Are there any tax breaks for renting my French property?

Yes, due to the importance of tourism to the French economy the French tax office give much more generous tax incentives for renting your French property than the Inland Revenue would allow for a property in the UK. If your accountant claims all the allowances you should declare only a very small “paper profit” and thus pay no tax in France.  You can offset these:

• Purchase costs  (the notary fees when you bought)
• Land taxes
• Interest on your mortgage
• Accountant’s  fees
• A “maintenance” trip (to check your property)
• Property Depreciation - As 20% of your property value in France is in the land, the remaining 80% can be amortised (‘on paper’) by either 4% per annum over 25 years or 3.33% over 30 years even though the property is actually appreciating in value!
• Furniture Depreciation – the value be amortised over 5 or 10 years.

With careful tax planning, you will not pay income tax in France. For example, the owner may elect when to start using the depreciation relief. If you wait until the mortgage interest is paid off or is no longer enough to offset 100% of the rental income and start the amortisation then that will continue to significantly reduce (or in most cases completely eliminate) your taxable profit.

From April 2017 buy to let rental properties in the UK will no longer qualify for income tax relief in the UK so you will not be permitted to off-set mortgage interest and costs against income tax. You can still off-set the interest on your French property provided you are deemed to be “in control” of the management so the rental of a classic freehold qualifies but a fully managed sale and leaseback will not. 

France has dual taxation treaties with most countries so you do not pay the tax twice and if you are liable to taxation in your country of residence you will be credited with any tax paid in France.