When is an Airbnb really a hotel for the French tax office?

A tax declaration for location meublée non professionnelle (LMNP) – non-professional furnished rental – is often the simplest way to declare revenue from Airbnbs for tax. Correct declaration has become all the more important since the government told Airbnb to hand over details of those earning from the platform.

With regard to simplicity, the ‘non-professional’ part is crucial. If officials decide you are operating professionally, tax matters become more complicated. You will have to sign up for the régime social des indépendants, paying business social cotisations. In return, you get access to French social security and potentially some French pension.

When a landlord becomes professional

A furnished accommodation landlord is officially ‘professional’ once income exceeds €23,000 and is higher than other work and pension incomes. Cotisations generally have to be paid once this income threshold is crossed, unless the rental is managed via an intermediary, such as an estate agent.

French law also defines non-professional furnished rental as the renting of a dwelling without offering ‘hotel-style’ services. If three of four services – breakfast, regular cleaning, changing bedding, and welcoming guests – are provided, the property falls into the parahôtellerie category, which also applies to traditional chambres d’hôtes.

This regime, meaning ‘similar to a hotel’, is also a professional regime, requiring cotisations (if taxable income is above €6,248 in 2026) as well as business registration.

Micro taxation may help

If you are deemed professional, opting for the simple micro taxation/charges regime might help limit extra costs and complexity. Some property owners have accepted the situation, especially as Airbnb and other platforms encouraged more upmarket offers.

Recently, plans to lower VAT thresholds brought the issue into sharper focus. Until now, furnished rentals had a VAT threshold of €85,000, but the government has suggested lowering this limit. Some ministers told media that bringing Airbnb owners into the VAT regime had been one of the aims of these changes, though the outcome remained uncertain at the time of publication.

A property owner in northern France was fined €33,000 for letting a home on Airbnb without authorisation, in the first ruling of its kind in Lille. 

The city also recovered €2,000 in legal costs after the court found the owner had changed the use of the property without permission.

Since 2019, owners who wish to let a secondary home for short stays must obtain an autorisation de changement d’usage from their mairie. This requires submitting a dossier and, since 1 April 2024, providing compensation by creating an equivalent new dwelling. The city says the rule is designed to limit the pressure of tourist rentals on an already tight housing market.

Different rules apply to owners letting their main home. These do not require a change of use but must be registered with the city and can be rented for no more than 120 nights per year.