Rental work: maintenance, improvement or construction

Under the actual expense method, expenses for repairs, maintenance, and improvements to unfurnished rental properties are deductible from your rental income in the year you pay them. Construction, reconstruction, and extension work are not deductible. To classify your work, the BOFiP (French tax authority) considers its nature and scope, not its cost: there is no specific threshold.

The line between improvement and construction is a matter of fact. This page provides the BOFiP criteria and examples from its tables. It does not cover furnished rentals, companies, historical monuments, the Malraux scheme, or the calculation of property deficits.

The three categories of the BOFiP

The deductibility stems from the instructions for the special 2044 tax return: deductible expenses are those actually paid for repairs, maintenance, or improvements, excluding construction, reconstruction, or expansion work. The BOFiP (Official Bulletin of Public Finances), however, does not establish a general rule: it categorizes expenses and refers to case law.

Nature and importance, not cost

The BOFiP (French Public Finances Bulletin) states that the analysis focuses primarily on the nature and scope of the work, "rather than its cost." The question is indeed: it is assessed based on quotes, invoices, reports, and plans.

The document does not specify any numerical thresholds. Its reference version dates from February 3, 2014, and is based on court decisions, some of which are old. Therefore, the page does not present these rules as updated in 2026.

Mixed works and restructuring

• Repair and improvement work carried out together The whole constitutes, in principle, an inseparable unit. In some cases, the repair may be considered separable.
• Replacing obsolete equipment with more modern equipment : this does not change the fact that the expense is for repair or maintenance.
• Partial restructuring : moving partitions to create a bathroom is considered an improvement.
• Total restructuring : a complete transformation is equated with a reconstruction.
• Works inseparable from an extension : the 2026 brochure specifies that they are not deductible.

Kitchens and appliances: two opposing cases

The BOFiP cites a ministerial response from 2008 which distinguishes between two situations:

• Installing a kitchen in a home that didn't have one is a deductible improvement, including household appliances. This assumes that the lease or an addendum provides for the provision of these items; ;
• Replacing household appliances in an existing kitchen is neither a deductible repair nor a deductible improvement.

Examples taken from the BOFiP tables

These examples come from court decisions: similar work is classified on a case-by-case basis. The roof illustrates the difficulty: the tables cite roof restoration as a repair and, with replacement of part of the framework, as an improvement. It is therefore not given as an example here.

According to the BOFiP, the payment of a subsidy from Anah "does not prejudge" whether or not the subsidized work is deductible.

How to declare them

The cost of the work is deductible in the year you pay for it: the 2026 brochure states that you can deduct expenses "actually paid" during the year. The form depends on your situation. According to the 2026 brochure, the 4-page 2044 form is for owners of standard buildings, and the special 2044 form is for specific arrangements.

• Ordinary unfurnished rental accommodation (2044). Repair, maintenance and improvement expenses go to line 224. Details of the work are completed under heading 400, "Payment for work".
• 2044 special. The instructions refer to line 444 (or 446) for these expenses and to section 600, on page 6.

In both cases, you indicate the nature of the work, the name and address of the contractors, the date and amount of payment (instructions for the special 2044 form).

Energy renovation expenses eligible for the increased deficit scheme should be declared on line 224 bis (444 bis on the special 2044 form), not line 224 (444), to avoid being counted twice. This increased limit is discussed on the page about property deficits.

Four bills for a rented apartment: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A landlord rents out an unfurnished apartment for €7,200 in annual rent. He is subject to the actual expense method of taxation. During the year, he pays four bills: €800 for wood treatment against wood-boring insects, €3,200 to replace the central heating boiler, €4,500 to install a kitchen in an apartment that previously lacked one (the lease stipulates its provision), and €1,100 to replace appliances in an already fitted kitchen. These amounts are hypothetical scenarios.

Issue. What portion of the €9,600 paid is deducted, and what is the result before other charges?

Strategy. Classify each invoice according to the BOFiP tables, retain only the repair, maintenance or improvement expenses paid during the year, then fill in the work payment section (section 400 of form 2044 for an ordinary unfurnished rental property).

Result.

Rents of €7,200 minus the €8,500 in renovation costs leave a deficit of €1,300 before any other expenses. If the landlord had deducted the four invoices, the deficit would have been €2,400.

This profile is fictitious. The ranking depends on the facts of each construction site, and the calculation does not predict any results. It does not use any tax rates.

Construction work: what changes depending on your situation

• The scale of the project : a construction site which modifies the structural work or increases the volume or living area falls under construction or extension, according to the definition of the BOFiP.
• The mix of work : joint repair and improvement form in principle a whole, except for possible dissociation.
• Your lease : for a kitchen installed in a dwelling which did not have one, the lease or an addendum must provide for the provision of the equipment.
• The regime : in micro-foncier, no work is deducted separately, the 30 % allowance is deemed to include all expenses.
• Your building : a historical monument or a property under special protection is subject to its own rules.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.