Jeanbrun & LLI simulator: depreciation, 10% VAT and tax saving

Simulate your Jeanbrun + LLI investment

Enter the price, the target rent level (intermediate / social / very social), the property type, zone and surface. The simulator applies the 2026 Finance Act depreciation rates and ceilings, and the full real cost of the loan. Your data is neither stored nor transmitted.

Why Jeanbrun is a game-changer after the end of Pinel

Pinel offered a flat tax reduction (up to 14% of the price, capped at €300,000) in exchange for a capped-rent letting commitment. It ended on 31 December 2024, leaving new-build buy-to-let without a dedicated support scheme.

The Jeanbrun scheme, from the 2026 Finance Act and effective 21 February 2026, flips the logic: there is no longer a direct tax reduction, but the ability to DEPRECIATE the building — i.e. to deduct each year a fraction of the property’s price from your property income, exactly as a furnished-letting investor (LMNP) does, but with UNFURNISHED letting. This depreciation adds to the deduction of actual expenses (loan interest, property tax, works).

The appeal is twofold: the benefit follows your marginal rate (the higher it is, the more the depreciation is worth) and it also offsets the 17.2% social levies that hit property income. Reserved for homes in collective buildings, new or renovated, with a minimum 9-year letting commitment.

The 3 levers of the Jeanbrun + LLI combination

Lever 1 — depreciation, aligned with your tax bracket

Annual depreciation = 80% of the price (the land, ~20%, is not depreciable) multiplied by a rate of 3% to 5.5% depending on the rent level and whether the property is new or renovated, capped at €8,000 (intermediate), €10,000 (social) or €12,000 (very social) per year. This sum is deducted from your property income: at a 41% marginal rate, €11,000 of depreciation generates around €6,510 of saving per year once social levies are included.

Lever 2 — the LLI’s 10% VAT

By buying an eligible new-build under Intermediate Rental Housing (tight zones A bis, A and B1, with tenant rent and income ceilings), VAT is reduced to 10% instead of 20%. On a price of €270,000 excl. VAT, the VAT saving reaches around €27,000 — an immediate gain at purchase, before any tax effect.

Lever 3 — 20 years with no property tax

The LLI gives entitlement to a tax credit that neutralises property tax for 20 years. For property tax of €1,200/yr, that is €24,000 of cumulative savings over the term — direct support to cash-flow, year after year.

Worked example: Claire, 44, senior executive in Lyon (41% marginal rate)

Claire buys a NEW €300,000 flat in zone A, let at the intermediate level, via an income-tax SCI to combine Jeanbrun depreciation and the LLI. Here is what the simulator projects:

The total cumulative tax benefit approaches €93,000 over the term, with no ‘one-shot’ tax reduction but a stream of recurring savings perfectly aligned with Claire’s marginal bracket. This is exactly the profile Jeanbrun favours: highly taxed taxpayers investing in new-build in a tight zone.

A powerful but technical scheme, to be structured

The Jeanbrun + LLI pairing requires genuine engineering: choosing the income-tax SCI (essential for depreciation), respecting the LLI’s rent and income ceilings, selecting an eligible programme in a tight zone, and dovetailing with your borrowing and existing property taxation. A structuring error (a corporate-tax SCI, an ineligible zone, an excess rent) loses the benefit.

Balmont Conseil is an independent wealth-management firm, a member of France’s ANACOFI. Run your simulation above, then let’s meet to structure your operation and check your eligibility.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Jeanbrun scheme really replace Pinel?

Yes. Pinel ended on 31 December 2024. The Jeanbrun scheme, from the 2026 Finance Act (effective 21 February 2026), takes over with a different mechanism: no longer a flat tax reduction, but depreciation of the property deducted from property income. Acquisitions are eligible from 21 February 2026 to 31 December 2028.

How does Jeanbrun depreciation work?

You depreciate 80% of the price (the building; the land, ~20%, is excluded) at an annual rate of 3% to 5.5% depending on the rent level (intermediate / social / very social) and whether the property is new or renovated, capped at €8,000, €10,000 or €12,000/yr. This depreciation is deducted from your property income, on top of actual expenses, lowering both your income tax (at your marginal rate) and your 17.2% social levies.

What is the LLI and what is needed to combine it with Jeanbrun?

Intermediate Rental Housing (LLI) targets moderate-rent new-builds in tight zones (A bis, A, B1). It offers VAT at 10% instead of 20% and a property-tax exemption via tax credit over 20 years, in exchange for tenant rent and income ceilings. To combine the LLI with Jeanbrun depreciation, the investment must be made via a company (typically an SCI) subject to income tax, not corporate tax.

Who is this scheme primarily for?

Highly taxed taxpayers (41% or 45% marginal rate) investing in new-build in a tight zone and accepting a 9-year capped-rent letting commitment. As the depreciation is deducted from property income, the benefit is all the stronger when the marginal rate is high and the investor already has property income to neutralise. If the commitment is broken early, the deducted depreciation is added back.