parisbynumbers.com

Once you buy property in Paris you potentially become liable for two separate taxes: taxe d’habitation and taxe fonciere. Taxe Fonciere is the state property tax, paid to central government, and the owner of a property on the 1st January each year is liable for this tax.

Taxe d’habitation, on the other hand, is paid to the city of Paris itself and directly covers the costs of local services. The tax is charged to residents occupying the property on the 1st January: if you’re resident on that date you’ll be liable to pay tax for the full year, regardless of when you moved in, or when you choose to move out.

If there are no residents in a property on the 1st Jan (but the property is still considered ‘habitable’) the tax is charged to the owner - so if you’re only occasionally resident, or you let out a property for short-term holiday rentals, you’ll still have to pay the tax. Only if your property is rented out on a long term basis will you escape payment: then your tenants are liable for Taxe d’habitation in your place.

Both of these taxes are calculated according to the city’s estimation of your property’s annual rental value, which generally does turn out to be lower than the market rate. Of the two, taxe fonciere is likely to be the most significant - sometimes as much as twice the cost of taxe d’habitation. 

Taxes for the year are usually billed late, in August or September, with payment due a month or two later - though arrangements can generally be made to pay in monthly installments. When buying a property, a private agreement may well ensure that the buyer and seller share the full year’s tax bill proportionally - but the legal responsibility for payment always rests with the owner and occupier of the property on the first day of the year.