Investing in property
in France from Spain

French banks apply the HCSF standard to Spanish residents: a 35% debt-to-income ratio, insurance included, and a term of 25 years at most. Your income in euros spares them the currency risk, but not all of them accept non-residents: one of our members in Spain met with refusals, for lack of income in France, when she searched alone. The choice of banks and the way the application is presented make the difference.

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

The Spanish deduction covers French income tax; whether it takes French social contributions into account is not confirmed. Above €50,000 of taxable capital gain, a surcharge of 2% to 6% is added in France. The €150,000 exemption on capital gains (French or European national, domiciled in France for at least two years) and the exemption for a former main residence sold by 31 December of the year following your departure at the latest remain open, under conditions. Warning: they apply only in France. If you are a Spanish resident in the year of the sale, Spain taxes the capital gain, with no French tax to deduct.

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

In Spain, a French SCI may be treated differently than in France and change how your rents are taxed there: to be studied with a tax specialist before buying through a company.

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

Your French rents are declared every year in your Spanish income tax return (IRPF), net of actual expenses: loan interest, maintenance works, local taxes, depreciation of the property. The capital gain on resale is also declared there. In both cases, Spain deducts the tax paid in France, up to the amount of Spanish tax on that income. For the months when the property is not let, during renovation works for example, Spain also taxes a small flat-rate income (imputation de rentas inmobiliarias), with no French tax to deduct. If the purchase value of your property abroad exceeds €50,000 in total, you also file the modelo 720 between 1 January and 31 March: a simple declaration, with no tax, to be repeated only if this value increases by more than €20,000 or if you sell.

The impatriate regime applies in the year of your arrival and the five following years. During that time, Spain taxes you only on your Spanish-source income, salary included: your French rents and capital gain are not taxed there, and wealth tax covers only your assets located in Spain. On the French side, nothing changes: you pay French tax and social contributions.

A French bank can open an account for you even if you live in Spain. If it refuses, and you have no account in France, the Banque de France can designate a bank that will be required to open one for you (right to a bank account).

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