Emmanuel Macron's campaign promise in 2017, the abolition of the housing tax extends until 2023 for the wealthiest households.

Lawyer Roland Pérez tells you everything about this reform maintained despite the deterioration of public finances linked to the coronavirus.

DECRYPTION

Since 2018, the housing tax has gradually fallen to disappear, in 2020, for 80% of French people.

Yet most households do not know whether they are in that 80% or not.

They also do not know whether the audiovisual contribution, which accompanies the housing tax, is also removed from this year.

Lawyer Roland Pérez takes stock of this development, which is part of a campaign promise from Emmanuel Macron.

How is the housing tax calculated?

It is the local authorities which collect the housing tax.

It is therefore a different local tax from one municipality to another, determined according to the house or the apartment that one occupies (its size, its level of comfort) and the personal situation, with the income and the composition of the household.

For owners or tenants of a main or secondary residence, the housing tax is therefore de rigueur.

What does the reform provide?

The reform of the housing tax by the 2020 finance law provided for the abolition of the housing tax only on main residences.

This concerns 80% of households that will receive a zero payment notice.

It is the reference tax income for 2019 that allows us to know whether or not we must pay the housing tax of the occupied housing.

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An income ceiling is set, below which the housing tax is not due.

You have to refer to a table of reference tax revenues to know if you still have to pay the housing tax.

For a one-person household, for example, you must have earned less than 27,706 euros.

For a two-person household, the ceiling is raised to 44,124 euros.

Beyond this income, the amount is decreasing.

How do I know if I am affected?

The Ministry of the Economy has set up a simulator to find out whether or not you are still subject to housing tax for 2020. From 2020 to 2023, for the remaining 20% ​​of households, the reduction will be 30% in 2021, then 65% for 2022 with a total elimination for 2023. 

What about the contribution to public broadcasting?

It had been imagined for a time to remove the contribution to the public audiovisual sector.

You should know that it alone generates more than 3 billion euros in annual net revenue.

In the end, she was maintained.

All holders of a minimum television set must pay the tax which increases each year with inflation, except since 2019. In 2020, it was even decided to reduce it to set its amount at 138 euros.

The French beneficiaries of various aids such as the disabled adult or disability allowance, people with a reference tax income equal to zero or students, people over 74 years of age or residents of retirement homes are exempt from this contribution.

In the event of proven fraud, a fine of 150 euros may be imposed.

Finally, it should be noted that these are agents of the Public Treasury who can come to private homes to verify the presence or not of a television.