Investing in property
in France from Denmark

In practice, it is a French bank that finances your property in France, with the HCSF standard: a 35% debt ratio, insurance included, and a maximum of 25 years. The Danish krone is pegged to the euro, within 2.25% around a central rate: the exchange-rate risk is low. Some banks nevertheless look at a salary in kroner as foreign-currency income, and not all of them accept non-residents. Our member based in Copenhagen met a refusal, then a rejection at committee two weeks before the deadline, before being financed by a second bank prepared in parallel. The choice of banks, the order in which you approach them and the presentation of the application make the difference.

Also read: which banks lend to expats and how much down payment to plan for.

The 2022 treaty covers only income tax: on the French side, income tax, the CSG and the CRDS. The 7.5% solidarity levy is not included: nothing guarantees that Denmark deducts it from its tax. Above €50,000 of taxable capital gain, a surcharge of 2% to 6% is added in France. The €150,000 exemption on the capital gain (French or EU national, resident in France for at least two years) and the exemption for the former main home sold no later than 31 December of the year following departure remain available, subject to conditions. Careful: they apply only in France. If you are a Danish resident in the year of sale, Denmark may tax the capital gain on a property you have not lived in, with no French tax to deduct.

Also read: how the rents of a non-resident are taxed.

The 2022 treaty lets France tax the resale of shares in a mainly property-owning company (Article 13 § 5), but Denmark may treat a French SCI differently from France: to be reviewed with a Danish adviser before buying through a company.

The right choice depends on your project and your country: compare with the rental income tax calculator.

Denmark had terminated the 1957 treaty: from 2009 to 2023, there was no treaty between the two countries, and Denmark granted only a tax credit provided by its own law. A new treaty, signed in Paris on 4 February 2022, entered into force on 29 December 2023. It applies to your income from 1 January 2024: rents and the capital gain on a property in France are taxable in France (Articles 6 and 13), and Denmark deducts French tax from its own tax, up to the limit of Danish tax on this income (Article 22). It covers neither wealth nor inheritance.

Your property in France is declared in your Danish return, in the section on assets abroad. Rents are declared there in kroner, net of expenses and loan interest: as capital income in principle, as business income if the property is let for at least 12 months. The French tax paid is declared in a separate box to obtain the deduction; keep your French tax notice. If you keep the property for your own use, even in part, Denmark also asks you for tax on the value of the home (ejendomsværdiskat), calculated on a market value you estimate yourself (form 04.053), from which French property tax may be deducted.

The steps of the ImmoPourExpat method, from the first call to letting →