Work on a home in France is not automatically taxed at 20%. Improvement, conversion and maintenance work on a dwelling finished more than 2 years ago falls under 10%, and energy work goes lower still. Below: the three rates with the article each one comes from, what you sign on the quote, and the one condition British owners expect to find and that the law does not set.
French VAT is called TVA. Three rates can apply to building work on a home, and which one you get depends on the building and on the work, not on who is paying.
La taxe sur la valeur ajoutée est perçue au taux réduit de 10 % sur les travaux d'amélioration, de transformation, d'aménagement et d'entretien autres que ceux mentionnés à l'article 278-0 bis A portant sur des locaux à usage d'habitation, achevés depuis plus de deux ansThe lowest rate is worth one note, because almost everyone cites the wrong article for it. The article about energy work sets the conditions but names no percentage: it points back to the article that does. That is where the 5.5% sits.
La taxe sur la valeur ajoutée est perçue au taux réduit de 5,5 %Both reduced rates ask the same thing of the building: it must not be new. The law words it slightly differently in the two places, and that difference is in the text, not in our summary. Ordinary work says plus de deux ans; energy work says au moins deux ans.
Elles sont effectuées dans des locaux achevés depuis au moins deux ansThe reduced rate is not something your builder claims on your behalf without you. The law puts a declaration on the customer: you certify, on the quote or the invoice, that the work is on a dwelling old enough to qualify. Read that line before you sign it, because it is your statement and not the builder's.
Le taux réduit prévu au 1 est applicable aux travaux facturés au propriétaire ou, le cas échéant, au syndicat de copropriétaires, au locataire, à l'occupant des locaux ou à leur représentant à condition que le preneur certifie sur le devis ou la facture que ces travaux se rapportent à des locaux d'habitation achevés depuis plus de deux ans et ne répondent pas aux conditions mentionnées au 2.This is the question most British owners arrive with, and the answer is that the condition does not exist. Read the article above again: it lists who the work can be invoiced to, and it sets conditions on the building, on the work, and on the declaration. Where the customer lives, or where they pay tax, is not among them.
There is no figure, because the law has no such condition. The article sets requirements on the BUILDING (a dwelling, more than two years old), on the WORK (no new build, no extension above the threshold in paragraph 2) and on the DECLARATION on the quote or invoice. It names who the customer can be (owner, owners' association, tenant, occupier or their representative), but not where that person lives or where they pay tax. This field is therefore left empty, so that nobody later fills in a rate the law does not set.
That is what the text says. What it means for your own project is a question for the French tax office or an adviser, and this page does not answer it.
Owners often ask about the two together, so it is worth separating them. The French renovation grant does have a condition that rules out most second homes, but it is not a condition about you. It is a condition about the dwelling: it has to become your main home, and stay that for at least 3 years.
Vous devez occuper ce logement pendant une durée minimale de 3 ans.The fact sheet says nothing about where the owner lives or about their tax status. What it does set is a requirement on the USE of the dwelling: it has to be your main home, and remain so for at least three years. A second home does not meet that, but that follows from the use requirement and not from a residence requirement. That distinction must not get lost on this page, because it decides whether someone with a plan can still put their case forward.
Every percentage on this page carries the article it comes from and the French sentence it comes from, checked on 17 August 2026. Nothing here is a national average or a builder's rule of thumb.
One date to keep in mind: the article that sets the standard rate will be repealed on 1 January 2027. The rate does not disappear with it, the article number does, so a quote or a page that cites article 278 will need a new reference after that date.
Planning work on a French property? See what needs permission before you price it: planning permission in France.
The law separates ordinary renovation work (article 279-0 bis) from energy work (article 278-0 bis A), and the latter is set out in more detail by decree, per material and per installation. This page does not answer it for your case: ask the builder who draws up the quote, and, if in doubt, the French tax office.
Paragraph 2 of article 279-0 bis takes work out of the reduced rate if it produces a new building or increases the floor area beyond a threshold. This page does not answer it for your case: ask the French tax office; the threshold is a question of fact about your plan.
The law sets conditions on the building, on the work and on the declaration on the quote. It contains no condition about where you live. This page does not answer it for your case: ask the French tax office, because only they can confirm that for a specific case.
The fact sheet requires the dwelling to become your main home and to remain so for at least three years. It says nothing about where the owner lives. This page does not answer it for your case: ask France Rénov' or Anah.