My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a property in the Allier region near Cosne D’Allier. We plan to renovate the main house to operate as a Chambre d’hotes. I have been researching to see if there are tax credits provided if one renovates a property to run as a Chambre d’hotes or buying upkeep equipment to maintain the land such as a tractor, etc. if it could be deducted from taxes for business purposes. Unfortunately, lost in a maze of information.
May I ask your kind input if you currently operate a Chambre d’hotes?
For registered farmers no doubt there are grants for buying tractors and equipment, but unless you’re planning to farm the land I would be surprised if you could access these. French farmers are very big on solidarity as no doubt you know, it’s a bit of a closed shop.
I’ve never heard of a grant specifically to do up a cdh. Home improvement grants and tax credit are usually strictly for main residences and there are all kinds of conditions attached, tax credits likewise are for work done on your main home. Maybe if you delayed registering as a CdH for a number of years there wouldn’t be a problem. But what you’re looking for sounds more like a business grant. Sometimes business grants are available locally to stimulate a particular type of business activity so you could ask at your local chamber of commerce, for instance if a lack of tourist accommodation has been identified in your area there may be a something. Otherwise, whether you can deduct start-up costs against future profit would depend on which business structure/tax regime you choose, I suggest you talk to an accountant about that. Good luck with your project.
When we started there was a local grant scheme open, but it was for gîte de groupes, and was a essentially an interest free loan. However loads of conditions attached, and since we didn’t want to run a gîte de groupe and the conditions were picky we didn’t bother (we run a gîte). Worth asking, but don’t hold your breath.
As Anna says, talk to an accountant as your business structure can make a difference. The way we are set up means we can claim depreciation, which reduces our profits on paper to close to zero, so equally our tax is low.
There are also still some environmental tax credits for installing greener equipment. You’d have to check what it covers now, but it was helpful to us as we installed air source heating amd high performance windows which cost a bit, so nice to get a bit back. But these are all only available for residents, so depends what you plan to do.
We put in a pompe a chaleur, insulated everywhere, double glazing and solar panels for water heating.
We claimed the subventions at the time, but you have to have to use a qualified installer.
I believe that the subventions are now not so generous as before.
I think one most important aspect is… you must be Resident and making Income Declarations etc etc… to be able to take advantage of any financial help/grants etc… that may become available…
and the property has to be your main residence… holiday homes etc are not acceptable…
As has been suggested… contact an Accountant and take best advice on how to set things up… this will involve a certain cost now, but could possibly save you money in the future… Friends in the Charente were told they needed to buy the property as a “company” in order to claim back what it took to renovate… but that was a while ago…
I think someone has already asked… but… what sort of Visa are you using to be in France ???
A few years back I looked into getting insulation done under the home improvement grant scheme and it wasn’t simply a matter of using a qualified installer, it had to be a qualified installer with a special accreditation for doing installations under that particular scheme. Several of the installers I spoke to said they couldn’t help because they had decided not to get involved, they were so sick of keeping on taking days off to go on useless courses just to collect endless bits of paper so as to be able to participate in every new scheme that the government dreams up, when in any case they have more than enough work on already. Hopefully the rules aren’t so nitpicky for normal tax credits. But it does seem that they are putting in more and more hoops and also as you say reducing the benefits offered.
Thank you for sharing your points and useful information on needing to be a resident and making income declarations. Will look more into buying the property as a “company” in order to claim back what it took to renovate. May I ask how long was a “while ago” for your friends in Charente?
We are specially trying to figure out what kind of business would allow us to offset VAT for business-related expenses such as buying equipment to maintain the land, renovation, etc.
Besides from our plans to run Chambres d’hotes, I hope to open a donation-based yoga studio on the property (either in one of the outbuildings or on the 3rd floor of the manoir): teaching yoga classes myself to the community and for guests who stay.
I would be on a spouse visa through my husband, who is an EU citizen with a British passport.
Thank you for your input. Yes, we are not looking for grants instead trying to figure out what would be the best way to offset VAT for business-related expenses such as equipment to maintain the land/property, renovations, etc. Also, discussing with an accountant would be in the cards for sure.
Thank you for sharing your input. May I ask what kind and how your business is set up where you can claim depreciation?
Great to know about the environmental tax credits; we plan to upgrade quite a few things to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly such as double or triple glazing windows, heating system (currently operating on oil heating), and updating the insulation throughout the house.
We do not claim the extra tax relief but declare our earning on our tax annual tax return.
We just have one gite and it is not our main income.
I think you need to see an accountant to be sure of tge present situation.
There is a lot of British thinking in your business plans, which is understandable, really think you need to spend time with a French business planer or like other people have suggested French accountants.
Just as a matter of interest what kind of turnover are you looking to achieve from your business plan?
2 years ago in the Charente… The folk decided to take things gently and bear the costs themselves… they are having a wonderful time.
As has been stated… you need to fully understand that French ways (business/leisure) can be very complicated…and totally unlike anything you can imagine…
There are down sides of buying your property through a company too, so do get advice from at least one professional. How good is your or your partner’s french? As that will also influence whether you need to find a bilingual tax & business adviser. There is also quite a lot of information available, particularly if you work your way through the government sites. Not the best laid out, but reliable.
Much will also depend on what sort of income you are aiming for. Presumably you have some idea of your business plan, as that will help in talking to a professional. In developing it also bear in mind other french taxes, like the cotisation foncière d’entreprises as well as income tax and social charges.
In France there are often several ways to achieve the same thing, so no straightforward answers to your questions as so many variables. We don’t have a business structure that allows us to claim back VAT we have paid out.
