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You let an unfurnished property

Reporting my rental income

Choose between the flat-rate scheme and actual expenses — the standard allowance is not always the better deal —, review the rent within the index limit, estimate the property tax due, issue proper rent receipts, then complete the rental-income return (form 2044) or its special version (form 2044-SPE). 8 steps, from the lease to the return.

Start here: Reporting French property income

Understand: flat-rate or actual expenses, deductible costs, rental losses

  1. Step 1 of 8
    CoursePaid individually26 min

    Reporting French property income

    Flat-rate scheme or actual costs priced over the three-year commitment, deductible works and property losses, then the 2044 through to the sale: three modules following Hélène's rented flat. All the prose is free to read; only the quizzes are sold.

Compute: flat-rate or actual, rent review against the index, property tax

  1. Step 2 of 8
    CalculatorFree result

    Micro-foncier or actual-expense regime: comparison for an unfurnished rental

    Below the micro-foncier threshold, the 30 % flat allowance applies by default; the actual-expense regime deducts your expenses and loan interest and can create a deficit chargeable against your overall income — the regime retained is the one with the lower total tax (income tax + social levies).
  2. Step 3 of 8
    CalculatorFree result

    Rent review using the French rent reference index (IRL)

    The reviewed rent equals the current rent multiplied by the IRL of the lease's reference quarter for the current year, divided by the IRL of the same quarter of the previous year — unless the dwelling is rated F or G, in which case the rent can no longer be reviewed.
  3. Step 4 of 8
    CalculatorFree result

    French property tax estimate

    Take the cadastral rental value and the rates from your tax notice: the taxable base is half the rental value, multiplied by the rate voted by your local authorities; the household waste collection tax uses the same base, and the state adds its collection fees.

File: rent receipts, the rental-income return (form 2044) or its special version (form 2044-SPE), then carry the net rental income onto form 2042

  1. Step 5 of 8
    FormFree5 min

    French rent receipt (quittance de loyer) and partial-payment receipt

    Free, on request, rent and charges shown separately — and since April 2024, refusing one is an offence. The trap: a partial payment calls for a receipt, never a quittance. Generate either as PDF and Word.
  2. Step 6 of 8
    FormFree30 min

    Form 2044 — rental income, real regime

    Unfurnished-letting rents, deductible charges line by line, the property result and its carry-over to the 2042: the real-regime guide, the micro-foncier trade-off, and the mistakes that cost a reassessment.
  3. Step 7 of 8
    FormFree25 min

    Form 2044-SPE — rental income under special schemes

    The return for derogatory regimes: Perissol-to-Scellier depreciation, historic monuments, Malraux, Denormandie, Loc'Avantages. The most common trap is not in the boxes: it is using it for a FURNISHED letting, which falls under BIC.
  4. Step 8 of 8
    FormFree30 min

    French form 2042 — income-tax return

    The annual individual return: deadlines by département, key boxes (salaries, capital, property), annexes, flat-tax vs scale option and mistakes to avoid.

The other paths

A different procedure, the same principle: the three pillars in order.

Read in French