Clermont-Ferrand combines some of the lowest property prices among large French cities with one of the highest property tax rates, close to 50 %. Rate, calculation, amounts by profile and impact on the value of your property.
Illustration : Property tax in Clermont-Ferrand in 2026: why it is so high.
In Clermont-Ferrand, a paradox sums up local taxation: the city shows one of the lowest prices per m² among large French cities, at around 2 175 €/m², but one of the highest property tax rates, close to 50 % once every share is added together. As a result, a property that is cheap to buy can remain costly to own. According to the 19th national observatory published by the UNPI, the French property owners' union, in October 2025, the property tax rose by 37,3 % over ten years across the 200 largest cities, and the local press regularly places Clermont among the leading municipalities in that decade-long ranking. Here is what you actually pay, why the rate is so high, and what it changes for the value of your property.
The municipal rate of property tax on built property in Clermont-Ferrand is around 46,60 %, unchanged since the 9 % rise applied in 2016. Adding the metropolitan share and the ancillary taxes, the overall rate stands at around 49,88 % in 2025. With an unchanged municipal rate, the only change in 2026 comes from the national revaluation of cadastral bases (+0,8 %).
Unlike cities that have raised their rate in recent years, Clermont-Ferrand has not changed its municipal rate since 2016. But that rate starts from an already high level: the municipal share of the property tax on built property runs at around 46,60 %, to which are added the share paid to Clermont Auvergne Métropole (in the order of 2,8 %) and the ancillary taxes. The overall recorded rate therefore comes to 49,88 % in 2025, one of the highest among large French cities.
The bill, meanwhile, has kept rising every year, not through the rate but through the base. The national revaluation of rental values, decided by the State, added +7,1 % in 2023, +3,9 % in 2024, +1,7 % in 2025 and +0,8 % in 2026. It is that compounding, grafted onto an already high rate, that explains why Clermont ranks among the cities where the property tax has risen the most over the decade.
| What pushes the bill up | Effect | Decided by |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal rate rise (2016) | +9 % on the rate, once | Municipal council |
| Revaluation of the bases, 2023 | +7,1 % | The State (Finance Act) |
| Revaluation of the bases, 2024 | +3,9 % | The State (Finance Act) |
| Revaluation of the bases, 2026 | +0,8 % | The State (Finance Act) |
The 2026 rate will be formally set in the municipality's initial budget, voted after the March 2026 municipal elections. The recent trajectory (a municipal rate stable since 2016) is the line of the outgoing administration, with no guaranteed quantified commitment for what follows. Source: DGFiP, the French public finances directorate, rates recorded on impots.gouv.fr.
Your property tax is calculated by multiplying the cadastral rental value of your property, reduced by 50 %, by the rates voted locally. In Clermont-Ferrand, the municipal share (around 46,60 %), the metropolitan share and the ancillary taxes apply, for an overall rate close to 49,88 %. It is that high rate, more than the value of the properties, that weighs on the bill.
The formula is national: taxable base (cadastral rental value × revaluation coefficient × 50 % flat-rate allowance) × rates voted. The cadastral rental value depends on the floor area, the address, the standing and the condition of your home. The revaluation coefficient is set each year by the State: it is +0,8 % in 2026, against +1,7 % in 2025 and +3,9 % in 2024.
What makes Clermont distinctive is not the method of calculation, which is national, but the level of the rate. For the same rental value, an owner in Clermont pays appreciably more than an owner in a city with an overall rate of 35 to 40 %. Conversely, because property values there are low (around 2 175 €/m² on average), the amount in euros often stays contained for small units: it is the ratio between the two that penalises.
The annual revaluation of the bases is decided at national level, independently of the municipality. Even with a stable municipal rate, your taxable base rises mechanically every year (+0,8 % in 2026). A reform of the rental values of residential premises is also expected in the coming years. Source: DGFiP, INSEE (consumer price index).
