The renovation tax deduction

The deduction is founded on the article of the income tax code devoted to the recovery of building stock, which forms its stable regime, and on the budget law provisions setting rates and limits for each tax year. The stable regime and the annual provisions are read together.

For the 2026 tax year the rate is 50 per cent for works on the unit used as the claimant's main home and 36 per cent for works on any other unit. Neither rate depends on the type of operation.

The test concerns not the type of work but the use of the unit, and it is the point to check before any estimate. The check is made against residence documents and the land registry record.

The scope is the widest among the building deductions and covers, under the categories the rules identify, extraordinary maintenance, conservative restoration and rehabilitation, and building restructuring on individual units. The categories correspond to those of the consolidated building code.

On the common parts of residential buildings the scope extends also to routine maintenance, which on individual units is not eligible. It is a difference that generates recurring questions and worth bearing in mind when setting up works on common parts.

It also covers the further situations the provision lists, including works removing architectural barriers, works aimed at preventing unlawful acts, cabling of buildings and noise abatement, and the creation of garages or parking spaces appurtenant to the property. The list is exhaustive and admits no analogical extension.

One point deserves attention because it is frequently misunderstood: creating or upgrading sanitary facilities and building services falls within the scope on condition that it does not alter the overall volume of the building and does not involve a change of use. Both conditions must be met and not one or the other.

The spending cap is 96,000 euros per property unit, applied to the whole of the expenditure incurred on the project. The number of units is counted at the start of the works.

Three rules govern its application and are best known together. They concern counting the units, combining reliefs and the spreading.

The reference to a property unit means that works on several units have several caps. Correctly identifying the units concerned therefore bears directly on the overall benefit, and is not a land registry detail.

The cap is assessed on the units existing at the start of the works. Subdividing a unit during the works does not multiply the allowance, while merging several units has the opposite effect and reduces the caps available compared with the starting position.

The cap attaches to the project rather than to the year. On works running across several tax years the expenditure is aggregated for the purposes of the limit, while the applicable rate remains that of the year in which each item of expenditure is incurred.

Element	2026 regime
Rate, main home	50 per cent
Rate, other units	36 per cent
Spending cap	96,000 euros per property unit
Counting the units	Units existing at the start of the works
Spread	Ten equal annual instalments

The deduction is spread over ten equal annual instalments, starting from the year in which the expenditure is incurred. Each instalment can be used only in the year to which it relates.

The effect on the financial plan of a project is substantial and should be communicated precisely. A benefit used over ten years is not equivalent to an immediate discount of the same amount, and its use depends each year on the claimant's tax capacity.

A recent change alters how accessibility works are set up. It concerns the rate applying to the removal of architectural barriers.

The accessibility incentive at 75 per cent stopped at expenditure incurred to the end of 2025. Works removing architectural barriers remain fully eligible, but within the renovation deduction and at its rates and caps.

The consequence for an accessibility project is financial: the benefit falls appreciably compared with the earlier regime, and estimates prepared under the previous rules cannot be carried over. Earlier estimates must be redone with the rates in force.

Three conditions determine whether the entitlement is preserved and belong to the technical work. They concern traceable payment, the building consents and the records.

Payment must be made by traceable means allowing the revenue administration to link the expenditure to the claimant and to the works. Cash payments and non traceable instruments are not accepted. It is the error made once that cannot be cured.

The building regularity of the works must be documented. The building consent, or the substitute declaration on the start date where no consent is required, forms part of the records to retain.

The connection between the expenditure and the eligible works must appear from the documentation. A bill of quantities that does not separate eligible items from the rest makes that demonstration burdensome on audit.

Applying the enhanced rate without having checked the use of the unit is the first, and produces estimates the client finds to be wrong at tax return stage. The check costs minutes and belongs before the estimate.

Assuming that subdivision multiplies the cap is the second, and contradicts the rule on units existing at the start of the works. The count should be documented with the land registry plan.

Carrying over an accessibility estimate prepared under the previous regime is the third, and overstates the benefit considerably. The estimate must be redone with the rate in force.

Presenting the deduction as an immediate discount is the fourth, and ignores both the ten year spread and tax capacity. The benefit is a ten year flow and not a reduction in price.