I. – 1. The credit institutions and finance companies mentioned in Article L. 511-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code which is liable for corporation tax, income tax or an equivalent tax, and which has its registered office in a Member State of the European Union or in another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area which has entered into an administrative assistance agreement with France to combat tax evasion and avoidance, are eligible for a tax credit in respect of interest-free repayable advances paid during the tax year or the financial year to finance work to improve the overall energy performance of housing that has been completed for more than two years on the date the work begins and is used or intended to be used as a principal residence.
2. The work mentioned in 1 consists of:
1° Either work that corresponds to at least one of the following categories:
a) Efficient thermal insulation work on roofs;
b) Efficient thermal insulation work on walls overlooking the outside;
c) Efficient thermal insulation work on glazed walls and doors overlooking the outside;
d) Installation, regulation or replacement work on heating systems, where applicable combined with economical and efficient ventilation systems, or efficient domestic hot water production ;
e) Work to install heating equipment using a renewable energy source;
f) Work to install domestic hot water production equipment using a renewable energy source;
g) Work to insulate low floors ;
1° bis Either work to improve the energy performance of the dwelling that has given entitlement to aid granted by the Agence nationale de l’habitat to combat fuel poverty;
1° ter Or work to improve the energy performance of the dwelling that has given entitlement to the energy transition premium mentioned in II of Article 15 of Law No 2019-1479 of 28 December 2019 on the finances for 2020;
2° Or work to achieve a minimum overall energy performance of the dwelling;
3° Or work to retrofit non-collective sanitation systems with devices that do not consume energy;
4° (Repealed).
The procedures for determining the work mentioned in 1° to 3° are set by decree. This decree also sets the company qualification criteria required for the work mentioned in 1° and 2°. The condition of the age of the dwelling mentioned in 1 does not apply in the case of the work mentioned in 1° bis and 1° ter of this 2.
The work mentioned in 1° ter cannot be combined with the other work mentioned in this 2.
3. The interest-free repayable advance may be granted to the following persons:
1° To natural persons for work carried out on their principal dwelling when they own it or on housing that they rent out or undertake to rent out;
2° To non-trading companies not subject to corporation tax, at least one of whose members is a natural person, when they make the building that is the subject of the work available free of charge to one of their natural person members, or when they rent it out or undertake to rent it out ;
3° To natural persons who are members of a syndicate of co-owners, in respect of their pro rata share of works of collective interest carried out on private areas as provided for in f of article 25 of law no. 65-557 du 10 juillet 1965 fixant le statut de la copropriété des immeubles bâtis ainsi que des travaux réalisés sur les parties et équipements communs de l’immeuble dans lequel elles possèdent leur habitation principale ou des logements qu’elles donnent ou s’engage à donner en location ;
4° Non-trading companies not subject to corporation tax, at least one of whose members is a natural person, who are members of a co-owners’ association, in respect of the proportion to which they are entitled for work of collective interest carried out on the private portions provided for in f of article 25 of law no. 65-557 of 10 July 1965 laying down the status of co-ownership of built-up properties, as well as work carried out on the common portions and facilities of the building in which they own a dwelling that they make available free of charge to one of their partners who is a natural person, give for rent or undertake to give for rent.
4. The amount of the repayable advance may not exceed €30,000 per property. By way of derogation, this amount is increased to €50,000 when the advance finances the work mentioned in 2° of 2. A decree sets the maximum repayable advances for the work mentioned in the same 2.
5. The borrower provides the credit institution or finance company mentioned in 1, in support of its application for an interest-free repayable advance, with a detailed description and estimate of the work planned. By way of exception, when the application for an interest-free repayable advance is made at the same time as an application for a loan to purchase the property to which the work relates, the detailed description and estimate of the work planned may be provided at a later date, no later than the date of payment of the loan. Within three years of the date on which the advance is granted by the credit institution or finance company referred to in 1, the borrower must submit all evidence that the work has actually been carried out in accordance with the detailed description and estimate and satisfies the conditions set out in 1 and 2, except in the event of the borrower’s death, the borrower’s health accident resulting in a temporary interruption of work of at least three months, a state of natural or technological disaster, a contentious challenge to the transaction or force majeure, under conditions set by decree.
However, when the advance is granted to finance work referred to in 1° bis of 2, the application for the advance is based on a description of the planned work and information provided to the borrower by the Agence nationale de l’habitat and proof that the work has actually been carried out is provided by the payment of the aid referred to in the same 1° bis.
When the advance is granted to finance work mentioned in 1° ter of 2 of this I, the application for the advance is based on the decision to grant the subsidy sent to the borrower by the Agence nationale de l’habitat. Proof that the work has actually been carried out is provided by notification of payment of the subsidy sent to the borrower by the agency.
6. Only one repayable advance may be granted per dwelling.
6 bis. By way of derogation from 6, the interest-free repayable advance provided for in this article may be granted under the same conditions on a complementary basis to the persons mentioned in 3 to finance other work on the same dwelling that corresponds to at least one of the categories mentioned in 1° of 2. The complementary advance offer is issued within five years of the issue of the initial advance offer. The sum of the amounts of the initial advance and the complementary advance may not exceed the sum of €30,000 for the same dwelling.
By way of derogation, when the initial advance has financed work mentioned in 2° of 2 of this I, the sum of the initial advance and the complementary advance may not exceed the sum of €50,000 for the same dwelling.
7. (Repealed).
8. (Repealed).
