VAT rate for renovation work on a dwelling

Verified 06 March 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Renovation works carried out in an old housing benefit from reduced VAT rates under certain conditions. The rate may be 5.5% or 10% depending on the service provided. Renovations to social rental housing can also benefit from a reduced rate. In Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion, the rate applicable is 2.1%.

Where work is carried out on certain types of premises, such services may be subject to a reduced rate of VAT.

The premises must meet the following conditions:

  • It must have been completed more than 2 years.
  • It must be intended to be assigned or be assigned to a residential use. The accommodation spaces which meet the conditions for access to one of the reduced rates are, for example:
    • Detached house
    • Accommodation located in a public building
    • Lightweight dwellings (mobile homes), barges fitted for the dwelling and moored at a fixed point, as soon as they are imposed on the housing tax
    • Usual dependence of a living space (e.g. cellar, attic, garage, loggia, terrace, building yard)
    • Establishment for collective accommodation of natural persons: a tourist establishment to which VAT does not apply or a social establishment whose main purpose is accommodation
    • Function housing

The applicable VAT rate varies according to the type of work.

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Improvement, conversion, fitting-out or maintenance work

The VAT rates applicable are:

  • 20% in Metropolitan France
  • 2.1% in Guadeloupe, in Martinique and to La Meeting.

It concerns in particular the following work:

  • Emergency work on a collective boiler or an elevator. However, the work must not result in the replacement of equipment and therefore the delivery of new equipment.
  • Water supply works for a residential building completed 2 years ago
  • Stormwater Disposal Work
  • Fence work, installation of a gate
  • Work on roof extensions (pergolas, awnings, awnings...) which cover surfaces adjacent to the already existing construction. The roof projection shall not increase the floor area of the existing construction and shall not be of a structural design (framework of a building).

The part of the work which corresponds to the supply of household equipment, furniture or the acquisition of large items of equipment supplied in connection with work to replace a heating system or an elevator shall not be subject to the reduced rate. This is also the case when the work concerns the installation of sanitary or air conditioning systems.

FYI  

As of 1er march 2025 : the supply and installation of a boiler operating with a fossil energy (in particular oil or gas, including energy-efficient boilers using such a fuel) shall be subject to the following rates:

  • In Metropolitan France : 20%
  • In Corsica : 20% (or 10% in the case of building works)
  • In Guadeloupe, in Martinique and to La Meeting : 8.5%.

Renovation or energy improvement works

The VAT rates applicable are:

  • 5.5% in Metropolitan France
  • 2.1% in Guadeloupe, in Martinique and to La Meeting.

This concerns the following energy renovation services:

  • Thermal insulation:
    • Opaque walls
    • Glass walls
    • Entrance doors to the outside
    • By the installation of insulating shutters
    • By the installation of mobile solar protection.
  • Heating and domestic hot water equipment using a renewable energy source
  • Double-flow controlled mechanical ventilation systems, single-flow hygroadjustable mechanical ventilation systems and hybrid-hygroadjustable ventilation systems
  • Insulation of installations for the production or distribution of heat or domestic hot water
  • Heating regulators for manual or automatic adjustment and programming of heating equipment or domestic hot water production equipment
  • Appliances for the individualization of heating or domestic hot water costs in a building equipped with a central installation or supplied by a heat network
  • Fixed ceiling air mixers
  • The maintenance and repair services of very high energy performance boilers.

These benefits must respect the requirements set out in the General Tax Code.

 

FYI  

In all accommodation, even those completed less than 2 years ago, the delivery and installation of solar panels with a power output of 9 kilowatts or less shall be subject to the reduced rate of 5.5% as of 1er october 2025.

This reduced rate is subject to certain conditions, in particular the obligation to use electricity produced directly on site (self-consumption).

In order to benefit from a reduced rate of VAT, the customer must certify on quote or invoice that the services provided satisfy the conditions of that reduced rate. For example, he can certify that the renovated premises are used for residential purposes.

The obligation to keep these documents varies according to the nature of the work:

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Improvement, conversion, fitting-out or maintenance work

These documents shall be drawn up in 2 copies.

One must be given to the company, which adds it to its accounts.

The other must be retained by the customer until 31 December of 5e year depending on the completion of the work. For example, for work done in 2023, it must retain documents until December 31, 2028.

Please note

In case of error in the rate applied due to the fault of the customer, he may be obliged to participate in the refund of the missing tax supplement. This is the case, for example, if he has certified on the quotation or invoice that the conditions of the reduced rate have been fulfilled, whereas this is not the case.

Renovation or energy improvement works

These documents shall be drawn up in 2 copies.

One must be given to the company, which adds it to its accounts.

The other must be retained by the customer until 31 December of 5e year after invoices are issued. For example, for invoices issued in 2023, it must keep the documents until December 31, 2028.

Please note

In case of error in the rate applied due to the fault of the customer, he may be obliged to participate in the refund of the missing tax supplement. This is the case, for example, if he has certified on the quotation or invoice that the conditions of the reduced rate have been fulfilled, whereas this is not the case.

The following renovations are subject to the normal rate of 20% VAT:

  • Renovation work carried out on premises not used for housing. Examples are offices or buildings for agricultural use.
  • Building upgrade or refurbishment completed less than 5 years ago.
  • Work to increase the floor area of existing premises by more than 10%
  • Development and maintenance work on green areas
  • Demolition works which do not involve renovation works benefiting from a reduced rate of VAT

Equipment purchased directly by an individual to be settled by a company is subject to the standard 20%. Only the installation service can benefit from a reduced rate of VAT if it fulfills the conditions of application.

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