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Property · Pillar guide

Renovation work: costing, upgrading, deducting

Three questions come up on every job: what it costs, which grants exist for energy renovation, and what can be deducted from tax. We answer all three, with dated 2026 rules and a calculator to set a budget range.

Estimate my renovation budgetFinance the work
Dated 2026 figuresOfficial sourcesInformation, not advice
Rouleau appliquant une peinture terracotta sur un mur de briques en cours de rénovation, à côté d'un pot de peinture métallique

Step 1

Estimating the cost of the work

The quickest way to frame a budget: start from the floor area to be renovated and a price per m² matching the level of work, then adjust. These ratios are market orders of magnitude, not official prices — only several quotes from tradespeople give you a firm figure.

Freshen-up

~€300 to €600/m²

Paint, floors, small jobs, light making good.

Partial renovation

~€600 to €1,000/m²

Kitchen, bathroom, a few trades redone.

Full renovation

~€1,500 to €2,000/m²

Wiring, plumbing, insulation, partitions — everything redone.

Ratios in € per m² including VAT, labour included — 2026 market orders of magnitude (renovation sources such as Manda / Groupe R), indicative at the date shown and liable to change. Checked 07/2026.

Uplifts to budget for

  • Île-de-France: +15% to +25% — labour costs and the constraints of an urban site.
  • Energy requirements / bio-based materials: +10% to +20% — high-performance insulation, recent equipment.
  • Project management / architect: ~8% to 12% of the value of the works, for a full appointment.
  • Specific extra costs — an upper floor with no lift, an older or stone-built property, asbestos (pre-1997) or lead (pre-1949): surveys and removal on top.

What a renovation is made of

Structural work and demolition, electrics (brought up to the NF C 15-100 standard), plumbing, heating and ventilation (VMC), insulation (walls, loft, floors), joinery (double or triple glazing), plasterwork and partitions, coverings, kitchen, bathroom, painting and finishing. On top of that come the incidental costs: compulsory surveys and waste disposal.

Estimate

Your renovation budget range

Floor area, level of work, uplifts and incidental costs — everything is worked out in your browser, nothing is sent to our servers.

Surface concernée par les travaux, pas forcément toute la surface habitable.

Niveau de rénovation

cuisine, salle de bains, quelques lots

Île-de-France ?

+15 à +25 % vs province (main d'œuvre, contraintes de chantier).

Contrainte énergétique / biosourcés ?

+10 à +20 % (isolation performante, matériaux biosourcés).

Maîtrise d'œuvre / architecte ?

Mission complète : +8 à +12 % du montant des travaux.

DPE, amiante, plomb, évacuation… montant forfaitaire ajouté au budget.

Budget travaux estimé
36 000 € – 60 000 €
Milieu de fourchette : 48 000 €

Détail de l'estimation

Coût des travaux
36 000 € – 60 000 €
Prix moyen au m²
600 € – 1 000 €/m²
Budget total
36 000 € – 60 000 €

An estimate, not advice

Indicative estimate, not a contractual offer — the actual terms depend on your own situation and are set by the institution or the tax authority. Check with a professional.

Ratios €/m² = ordres de grandeur marché 2026 (TTC, main d'œuvre incluse), pas des tarifs officiels. Le prix réel dépend de l'état du bâti, des lots et des artisans : demandez toujours plusieurs devis.

Need to cost the rest of the project? The 8 property calculators cover credit, notaire (French conveyancing) fees, yield and tax.

Step 2

DPE and energy renovation

The diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE) has become central: it governs whether you may let the property and what grants you can claim. Renovating to gain DPE classes both protects your ability to let and unlocks financing.

MaPrimeRénov' 2026

In 2026 the scheme (the French State renovation grant) is narrowed. The Parcours accompagné (the supported route, for whole-home renovation) is reserved for homes rated E, F or G, requires a gain of at least 2 DPE classes including insulation work, and compulsory support from a “Mon Accompagnateur Rénov’” (MAR).

  • Spending caps (order of magnitude): ~€30,000 excluding VAT for a 2-class gain, ~€40,000 excluding VAT for 3 classes or more.
  • Support tapers with income: up to 80% (very low-income households), 60% (low-income), lower rates above that.

A very moveable scale (scheme closures, measures withdrawn mid-year, income thresholds indexed). 2026 values indicative, to be confirmed on france-renov.gouv.fr. Checked 07/2026.

Éco-PTZ (interest-free renovation loan)

The éco-prêt à taux zéro finances energy renovation with no interest and no income test, for a dwelling completed more than two years ago, with the work carried out by an RGE-certified professional (reconnu garant de l’environnement, the French label for energy-renovation trades).

  • Up to €15,000 for a single measure.
  • Up to €25,000 for a package of works.
  • Up to €50,000 for a comprehensive high-performance renovation (energy gain ≥ 35%).
  • Repayable over 20 years at most, and combinable with MaPrimeRénov'.

2026 amounts indicative, to be confirmed on service-public.fr. Checked 07/2026.

Financing the job

Éco-PTZ, home-improvement loan, topping up your mortgage: the terms and the fees depend on the lender. Look at what the others offer before you sign a quote.

Cost the workCompare the banks

Step 3

Deducting your works: the régime réel for rental income

Under unfurnished letting at the régime réel, part of the cost of the work reduces your taxable income. You still have to tell what is deductible from what is not — the line is a precise one.

✓Deductible from revenus fonciers (unfurnished rental income)

  • Repair and maintenance (making good, without altering the structure).
  • Improvement: adding a piece of equipment or a modern comfort without altering the structure or the floor area.

Form 2044 (the French rental-income return): line 224 (repair and maintenance), line 225 (improvement).