9. The repayment period for the interest-free repayable advance may not exceed one hundred and eighty months. By way of derogation, this period is extended to two hundred and forty months when the advance finances the work mentioned in 2° of 2.
II. – The amount of the tax credit is equal to the difference between the discounted sum of the monthly instalments due in respect of the interest-free repayable advance and the discounted sum of the amounts received in respect of a loan of the same amount and repayment period, granted under normal interest rate conditions on the date of issue of the interest-free loan offer.
The tax credit gives rise to an inalienable and non-transferable claim for the same amount in favour of the credit institution or finance company. This claim constitutes taxable income to which one fifth is attached in respect of the financial year during which the credit institution or finance company paid interest-free repayable advances and by equal fractions over the following four financial years.
In the event of a merger, the claim of the absorbed company is transferred to the absorbing company. In the event of a demerger or partial contribution of assets, the claim is transferred to the company receiving the contributions on condition that all the related interest-free repayable advances paid by the demerged or contributing company are transferred to the company receiving the contributions.
III. – The benefit of the tax credit is subject to the conclusion of an agreement between the credit institution or finance company mentioned in 1 of I and the State, in accordance with a standard agreement approved by joint order of the ministers responsible for the economy, housing and the environment.
IV. – An agreement between the credit institution or finance company mentioned in 1 of I and the company responsible for managing the Fonds de garantie de l’accession sociale à la propriété mentioned in Article L. 312-1 of the French Construction and Housing Code defines the procedures for the declaration by the credit institution or finance company of repayable advances, the control of the eligibility of repayable advances and the monitoring of tax credits.
V. – The company responsible for managing the Fonds de garantie de l’accession sociale à la propriété mentioned in IV is required to provide the tax authorities, within four months of the end of the financial year of each credit institution or finance company, with information relating to the interest-free repayable advances paid by each credit institution or finance company, the total amount of the corresponding tax credits obtained and their monitoring.
VI. – Where the partnerships referred to in Articles 8 and 238 bis L, or groups mentioned in articles 239 quater, 239 quater B and 239 quater C are not subject to corporation tax, the tax credit may be used by the partners in proportion to their rights in these companies or groupings, provided that they are liable for corporation tax or natural persons participating in the operation within the meaning of 1° bis of I of article 156.
VI bis.-The interest-free repayable advance provided for in this article may be granted under the same conditions to a syndicate of co-owners to finance work of collective interest carried out on the private portions provided for in f of article 25 of the aforementioned law n° 65-557 of 10 July 1965 as well as work carried out on the common portions and equipment of the building, owned by one of the persons mentioned in 3° and 4° of 3 of I of this article and used or intended to be used as a principal residence, and subject to the adaptations provided for in this VI bis.
The work mentioned in the first paragraph of this VI bis consists of the work mentioned in 1°, 2° and 3° of 2 of I.
For the assessment of the period mentioned in 5 of I of this article when the advance is granted pursuant to the first paragraph of this VI bis, the date on which the advance is granted means the date on which the borrower signs the loan contract mentioned in article 26-5 of law no. 65-557 of 10 July 1965 laying down the status of co-ownership of built properties.
The advance provided for in the first paragraph of this VI bis may be granted in respect of a dwelling that has already been the subject of a repayable advance provided for in I of this article, on condition that the offer relating to the second advance is issued within five years of the issue of the initial advance offer and that the sum of the amounts of the two advances does not exceed €30,000 in respect of the same dwelling. By way of derogation, when one of the two advances has financed or is financing work mentioned in 2° of 2 of I, the sum of the two amounts must not exceed €50,000.
Only one repayable advance may be granted per syndicate of co-owners of the dwellings to which the work relates.
The amount of the repayable advance mentioned in the first paragraph of this VI bis may not exceed the sum of 30,000 € per dwelling affected for residential use and used or intended to be used as a principal residence and held by one of the persons mentioned in 3° and 4° of 3 of I. By way of derogation, this amount is increased to €50,000 when the advance finances work mentioned in 2° of 2 of the same I.
By way of derogation from the fifth paragraph of this VI bis, the advance provided for in the first paragraph may be granted to co-owners’ associations in respect of housing which has already been the subject of a repayable advance granted in application of the same VI bis, to finance other work mentioned in the first paragraph, on condition that the offer of an additional advance is made within five years of the offer of the initial advance and that the sum of the initial advance and the additional advance does not exceed €30,000 for the same dwelling. By way of derogation, when one of the two advances has financed or is financing work mentioned in 2° of 2 of I, the sum of the two amounts must not exceed 50,000 €.
VI ter. – The interest-free repayable advance provided for in I of this article may be granted under the same conditions on a complementary basis to the persons mentioned in 3° and 4° of 3 of the same I when they participate in a repayable advance mentioned in VI bis, to finance other work on the same dwelling that corresponds to at least one of the categories mentioned in 1° of 2 of I and subject to the adaptations provided for in this VI ter.
The offer of an advance must be issued within five years of the issue of the offer of an advance provided for under VI bis.
The sum of the amounts of the advance issued under this VI ter and the advance issued under VI bis may not exceed the sum of 30,000 € in respect of the same dwelling. By way of derogation, when the advance issued under VI bis has financed work mentioned in 2° of 2 of I, this sum is increased to 50,000 €.
VII. – A decree sets out the terms and conditions for the application of this article and in particular the terms and conditions for calculating the tax credit and determining the rate mentioned in II, as well as the financial characteristics and conditions for granting the interest-free repayable advance.
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