Bordeaux has one of the highest municipal property tax rates among large cities, inherited from the 2023 rise, on a declining property market. The double penalty for owners, amounts by profile and the tax-weight simulator.
Illustration : Property tax in Bordeaux in 2026: a rate among the highest on a declining market.
In Bordeaux, the property tax (taxe foncière, the local property tax) combines two pressures rarely seen together. The city has one of the highest municipal rates among large French cities, after the rise voted by Pierre Hurmic's green majority in 2023. And this rate now applies on a market that is turning around: Bordeaux prices have been falling since 2024. The result is a tax burden that weighs proportionally heavier and heavier as the value of properties falls. Here is what this situation changes in practice for owners, profile by profile.
The municipal rate of the property tax on built properties in Bordeaux is 48,48 % in 2026, one of the highest among large French cities. By way of comparison, it is 31,89 % in Lyon and 13,20 % for the municipal share of Toulouse. Source: resolutions of the Bordeaux city council, DGFiP (the French public finances directorate).
On your property tax notice, the municipal share is the line the City of Bordeaux controls. It stands at 48,48 %, a level that places Bordeaux at the top of the ranking of large cities. This rate results from the rise voted in 2023, then renewed identically in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
This high level is partly explained by the city's tax history and by the 2021 reform, which transferred to municipalities the former departmental share of the property tax to offset the abolition of the residence tax (taxe d'habitation, now abolished on main homes). But Bordeaux stands out for a deliberate choice: raising its rate when most of the neighbouring municipalities of the metropolitan area kept theirs unchanged.
In 2023 the Bordeaux city council, led by the green mayor Pierre Hurmic, raised the municipal rate (taux) of the property tax from 46,38 % to 48,48 %, a rise of about 4,5 %. The city justified it by the surge in energy costs and the funding of its ecological and social transition. Source: Bordeaux city council, 2023.
The rise was voted for the 2023 notices. The municipal rate went from 46,38 % to 48,48 %. The green majority pointed to short-term circumstances: the surge in energy prices was increasing the city's operating costs. 'We had no choice,' Pierre Hurmic summed up at the time.
The city also owned a political choice: funding its ecological and social transition priorities by using the main tax lever left to municipalities, after the abolition of the residence tax on main homes. The municipal opposition disputed the need for this rise, judging that it weighed on all owners.
| Key step | Municipal rate (built property) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Before 2023 | 46,38 % | - |
| 2023 vote, 2023 notice | 48,48 % | +4,5 % |
| 2024 notice (renewed) | 48,48 % | stable |
| 2025 notice (renewed) | 48,48 % | stable |
| 2026 notice (renewed) | 48,48 % | stable |
On top of this municipal rate, your notice also carries the household waste collection tax (TEOM) and the other lines voted by local authorities, as well as the annual revaluation of the cadastral bases, set at +0,8 % nationally for 2026. The 2023 rise and the revaluation of the bases are two distinct mechanisms that add together.
After years of sharp rises, the Bordeaux property market has been declining since 2024. The median price of an older flat stands at around 4 087 €/m² in mid-2025, down about 6 % over one year. Source: notarial data and DVF (the French notarised sales database), 2025.
Bordeaux had seen a decade of soaring prices, driven by the arrival of the high-speed rail line (LGV) and its appeal. Since 2024 the trend has reversed: rising mortgage rates, a drop in sales volumes, and falling prices. The median price of an older flat is around 4 087 €/m², against a city average of 4 309 €/m² (DVF, Immover single source, June 2026).
The decline does not spare the sought-after districts. Central areas such as the Chartrons, around 6 300 €/m², have fallen by 4 to 7 % over one year. In Caudéran, more residential, the prices of older houses have dropped by nearly 8 % in some areas.
For a buyer, this decline opens a window. For an owner already in place, it has a more discreet but real effect on the weight of their property tax, which we detail in the next section.
When the value of a property falls while the property tax stays high, the relative weight of that tax rises. In Bordeaux, an owner pays a tax among the highest of the large cities, on a property whose resale value has fallen. This is the double-penalty effect specific to the Bordeaux market in 2026.
The property tax does not follow the market price: it is calculated on the cadastral rental value (valeur locative cadastrale), which keeps being revalued each year, regardless of the fall in sale prices. In other words, your contribution does not fall when your property loses value. It even keeps rising slightly through the revaluation of the bases.
The result is arithmetic. For a flat bought at 400 000 € and worth 375 000 € today, an unchanged property tax represents a larger share of the property's value than two years ago. For an investor, this weighs directly on the net yield.
On the ground, this double-penalty effect mainly changes the calculation of landlords and hesitant sellers. A high property tax does not prevent a sale, but it enters into the investor buyer's decision, who compares Bordeaux with Nantes or Toulouse. In a falling market, this parameter, long secondary, becomes again a negotiating point not to be overlooked.
In Bordeaux, the annual property tax ranges, as an order of magnitude, from a few hundred euros for a studio to more than 2 500 € for a house in Caudéran. The high level of the municipal rate weighs on all of these amounts.
