13 September 2026

A €1 Million Property Costs More Than €1 Million

What Costs Are Added to the Purchase Price in France?

Anyone buying a property in France will naturally look first at the purchase price. However, the final cost of the purchase will be higher than the agreed purchase price. In addition to the purchase price, there are frais d’acquisition, possible financing costs and sometimes amounts that are settled between the buyer and seller at completion.

The term frais de notaire in particular can cause confusion. It suggests that the amount payable on top of the purchase price mainly consists of the notary’s fee. That is not the case. The largest part consists of taxes and duties that the notary collects and subsequently transfers to the authorities. The French government therefore prefers the term frais d’acquisition.

What is included in the frais d’acquisition?

When buying an existing property, the largest part consists of the droits de mutation à titre onéreux (DMTO), or transfer taxes. In addition, there are the notary’s regulated fees, the émoluments, the costs paid by the notary to third parties on behalf of the buyer, the débours, and the contribution de sécurité immobilière.

The latter amounts to 0.10% of the purchase price. The notary’s fee is calculated according to a nationwide, degressive scale. It is therefore a misconception that, on a property costing €1 million, for example, the notary simply earns 7 or 8% of the purchase price. The notary’s own regulated fee represents only a relatively small part of the total amount.

For an existing property, a practical rule of thumb is often to allow approximately 7 to 8% on top of the purchase price. For new-build property, this is generally considerably lower, roughly around 2 to 3%, because a reduced rate of taxe de publicité foncière applies.

Since 2025, the département makes a difference

Something important has changed here since last year. France has temporarily given the départements the option to increase the departmental part of the transfer tax from 4.5% to a maximum of 5%. This option applies to transactions between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028. Primo-accédants – buyers who have not owned their principal residence during the preceding two years – are exempt from this increase. 

For buyers on the Côte d’Azur, this creates a notable difference. The département of Alpes-Maritimes (06), which includes Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Menton and the area around Monaco, decided not to apply the increase in 2025 and 2026. The département explicitly explained this decision by stating that it did not wish to impose a further tax increase on buyers. In the Var (83), however, the increase has been introduced: the departmental rate was raised from 4.5 to 5%. 

On a property costing €1 million, a difference of half a percentage point already represents approximately €5,000 in additional tax. Anyone comparing Sainte-Maxime or Saint-Tropez with Cannes or Antibes should therefore not automatically assume exactly the same percentage of acquisition costs.

What does the buyer pay to the notary?

Before the acte authentique is signed, the notary sends a statement showing the amount that must have been received in the notary’s account before completion.

This will in any event include the outstanding purchase price plus the estimated frais d’acquisition. Any dépôt de garantie or indemnité d’immobilisation paid at the time of the avant-contrat will of course be deducted.

Initially, the notary will generally request an estimated amount. Once the transaction has been processed and registered, the final statement follows. If too much has been paid, the buyer receives the difference back; if not enough has been paid, the buyer will have to pay the balance.

And the estate agent’s commission?

With French property advertisements, it is important to check whether the price is honoraires inclus and who is responsible for paying the estate agent’s fees.  If the honoraires are contractually payable by the seller, they form part of the amount the seller receives from the transaction and are not an additional item for the buyer on top of the advertised price. If, according to the mandate and the purchase documentation, the estate agent’s fees are actually payable by the buyer, the purchase price and the fee are stated separately. This distinction can also affect the amount on which the transfer tax is calculated. When comparing two properties that appear to have the same price, it is therefore not always sufficient simply to look at the price stated in the advertisement.

Furniture can make a difference, but not without limits

When a furnished villa or an apartment including its contents is sold, the value of certain movable items can, subject to certain conditions, be stated separately from the real estate. This includes furniture and other items that are genuinely movable. In principle, real estate transfer taxes are not levied on their actual value.

This does not mean that an arbitrary amount for furniture or furnishings can simply be deducted from the purchase price of every property. The items must genuinely be movable, the valuation must be justifiable and the allocation must be correctly recorded in the purchase documentation.

For a property with substantial contents, it is therefore advisable to discuss this before signing the avant-contrat, rather than only a few days before completion.

Financing brings its own costs

Anyone financing a French property with a mortgage will also have to take financing costs into account. These are separate from the acquisition costs themselves.

A bank may charge arrangement fees, and there are costs associated with the security established for the loan. Depending on the structure, this may, for example, take the form of mortgage security. A mandatory or agreed assurance emprunteur also involves costs.

As a result, the total financing costs can be considerably higher than just the interest on the loan. When assessing a French mortgage, the TAEG – the annual percentage rate that incorporates various credit costs – is therefore more relevant than the nominal interest rate alone.

Taxe foncière and copropriété

There are also amounts that are technically not acquisition costs, but which do appear on the statement around the time of completion.

The taxe foncière is legally payable by the person who owned the property on 1 January. French deeds of sale, however, provide for the buyer and seller to apportion this tax between themselves according to their respective periods of ownership. Someone buying on 1 October therefore reimburses the seller at completion for part of the annual taxe foncière.

When buying an apartment, the copropriété charges also play a role. Settlements may also take place in relation to these costs around completion. More importantly, however, before buying it is important to know the level of the annual charges and which major works have already been discussed or approved. An apartment with relatively low acquisition costs can become a very different financial proposition if an expensive façade or roof renovation follows shortly after completion.

Do not rely on one standard percentage

The familiar rule of thumb of 7 to 8% for an existing French property remains useful for an initial budget, but it is no more than that. The département, the nature of the property, any movable items, the way in which the estate agent’s fees have been agreed and any financing can all affect the final amount.
For an exact calculation, the notary can prepare a simulation des frais d’acquisition in advance. The French government also refers buyers to ANIL’s calculator.