Taxe d'aménagement: the French building tax explained

Which works trigger the taxe d'aménagement?

Any déclaration préalable or permis de construire that creates taxable space brings the tax with it. On the Côte d'Azur that usually means:

• New construction or extensions that add enclosed, covered floor area over 1.80 m high, such as a veranda, a converted garage or a new wing.
• Swimming pools, taxed on the surface of water.
• Garden sheds and outbuildings larger than 5 m².
• Outdoor parking spaces and hard standing, taxed per installation.

Anything of 5 m² or less is exempt. Above that, it makes no difference whether the approval was a déclaration préalable or a permis de construire. What counts is whether the finished project created taxable space or one of the taxed installations.

How is the taxe d'aménagement calculated in the Alpes-Maritimes?

The calculation has three layers:

• A flat value set nationally each year. For 2026, outside Ile-de-France, it's 892 EUR per m² of floor area, or 251 EUR per m² of water for a pool.
• Your commune's rate, from 1% to 5%, or up to 20% in sectors where the commune has voted for it.
• The departmental rate, capped at 2.5%. The Alpes-Maritimes charges the full 2.5%.

Worked example: a 32 m² pool in a commune charging 4%, in the Alpes-Maritimes.

• Taxable base: 32 x 251 EUR = 8,032 EUR
• Combined rate: 4% communal + 2.5% departmental = 6.5%
• Tax due: 8,032 EUR x 6.5% = about 522 EUR

The same pool costs less in a commune charging 1%, and more in one charging 5% or above. For floor area, the method is the same: multiply the new surface by 892 EUR, then by the combined rate. Ask the mairie (town hall) for its current communal rate and put the tax in your budget before you sign the devis (written quote), because the builder's quote won't include it.

A 50% reduction applies to the first 100 m² of a habitation principale (main home). It never applies to a pool, and it doesn't apply to a second home either.

When is the taxe d'aménagement paid and can you contest the bill?

You have 90 days from finishing the work to declare it. You do this in the "Gérer mes biens immobiliers" section of your impots.gouv.fr account, or on the paper form the tax office supplies. The office then works out the amount and sends a notice. A bill of 1,500 EUR or less is paid in one go; above that, it's split into two instalments.

Missing the 90-day deadline doesn't cancel the tax. The office simply assesses it without your input. For a pool, a late declaration also costs you the separate two-year exemption from taxe foncière.

If you think the amount is wrong, you can't go straight to court. First write to the tax office named on the notice and explain the error, such as a wrong surface, a missed exemption or the wrong rate. If you want to hold off paying the disputed part, ask for that in the same letter and state the amount you contest. The office has six months to reply, and silence after six months counts as a refusal.

After a refusal, you have two months to take the case to the tribunal administratif. You can start the process up to 31 December of the second year after the tax notice.

Do second homes pay the full taxe d'aménagement?

Yes. Unlike MaPrimeRenov', the taxe d'aménagement applies to a second home, with the same base and the same rates.

The one difference is the 50% reduction on the first 100 m², which is reserved for a main home. On a 100 m² extension to a second home, the full base is taxed. A pool costs the same either way, since the reduction never covered pools: 251 EUR per m² times the combined rate.

More on pool and extension taxes and permits

• Déclaration préalable de travaux: the planning notification that often triggers this tax
• Outdoor & Pools: pool installation, permits, and the taxe d'aménagement worked example for a Côte d'Azur pool
• Whole-house renovation: extensions and floor-area projects that bring the taxe d'aménagement with them