculate the total of your taxes and income used for that calculation on ANNEX 5 of form 2042-IFI, boxes 9PR and 9PX; the cap itself is then calculated by the tax authority.
If you credit a tax of similar characteristics paid outside France, complete the foreign tax calculation sheet, ANNEX 6 of form 2042-IFI.
File form 2042-IFI AT THE SAME TIME as your income tax return, between April and June — and attach form 2042-IFI-COV if you have no income taxable to income tax.

The form, line by line

Box 9GF — debts relating to works carried out: Three cumulative conditions: the debt must EXIST on 1 January of the tax year, have been CONTRACTED by the tax household in the IFI sense, and be ACTUALLY BORNE by it. A debt contracted in February of the tax year does not qualify.
Box 9GH — other debts, including theoretical IFI: This is where the other deductible debts go, and the official page stresses a counter-intuitive point: add the amount of your THEORETICAL IFI to your debts.
30 % allowance on the main residence: It applies to the MARKET VALUE of the main residence and must be deducted by the taxpayer — unlike the exemptions on woods, forests and farmland, which the tax authority calculates automatically.
Woods, forests and shares in forestry groupings: The amount DECLARED is exempt up to 75 %, and the exemption is calculated automatically by the tax authority: you declare the full value, not the value after exemption.
Farmland leased long-term, GFA and GAF shares: Exempt up to three quarters where their TOTAL value — whatever the number of leases or shares — does not exceed €101,897, and by half above that limit. The €101,897 limit applies SEPARATELY to farmland and to GFA or GAF shares.
Company shares (article 973 of the French tax code): You declare the fraction of the share value representing real-estate assets or rights, by applying to the value of the shares, valued in accordance with article 973, a ratio equal to the actual market value of the taxable real-estate assets or rights (and where applicable the value of the shares representing those same assets) over the actual market value of all the assets of the company or body.
Annex 5, boxes 9PR and 9PX — the cap: Reserved for taxpayers whose tax residence is in France. IFI is reduced by the difference between, on the one hand, the total of IFI and of taxes due in France and abroad on the income and products of the previous year and, on the other, 75 % of total worldwide income net of professional expenses for the previous year. The taxpayer calculates those totals; the tax authority then calculates the cap.
Annex 6 — tax paid abroad: Calculation sheet for tax paid outside France whose characteristics are similar to those of IFI. No credit may be taken if the asset that bore the foreign tax is not taken into account in determining the French tax, and the creditable amount is limited to the fraction of French tax relating to assets located outside France only.

Good to know

The ENTRY threshold and the starting point of the SCALE are two different numbers: you become liable above €1,300,000, but once liable the calculation starts at €800,000. The official page states this as a remark; in practice it is the first source of estimation error.
Below the threshold there is nothing to do: if net taxable assets are less than or equal to €1,300,000, you are not subject to IFI and must therefore NOT file a return.
IFI is not a self-assessed tax: the amount is calculated by the tax authority from the items declared, and a tax notice follows.
The progressive scale applies bracket by bracket: 0 % from 0 to €800,000, 0.5 % from €800,000 to €1,300,000, 0.7 % from €1,300,000 to €2,570,000, 1 % from €2,570,000 to €5,000,000, 1.25 % from €5,000,000 to €10,000,000, and 1.5 % above €10,000,000.
Donations give rise to a 75 % reduction of the payments, within an overall annual limit of €50,000, to bodies established in France or in a European State — including public-interest associations whose purpose is financing and supporting business creation and takeover (ADIE, Réseau Entreprendre, France Initiative) and employer groupings for integration and qualification (GEIQ).
The same payment cannot be used twice: if it meets the conditions for deduction both for income tax AND for IFI, the sum may be SPLIT between the two reductions, but not counted twice.
Shares in companies ESTABLISHED OUTSIDE FRANCE enter the tax base on the same footing as French ones, up to their real-estate fraction.
Indirect holding is the most frequent blind spot for a company director: shares in the SCI that owns the business premises are in the tax base up to their real-estate fraction, even if the SCI is not the subject of the year.