The orders of magnitude below apply to an annual contribution, all shares combined, anchored on real Bordeaux districts and on the observed prices per m² (DVF, Immover single source, June 2026). They illustrate the weight of the Bordeaux municipal rate on typical profiles.
| Typical profile | Price per m² of the area | Annual property tax (order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| Studio 25 m², Saint-Michel | ~ 3 900 €/m² | ~ 700 € |
| Three-room 65 m², Chartrons | ~ 6 300 €/m² | ~ 1 600 € |
| Flat 90 m², Jardin Public | ~ 5 600 €/m² | ~ 2 000 € |
| House 130 m², Caudéran | ~ 3 700 €/m² | ~ 2 600 € |
These values are indicative. The exact amount of your property tax depends on the cadastral rental value specific to your home, which appears on your notice and which no generic calculation can replace.
Enter the amount of your annual property tax and the estimated value of your property. The simulator calculates the weight of this tax relative to the property's value. This ratio rises mechanically when the market falls, which illustrates the Bordeaux double-penalty effect.
As the March 2026 municipal elections approach, local taxation is back in the Bordeaux debate. Some opposition candidates, including Thomas Cazenave, propose to freeze taxes during the term. A freeze would not, however, erase the current level of the rate or the revaluation of the bases decided at national level.
The high level of the Bordeaux property tax, a legacy of the 2023 rise, logically finds its way into the campaign. Opposition candidates make it an argument and propose a commitment to tax stability for the coming term, like Thomas Cazenave, whose freeze proposal has been costed by the Institut Montaigne.
Two things must be distinguished, however. A freeze of the rate would prevent new rises decided locally, but would not bring the rate back to its pre-2023 level, barring an explicit cut. And it would have no effect on the annual revaluation of the bases, which is a matter for the State. For an owner, a freeze pledge therefore means a stable rate, not a lower bill.
In a declining Bordeaux market, the asking price matters more than ever. A correctly priced property sells; an overvalued one stays on the market. The property tax, for its part, is not the trigger for a sale, but it enters into the investor buyer's decision.
The turnaround of the Bordeaux market has shifted the balance of power towards buyers. Selling times are lengthening, and properties at the right price stand out clearly from those still pegged to 2021 values. In this context, the starting estimate is decisive.
The property tax plays a secondary role in the decision, but a growing one for investors: on a tight yield, a high tax burden weighs on the calculation. A shrewd seller anticipates this objection and handles it with a realistic price rather than denial.
To situate the value of your property in this shifting market, the most reliable approach remains to start from recent actual transactions in your neighbourhood. This is the method we use to estimate a property in Bordeaux.
The municipal rate of the property tax on built properties (taxe foncière, the local property tax) in Bordeaux is 48,48 % in 2026, one of the highest among large French cities. It has been unchanged since the rise voted in 2023. On top of this municipal share, your notice also carries the household waste collection tax (TEOM), the other lines voted by local authorities and the annual revaluation of the cadastral rental values (valeur locative cadastrale), set at +0,8 % nationally in 2026.
In 2023 the Bordeaux city council, led by the green mayor Pierre Hurmic, raised the municipal rate (taux) of the property tax on built properties from 46,38 % to 48,48 %, a rise of about 4,5 %. The city justified it by the surge in energy costs and the funding of its ecological and social transition. The rate has been kept identical since.
Because two effects combine. On one side, Bordeaux has a municipal property tax rate among the highest of the large cities. On the other, the Bordeaux property market has been declining since 2024, with a fall of about 6 % over one year. The property tax, calculated on the cadastral rental value (valeur locative cadastrale) and not on the market price, does not fall when the property loses value: its relative weight therefore rises as prices drop.
Yes. After a decade of sharp rises, the Bordeaux market turned around from 2024. The median price of an older flat stands at around 4 087 €/m² in mid-2025, down about 6 % over one year, for a city average of 4 309 €/m². Sought-after districts such as the Chartrons (around 6 300 €/m²) have fallen by 4 to 7 %, and some parts of Caudéran by nearly 8 % on older houses.
As orders of magnitude, all shares combined: about 700 € for a studio in Saint-Michel, 1 600 € for a three-room flat in the Chartrons, 2 000 € for a flat near the Jardin Public, 2 600 € for a house in Caudéran. The high level of the Bordeaux municipal rate weighs on all of these amounts. The exact amount depends on the cadastral rental value specific to your home, shown on your notice.
Some opposition candidates, including Thomas Cazenave, propose to freeze taxes during the coming term. A freeze would prevent new local rises, but would not bring the rate back to its pre-2023 level, barring an explicit cut being voted. It would also have no effect on the annual revaluation of the bases, decided at national level. A freeze pledge therefore means a stable rate, not a lower bill.
The 2026 property tax notice is sent by the French public finances directorate (DGFiP) between late August and early October 2026, and made available on impots.gouv.fr. The payment deadline is generally set at 15 October for taxpayers who pay monthly and 20 October for direct payment.
The decline of the Bordeaux market has shifted the balance of power towards buyers, with longer selling times. A correctly priced property keeps selling, whereas an overvalued one stays on the market. The high property tax is not the trigger for a sale, but it enters into the calculation of the investor buyer. In this context, a realistic starting estimate, based on recent actual transactions in your neighbourhood, is decisive.
Estimation gratuite et précise en quelques minutes, quartier par quartier.
Estimer mon bien