The Loi Le Meur has reshuffled furnished tourist accommodation taxation. Thresholds, allowances, depreciation: everything you need to know to optimise your rental income.
The taxation of non-professional furnished property landlords (LMNP) has undergone its most significant changes since 2009, with the Loi Le Meur of November 2024 and the 2025 Finance Act. The micro-BIC regime, long the most widely used for its simplicity, has been profoundly modified. The real-costs simplified regime, which allowed property depreciation, has also been adjusted. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for any owner who wants to optimise rental income in 2026.
The micro-BIC: thresholds drastically reduced
The micro-BIC regime allows owners whose rental income does not exceed a certain threshold to apply a flat-rate allowance without having to justify actual expenses. Since the Loi Le Meur, the rules have changed depending on whether the furnished property is officially classified or unclassified. For unclassified furnished tourist accommodation, the micro-BIC threshold is now €15,000 (against €77,700 before 2025), with an allowance reduced to 30%. For classified properties (official 1 to 5-star classification obtained from an Atout France-accredited body), the threshold remains at €77,700 with a 50% allowance.
This distinction makes official tourism classification far more strategic than before 2025. For an owner whose annual revenue exceeds €15,000, classification allows the 50% allowance to be retained rather than 30%, representing a tax saving that can amount to several hundred or even several thousand euros per year. The classification process, carried out with an accredited body such as VériBooked, Qualitel or the ANCV, is straightforward and inexpensive.
The real-costs regime: depreciation, the property owner's tax weapon
The real-costs simplified regime allows all actual costs related to the rental to be deducted: loan interest, management and concierge fees, insurance, co-ownership charges, property tax, maintenance works and above all depreciation of the property and its fixtures. Depreciation is the most powerful tax mechanism in LMNP: it allows a fraction of the property's value (excluding land) to be deducted each year over 25 to 30 years. For a flat purchased for €240,000 (of which €60,000 is land value), the annual depreciation of the building is €6,000 to €7,200, reducing taxable income by that amount.
The reintegration of depreciation on sale: the 2025 change
The 2025 Finance Act introduced an important modification: depreciation deducted during the LMNP rental period is now reintegrated into the capital gains calculation when the property is sold. In practice, if you have deducted €40,000 in depreciation over 10 years, these €40,000 will increase your taxable capital gain on disposal. This rule, applying to disposals since 1 January 2025, reduces the long-term tax advantage of the real-costs regime, without eliminating it entirely.
Regime comparison for an owner with €24,000 of annual rental income:
- Unclassified micro-BIC: taxable base €24,000 x 70% = €16,800 (30% allowance)
- Classified micro-BIC: taxable base €24,000 x 50% = €12,000 (50% allowance)
- Real-costs regime (€6,000 depreciation + €8,000 actual costs): taxable base €24,000 - €14,000 = €10,000
- Conclusion: real-costs is often most advantageous, but requires an accountant (€600 to €1,200 per year)
Expert advice
The optimal tax regime depends on your personal situation: your marginal tax rate, any outstanding loan, your property's actual costs and your intended holding period. A chartered accountant specialising in furnished property lettings (whose fees are themselves deductible) is the only qualified adviser to choose between classified micro-BIC and real-costs regime. Do not choose your tax regime based solely on one article.
Elyos