✕Not deductible

  • Construction, rebuilding, extension, adding a storey.
  • Demolition.

These costs do not reduce rental income: they are added to the cost price and affect the capital gain when you sell.

The déficit foncier

When your deductible expenses (including the work) exceed your rents, you create a déficit foncier — a rental loss. The part other than loan interest is set against your overall income, up to €10,700 a year. Anything above that ceiling — and the fraction attributable to interest — can be carried forward against your rental income for the next 10 years.

A higher cap of €21,400 a year applies to energy renovation works taking the home out of passoire thermique status (moving from class E, F or G to A, B, C or D). Originally opened for expenses paid up to 31/12/2025, it was extended to 31/12/2027 by the 2026 finance act. The higher cap is elective and requires supporting documents (a DPE before and after the works).

The déficit foncier applies to unfurnished letting under the régime réel. Under LMNP (loueur en meublé non professionnel, the French non-professional furnished-letting regime), the mechanism differs: no set-off against overall income, but depreciation of major works instead. Checked 07/2026.

The right rate

VAT on building work: 5.5%, 10% or 20%

The reduced rate applies in a dwelling completed more than two years ago, for work invoiced and installed by a professional. The rate appears on their quote and on their invoice.

RateFor which work
5.5%Energy renovation: thermal insulation, high-performance or renewable heating and hot water, ventilation, controls — plus “induced” work that cannot be separated from it.
10%Improvement, conversion, fitting out and maintenance of the dwelling (other than energy work and excluded major equipment).
20%The standard rate by default: construction, rebuilding, adding a storey, increasing the floor area by more than 10%, certain major equipment, outdoor works.

Effect on cash flow: on €30,000 of work excluding VAT, moving from 20% to 5.5% VAT means €36,000 including VAT against €31,650 including VAT, a difference of about €4,350.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us about renovation work

Which works are deductible from rental income under the régime réel?

For unfurnished letting under the régime réel (the actual-expenses regime), spending on repair, maintenance and improvement of a dwelling is deductible (form 2044, the French rental-income return: line 224 for repair and maintenance, line 225 for improvement). Work involving construction, rebuilding, extension or adding a storey, by contrast, is not deductible: it is added to the cost price and affects the capital gain instead. For furnished letting (LMNP, loueur en meublé non professionnel, under the actual-expenses regime), major works are not deducted in the same way: they are depreciated over several years.

Which VAT rate applies to renovation work?

In a dwelling completed more than two years ago, and for work invoiced and installed by a professional, three rates exist in 2026: 20% by default (and for construction or extension), 10% for improvement, conversion and maintenance, and 5.5% for energy renovation (insulation, high-performance heating, ventilation). Since 1 January 2025 the paper certificate has gone: a statement confirming that the conditions are met appears on the quote and on the invoice, and must be kept for 5 years.

What is the déficit foncier, and how much can be set off?

When your deductible expenses (including the work) exceed your rents, the resulting déficit foncier (rental loss) is set against your overall income up to €10,700 a year (excluding loan interest, which can only be set against rental income). Anything above €10,700, and the share attributable to interest, can be carried forward against your rental income for the next 10 years. A higher cap of €21,400 a year applies, on election and against supporting documents (a DPE before and after the works), to energy renovation works taking the property out of passoire thermique status: originally set for expenses paid up to 31/12/2025, it was extended to 31/12/2027 by the 2026 finance act (ANIL analysis, checked 08/2026). The BOFiP doctrine online had not yet been updated for that extension at this date: check it again before building a deal on it.

Can MaPrimeRénov’ and the éco-PTZ be combined?

Yes, MaPrimeRénov’ and the éco-prêt à taux zéro can be combined. The éco-PTZ finances energy renovation interest-free in a property more than two years old, carried out by an RGE-certified professional and with no income test: up to €15,000 for a single measure, €25,000 for a package of works and €50,000 for a comprehensive high-performance renovation, repayable over 20 years at most. MaPrimeRénov’ scales change during the year: confirm them on france-renov.gouv.fr.

Do you need a particular DPE rating to carry on letting after works?

The diagnostic de performance énergétique (DPE, the French energy performance certificate) governs whether a property may be let. The timetable of the loi Climat et Résilience, as in force on 06/08/2026: homes rated G can no longer be put on the rental market since 1 January 2025, F homes from 1 January 2028 and E homes from 1 January 2034 (mainland France; later deadlines overseas). The ban applies to leases signed, renewed or tacitly renewed after each deadline, not to leases already running. Two developments to know about: since 1 January 2026 the DPE calculation method has changed (the primary-energy coefficient for electricity was cut from 2.3 to 1.9), which takes electrically heated homes out of energy-sieve status without any works — DPEs issued before then remain valid and can be updated free of charge on the ADEME DPE-Audit observatory; and the timetable itself is being reviewed by Parliament (the “relance et décentralisation du logement” bill, adopted by the Senate at first reading on 8 July 2026, whose article 6 would create derogations from the energy decency criterion). Nothing is settled until that text is finally passed: check the current rule on service-public.gouv.fr before starting works motivated by keeping the property lettable.

Going further

Carry on with your property project

Tax on rental incomeMicro versus réel, LMNP, déficit foncier, capital gains: where your works really count.Buy-to-let investingChoosing the property, working out the true net yield, unfurnished or furnished.MortgagesFinancing the purchase and the works: borrowing capacity, rates, home-improvement loans and subsidised loans.Renovation cost calculatorThe dedicated version of the estimator, with every setting available.All the calculatorsCredit, notaire fees, yield, tax, capital gains: 8 tools, 100% local.Investing without owning a propertySCPI (French property funds) and property crowdfunding: paper property, with no works and no management.