As the previous government had planned to end the SCELLIER scheme on 1 January 2013, the Minister for Housing, Cécile DUFLOT, is proposing a new scheme to replace it. This DUFLOT scheme has been included in Article 57 of the 2013 Finance Bill.
The principle remains the same as that of the SCELLIER law: a tax reduction for people who buy or have built a new home and undertake to rent it out for a minimum of 9 years.
The new scheme offers greater tax benefits, but has more stringent social requirements.
Conditions for application of the DUFLOT law
To take advantage of the tax benefits offered by the DUFLOT law, a number of conditions must be met:
-You must purchase or have built, between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2016, a new home or similar property in a defined area. The scheme will apply to homes classified in zones A bis, A or B1. Homes located in certain communes in the B2 zone, benefiting from approval issued by the regional Prefect in view of the tightness of the local housing market, will also be eligible for the tax reduction.
There are fewer zones concerned than under the SCELLIER law. The aim is to concentrate efforts on towns and cities with the greatest housing needs.
- The property must comply with the thermal regulations in force on 1 January 2013 (RT 2012), or have the "BBC 2005" label for those not subject to these regulations. Renovated properties with a certain level of energy performance will also be eligible under the DUFLOT Act.
- The property must be let for a minimum of 9 years at rents below market levels (20% below) and to tenants meeting certain income criteria.
To ensure social diversity and protect investors, there will be a ceiling on the proportion of properties qualifying for the tax reduction within a single building. The aim is to "focus the new scheme on the lower and middle classes, particularly those just above the ceilings for access to social housing".
The tax benefits of the DUFLOT scheme
The tax reduction will be calculated on the cost price of the homes, subject to a ceiling per m² of living space and an overall annual ceiling of 300,000 euros.
Each taxpayer will therefore be able to claim the tax reduction, in respect of the same tax year, for only one property and/or the subscription to SCPI units up to a maximum of €300,000. The rate of tax reduction will be 18%, spread over nine years at 2% per annum. The maximum saving would then be €54,000, or up to €6,000 a year.
In order to reduce the public deficit, the Finance Bill proposed by the government for 2013 includes a considerable austerity plan. This will result in a large number of tax increases.
Real estate transactions, and more specifically the taxation of capital gains on real estate, will not be spared by this plan.