Expats that have a second home in France will have complete exemption from the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) from September 1 if they have owned the property for more than 22 years. This means that any expats looking to sell their property will not lose out on as much of their profit as they would have before the changes taking place.
Not only is CGT applied to properties in France but it is also imposed on UK properties owned by expats. Similarly holiday properties sold in France may also be subject to UK capital gains tax.
The 22 year bar is still higher than the 15 year cut-off point that was in place before February 2012. French President François Hollande recently said that extending the time France from 15 to 30 years in February 2012 was a mistake and was partly to blame for the slowing of the property market.
This will be good news to the many retired expats in France that are considering selling their French properties and returning to their families in the UK.
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