Common mistakes

Believing the scale starts at €1,300,000: the taxation threshold is indeed €1,300,000, but once you are subject to it, the calculation starts at €800,000.
Filing a return when net taxable assets are less than or equal to €1,300,000: in that case you must NOT file one.
Forgetting to deduct the 30 % allowance on the market value of the main residence.
Deducting the 75 % exemption on woods and forests yourself: the amount declared is exempt up to 75 % and the calculation is done automatically by the tax authority.
Applying the €101,897 limit globally to farmland AND to GFA or GAF shares: it applies separately to each.
Leaving out assets held indirectly through company shares: they enter the tax base up to the fraction of their value representing real-estate assets.
Deducting a works debt contracted after 1 January: the debt must exist on that date, have been contracted by the tax household in the IFI sense and be actually borne by it.
Forgetting to add THEORETICAL IFI to debts in box 9GH.
Using the same donation twice, for income tax and for IFI: the non-cumulation rule is explicit, only a split is possible.
Crediting foreign tax on an asset that is not taken into account in determining the French tax: no credit is then possible.
Filing form 2042-IFI alone when you have no income taxable to income tax: form 2042-IFI-COV must then be completed in addition to form 2042-IFI.

Frequently asked questions

From what level of assets must IFI be declared?

Above €1,300,000 of NET taxable real-estate assets on 1 January. At €1,300,000 or below, you are not subject to IFI and must not file a return.

What is the IFI scale?

It is progressive by bracket: 0 % from 0 to €800,000, 0.5 % from €800,000 to €1,300,000, 0.7 % from €1,300,000 to €2,570,000, 1 % from €2,570,000 to €5,000,000, 1.25 % from €5,000,000 to €10,000,000, and 1.5 % above €10,000,000. The taxation threshold corresponds to net taxable assets of €1,300,000, but once you are liable, the calculation starts at €800,000.

When and how is form 2042-IFI filed?

It is an ANNEX return: it is filed at the same time as the income tax return, between April and June depending on whether it is filed online or on paper. Exact dates are in the tax calendar. If you have no income taxable to income tax, you must complete form 2042-IFI-COV AND form 2042-IFI.

How are net taxable assets calculated?

By adding up the assets declared on form 2042-IFI, from which the debts entered on that same form are subtracted. Assets comprise property held directly (built and undeveloped) and property held indirectly through shares in companies or collective investment undertakings.

Do my SCI shares enter the tax base?

Yes, up to the fraction of their value representing real-estate assets or rights held directly or indirectly by the company. You apply to the value of the shares, valued in accordance with article 973 of the French tax code, a ratio equal to the actual market value of the taxable real-estate assets or rights over the actual market value of all the company's assets. This applies to companies established in France and outside France alike.

Which debts can I deduct?

Debts relating to works carried out (box 9GF), and among the other debts: expenses of acquiring real-estate assets or rights; improvement, construction, reconstruction or extension expenses; maintenance expenses actually borne by the owner or borne on the tenant's behalf without reimbursement obtained by 31 December of the year the tenant left; taxes due in respect of the properties concerned, such as property tax; and share acquisition expenses, in proportion to the value of the taxable assets. The page also reminds taxpayers to add theoretical IFI in box 9GH.

What is the IFI cap?

It is reserved for taxpayers whose tax residence is in France. IFI is reduced by the difference between the total of IFI and of taxes due in France and abroad on the income and products of the previous year, and 75 % of total worldwide income net of professional expenses for the previous year (after deducting only the category losses whose deduction is allowed by article 156 of the French tax code) together with income exempt from income tax or subject to a final withholding tax in the same year, in France and outside France. The totals are calculated on annex 5 (boxes 9PR and 9PX) and the cap is then calculated by the tax authority.

Is there a discount near the threshold?

Yes, only for net taxable assets between €1,300,000 and €1,400,000. CAUTION: the official page writes the formula as "17 500 – (1,25 x montant du patrimoine net taxable)", which, applied literally, gives a negative result for any assets above €14,000 — that is, for every taxpayer concerned. That formula cannot be applied as served. We reproduce it without correcting it and without inventing another: if your assets fall within that band, have the discount confirmed by your tax office or by the tax notice, which is calculated by the tax authority in any event.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Real estate wealth tax (IFI) calculator

Understand this form: the related course

Paying the property wealth tax

Related forms

Official sources

Read in French

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.