Glossary
TVA: French VAT on home renovation work
On this page6 sections
- What does TVA mean on a French devis?
- Which TVA rate applies to home work: 5.5%, 10% or 20%?
- Does a second home get the reduced TVA rates?
- What do you certify when you sign a devis with reduced TVA?
- Solar panels and TVA: the RGE condition and the battery trap
- How much does 5.5% really save compared with 10%?
What does TVA mean on a French devis?
TVA stands for taxe sur la valeur ajoutée: French VAT. A devis (a written quote) usually shows two totals. HT (hors taxes) is the price before tax. TTC (toutes taxes comprises) is the price with tax included. When you compare two quotes, compare the TTC totals, because TVA can add up to 20% on top of the HT figure.
This entry is the short version. The full guide to TVA on renovation work goes through the rules job by job.
Which TVA rate applies to home work: 5.5%, 10% or 20%?
Home work falls into three rates.
5.5% covers energy renovation: insulation, an air-to-water heat pump, a wood or pellet appliance and a solar water heater. Some air-to-air heat pumps qualify too, if the model meets an efficiency standard, so ask the installer to confirm yours does.
10% covers general improvement, repair and maintenance in an older home: a new bathroom, repainting or fixing a leaking roof.
20% is the standard rate. It applies to new builds and extensions, to homes under two years old, to a new gas or oil boiler, and to work that isn't renovation at all, such as a pool.
One quote can mix rates, for instance when it covers a heat pump and a new bathroom. If your two devis put the same work at different rates, ask the contractors why.
Does a second home get the reduced TVA rates?
Yes. The reduced rates need the home to be more than two years old. There's no income condition, and a main home or a second home makes no difference, so non-residents pay the same rates as residents. That sets TVA apart from MaPrimeRénov', which only helps a main residence.
The reduced rates also only apply when the firm supplies and fits the equipment. If you buy a heat pump yourself and hire someone to install it, the equipment is taxed at 20%.
What do you certify when you sign a devis with reduced TVA?
Since the 2025 finance law, you certify on the devis or invoice itself that your home qualifies. If it turns out to be false, you can be held jointly liable for the unpaid tax, so read that line before you sign.
For most work, a firm doesn't need to be RGE (the state's approved-installer label) for you to get 5.5%. Solar panels are the exception.
Solar panels and TVA: the RGE condition and the battery trap
Solar panels get 5.5% only on a home-sized system fitted by an installer with RGE QualiPV (the RGE label for solar panels), and the panels themselves have to meet conditions too. Miss one and the whole invoice goes to 20%, so ask the installer to confirm in writing that yours qualifies.
A battery on the same invoice takes the whole invoice to 20%. Ask for the panels and the battery as two separate operations on the devis. For what the panels earn once installed, see EDF OA.
How much does 5.5% really save compared with 10%?
For a home over two years old, the honest comparison is 5.5% against 10%, because a home over two years old already pays 10% on ordinary renovation work. The saving is 4.5 percentage points. Many French sites quote the gap to 20% and overstate it. If an installer quotes a bigger saving, ask which rate they compared it with.
More on TVA and renovation costs
Sources
Official sources for TVA on home work
- Service-Public: TVA at reduced rates on home improvement work The official summary of the reduced rates and who can claim them.
- BOFiP-Impôts: TVA on works in dwellings over two years old The tax administration's own doctrine on the 5.5% and 10% rates and the client's certificate.
- Légifrance: loi n° 2026-103, air-to-air heat pump rate The measure that moved qualifying air-to-air heat pumps to 5.5% from 18 July 2026.
Rules checked against these sources in October 2026.