The amount depends on the cadastral rental value of your property, not directly on its market price. As an order of magnitude, the property tax runs from around 450 € for a student studio to more than 2 200 € for a house in a residential area. The city's high overall rate (49,88 %) makes these amounts higher than in comparable regional cities.
The price per m² in Clermont-Ferrand runs at around 2 175 €/m² on average (DVF data projected for 2026, from the French database of notarised property sales), one of the lowest among large French cities, with gaps between the centre (Jaude, Montferrand) and the more working-class districts of the north (La Gauthière, Croix-de-Neyrat). Our page on property prices per m² in Clermont-Ferrand sets out those gaps district by district.
| Profile | Area | Property tax (order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|
| 25 m² studio | Gaillard / university district | ~ 450 € |
| 65 m² 3-room flat | Montferrand / Delille | ~ 1 090 € |
| 85 m² apartment | Jaude / town centre | ~ 1 600 € |
| 110 m² house | Chanturgue / La Plaine | ~ 2 200 € |
These amounts are orders of magnitude: the cadastral rental value, set by the tax authorities, does not mechanically follow the market price. Two properties of the same floor area can show different tax bills depending on their cadastral classification. The exact amount appears on your notice, on the line for property tax on built property. As a benchmark, the local press cites the case of a modest 65 m² home whose local tax bill comes to around 1 090 €.
The Clermont rate has been high since the 9 % rise voted in 2016 by the majority of Olivier Bianchi, neither raised nor cut since. It funds the services of a core city whose reach extends beyond its own residents (university, hospital, culture, transport) and whose tax bases, because of low property prices, bring in proportionally less. A high rate partly compensates for modest rental values.
This is the section that explains the Clermont paradox. In 2016, the majority of Olivier Bianchi raised the municipal rates of the property tax and the residence tax by 9 %, to restore the city's finances. That rate has not moved since, but it has stayed at a high level, around 46,60 % for the municipal share alone on built property.
Two structural factors sustain that level. First, Clermont-Ferrand is a core city: a regional capital, home of Michelin, a university and hospital hub, it funds facilities used by an urban area far larger than its roughly 147 000 inhabitants. Second, low property values reduce the yield of each point of rate: to raise a given amount of revenue on inexpensive properties, you need a higher rate than in a city where prices, and therefore bases, are high.
Worth noting, a point that works the other way: the municipality has not introduced a second-home surcharge on the residence tax, for want of tourist pressure and by choice not to penalise non-resident owners. On that point, Clermont stands clearly apart from coastal or tourist municipalities.
A frozen rate, a climbing bill. The municipal rate has not risen since 2016, but the taxable base, revalued every year by the State, keeps pushing up the amount paid. The 2026 rate will be set in the initial budget voted after the March 2026 municipal elections. Source: local press (La Montagne), DGFiP.
Enter the amount of the municipal share of your property tax (the first line of your notice). The simulator estimates what the same base would cost in a city applying a municipal rate of 35 % (a median order of magnitude for a large city), so as to measure the extra cost linked to the Clermont rate of around 46,60 %.
With an overall rate close to 49,88 %, Clermont-Ferrand ranks among the most heavily taxed large French cities on built property, at the opposite end from cities such as Cannes (27,12 %). The comparison has to take the bases into account: in Clermont, a high rate applies to low rental values, which contains the amount in euros for small units.
A direct comparison between cities is delicate: the final amount depends on the rate, but also on the cadastral rental value, specific to each property and generally low in Clermont. Two benchmarks nonetheless hold. First, the Clermont rate is structurally among the highest of the large cities. Second, the city regularly ranks near the top of the table for increases over the decade: according to the UNPI, the property tax rose by 37,3 % over ten years on average across the 200 largest cities, and Clermont, with its 2016 rise, sits above that average.
The contrast with the south is stark. In Cannes, the municipal rate is only 27,12 % after a one-point cut: see our analysis of the property tax in Cannes. In Marseille, owners bear one of the highest rates in France, applied to old rental values: see the property tax in Marseille. Clermont shares a high rate with Marseille, but on far more affordable prices.
