Everything you need to know about vacation rental taxation

The year 2016 saw several legislative changes, and some of these directly affect you as a host on platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, or HomeAway. Income tax, social security contributions, income reporting, and registration with your local town hall: we explain everything, point by point.

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From the moment your apartment is listed for short-term rental on Airbnb, Booking, or HomeAway, you need to be aware of the applicable tax regime. Indeed, since the end of 2016, many legislative changes have taken place. Before listing your property for seasonal rental, or before you entrust us with its full management, make sure you are in compliance with the law.

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Your income tax

Whether your furnished rental is "occasional" or "habitual," all income derived from it now falls under the category of industrial and commercial profits (previously, some of this income was taxable under the category of property income).

For income received in 2024 and declared in 2025: If your annual revenue does not exceed €77,700 for a standard furnished rental, you can apply the "Micro-BIC" regime with a flat-rate allowance of 50% (minimum of €305).

For income received in 2025 and declared in 2026: The Le Meur Law (Law No. 2024-1039 of November 19, 2024) has significantly modified the thresholds and allowances:

• Non-classified furnished tourist rentals: threshold reduced to €15,000 with an allowance of only 30%. Classified furnished tourist rentals: threshold of €77,700 with an allowance of 50% (compared to 71% and €188,700 previously).

The tax administration website provides all the necessary information here.

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Your social security contributions

Since January 1, 2018, individuals earning more than €23,000 per year from seasonal rentals (short-term rentals) are liable for social security contributions. The RSI (Social Regime for the Self-Employed) was abolished in 2018 and replaced by the Social Security for the Self-Employed (SSI), which has been integrated into the general regime since 2020. Affected landlords must register with the SSI via the Urssaf. Landlords of classified properties may benefit from a preferential rate for social contributions.

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Automatic reporting of your income by platforms to the tax authorities

Since 2020, online platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Abritel, etc.) have been required to automatically transmit the following information to the French tax authorities: host identity, gross income received, number of bookings, and bank details. This obligation applies to all platforms operating in France, regardless of their field of activity (car rental, seasonal rental, personal services, etc.).

Since 2024, this transmission has been carried out under the European DAC7 directive. The transmitted data is strictly confidential and is not shared with other third parties.

Please note: even if platforms report your income to the tax authorities, you are still required to declare it yourself in your annual tax return. The tax administration does not currently have the necessary tools to automatically pre-fill your return with this information.

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Registering or declaring your property with the Town Hall

In our article Managing your seasonal rental in Paris, we already specified that to list your property for short-term rental in the city of Paris, you must obtain authorization here.

Since 2016, Article 51 of the Law for a Digital Republic has imposed a registration procedure for all short-term rentals in certain municipalities: those with more than 200,000 inhabitants, municipalities in the Paris inner suburbs (departments 92, 93, 94), and municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants located in high-demand areas.

Important for 2025: the rollout of this registration procedure is intensifying. Many municipalities have implemented an online service to obtain a 13-character unique registration number, which is mandatory from the first day of rental, even for primary residences rented out occasionally. This number must appear on all your online listings on Airbnb, Booking, or Abritel.

Starting May 20, 2026, all town halls must have implemented this registration procedure for furnished tourist rentals. Platforms are required to automatically block listings without a registration number in the affected municipalities.

Penalties: failure to declare can result in a fine of up to €450. Failure to provide a registration number can be punished by a fine of up to €5,000.

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Your professional host status

When you own multiple vacation rental listings at the same address or in the same city. Your activity on hosting platforms like Airbnb or Booking, may be considered a commercial, artisanal, or professional activity. In this case, you must provide the following information in a visible and accessible manner:

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• The name of your company (if applicable) or the name under which you conduct your business
• Your full name as a sole proprietor or the full name of your company's legal representative
• The full address of your company
• Your contact details, including your email address and phone number
• Your business registration number (if applicable)
• Your VAT number (if applicable)
• If applicable, the chamber of commerce responsible
• If applicable, information regarding any specific authorization you hold, including the name of the competent authority

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Once everything is in order, you can entrust us with the full management of your vacation rental. From creating your listing to concierge services and handling communications with your guests, Welkeys Premium takes care of everything!

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Important: 2025 Tax Reform on LMNP Capital Gains

As of February 15, 2025, the 2025 Finance Act has introduced a major change for non-professional furnished rental owners (LMNP). Henceforth, when reselling a property, the depreciation deducted during the rental period must be added back into the calculation of taxable capital gains.

In practical terms: the taxable gain is calculated as follows: Sale price - (purchase price – deducted depreciation). This measure increases the tax burden upon the sale of the property and reduces net profitability at resale. This reform applies to both furnished rentals under the real tax regime and the micro-BIC regime, and applies to all deeds of sale signed on or after February 15, 2025.

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