Article 1 of 4 — 2 min read
How much is taxe foncière in Provence?
Short answer
Taxe foncière in Provence ranges from around 27% in sought-after Luberon villages like Gordes to over 56% in larger Alpes-de-Haute-Provence towns like Forcalquier. The actual bill depends on your commune's rate applied to the property's cadastral rental value.
In detail
Taxe foncière is the annual property tax every owner pays in France, regardless of whether the property is a primary or secondary residence. The rate varies dramatically from commune to commune, and Provence spans four départements with very different tax profiles.
Commune rates across Provence
The table below shows the combined taxe foncière (TFB) rate for communes popular with international buyers. These are 2024 rates from the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques, expressed as a percentage applied to the property's valeur locative cadastrale (VLC).
| Commune | Département | TFB rate | TEOM rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordes | Vaucluse (84) | 26.95% | 10.00% |
| Lourmarin | Vaucluse (84) | 29.92% | 10.00% |
| Ménerbes | Vaucluse (84) | 30.85% | 5.66% |
| Bonnieux | Vaucluse (84) | 31.22% | 5.66% |
| L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue | Vaucluse (84) | 40.95% | 12.10% |
| Apt | Vaucluse (84) | 42.13% | 11.88% |
| Draguignan | Var (83) | 41.81% | 12.60% |
| Salon-de-Provence | Bouches-du-Rhône (13) | 48.87% | 14.00% |
| Manosque | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04) | 51.14% | 12.80% |
| Forcalquier | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04) | 56.67% | 13.50% |
The pattern is consistent: smaller, affluent Luberon villages have the lowest rates, while larger towns in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Bouches-du-Rhône départements apply rates roughly double those of Gordes.
Worked example
The cadastral rental value (VLC) is notoriously opaque — it was last comprehensively reassessed in 1970 and has been indexed upward since. As a rough proxy, the VLC for a well-maintained stone mas tends to sit at around 1.0–1.5% of market value.
For a €500,000 property with an estimated VLC of €6,000 (1.2% of market value), the 50% abatement for built property under Article 1388 CGI gives a taxable base of €3,000.
| Gordes (26.95%) | Manosque (51.14%) | |
|---|---|---|
| VLC (proxy) | €6,000 | €6,000 |
| Taxable base (50% abatement) | €3,000 | €3,000 |
| Taxe foncière | €809 | €1,534 |
| TEOM | €300 | €384 |
| Total | €1,109 | €1,918 |
The difference between these two communes — both in Provence, less than 90 minutes apart — is over €800 per year on the same property value.
TEOM: the waste collection add-on
The taxe d'enlèvement des ordures ménagères (TEOM) is collected alongside taxe foncière and appears on the same bill. It funds household waste collection and is calculated on the same cadastral base. Rates across Provence range from around 5.5% in small Luberon communes to over 18% in Arles. Unlike taxe foncière, it can be passed on to a tenant if the property is rented.
Based on DGFiP REI 2024, commune_tax_rates database
Last reviewed: Feb 2026