A high property tax is a point of attention for a buyer, above all for a buy-to-let investor who factors it into the net yield. It weighs little, however, against the strengths of Clermont: low prices, a lively student market and good value for money. The value of a property there depends first on its location, its floor area, its condition and its energy rating.
Clermont-Ferrand is a market offering good value for money: an average price of around 2 175 €/m², a large student population (Université Clermont Auvergne), and an employment area supported by Michelin and the hospital sector. In that context, a high property tax plays out on two levels.
1. A cost of ownership to factor in. For a buy-to-let investor, the property tax is an annual charge that eats into the net yield. At equal rent, a high rate reduces profitability. A careful investor works it out before buying, all the more so since in Clermont it can represent more than a month's rent.
2. A marginal effect on the sale price. For a seller, the property tax does not enter the asking price directly: it is rarely decisive next to the location, the condition of the property and the energy rating. It can nonetheless serve the buyer as a bargaining argument. To place your property, see our property prices per m² in Clermont-Ferrand district by district.
The municipal rate of property tax on built property in Clermont-Ferrand is around 46,60 %, unchanged since the 9 % rise applied in 2016. Adding the share paid to Clermont Auvergne Métropole and the ancillary taxes, the overall rate stands at around 49,88 % in 2025, one of the highest among large French cities. In 2026, with an unchanged municipal rate, the only change comes from the national revaluation of cadastral bases (+0,8 %).
The Clermont rate has been high since the 9 % rise voted in 2016 by the majority of Olivier Bianchi, never changed since. It funds the facilities of a regional core city (university, hospital, culture, transport) used by an urban area far larger than its 147 000 inhabitants. On top of that, the city's low property values reduce the yield of each point of rate: a high rate partly compensates for modest tax bases.
Yes. According to the 19th national observatory published by the UNPI, the French property owners' union (October 2025), the property tax rose by 37,3 % over ten years across the 200 largest cities, and Clermont-Ferrand is among the leading cities in that decade-long ranking. The rise comes from two combined effects: the 9 % municipal increase voted in 2016 and the national revaluation of cadastral bases every year (+7,1 % in 2023, +3,9 % in 2024, +1,7 % in 2025, +0,8 % in 2026).
The amount depends on the cadastral rental value, not directly on the market price. Orders of magnitude: around 450 € for a student studio near the university campuses, 1 090 € for a 3-room flat in Montferrand or Delille, 1 600 € for an 85 m² apartment in Jaude, 2 200 € for a 110 m² house in a residential area. The city's high overall rate makes these amounts higher than in comparable cities.
The 2026 property tax notice is sent by the Direction générale des finances publiques, the French public finances directorate, between the end of August and early October 2026. No action is needed, the calculation is automatic. The payment deadline is generally set at 15 October (monthly instalments) or 20 October (direct payment), depending on how you pay.
No. Unlike tourist municipalities in tight housing markets, Clermont-Ferrand has not introduced a surcharge on the residence tax for second homes, for want of tourist pressure and by choice not to penalise non-resident owners. On that point, the city stands clearly apart from coastal municipalities and tight-market areas.
The formula is national: the taxable base (cadastral rental value, revalued then reduced by a flat-rate allowance of 50 %) multiplied by the rates voted. In Clermont, the municipal share (around 46,60 %), the metropolitan share (in the order of 2,8 %) and the ancillary taxes apply, for an overall rate close to 49,88 %. It is the level of the rate, more than the value of the properties, that weighs on the bill.
The direct effect on prices remains marginal. A high property tax is above all a point of attention for buy-to-let investors, who factor it into their net yield, where it can represent more than a month's rent. For a seller, it sometimes serves as a bargaining argument, but the value of a property depends first on its location, its floor area, its condition and its energy rating. The average price in Clermont is around 2 175 €/m² in 2026, one of the lowest among large cities.
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