Property tax in Tours in 2026: the 2022 rise frozen, put to the test by the elections

1. A rate of 43,44 %, frozen since 2022

The property tax shown on your notice adds up several lines. In Tours, most of it comes from the municipal share, set at 43,44 %. That is the one the town votes on, and it determines the bulk of your liability.

Two movements explain the current level. In 2021 the municipal rate rose mechanically because of a national reform: the abolition of the residence tax on main homes led to the transfer of the departmental share of property tax to the municipalities. The departmental rate was added to the municipal rate, without your liability changing as a result. Then, in 2022, the town voted a genuine rise in its rate.

2. The 2022 rise: what your property tax paid for

The increase was no small matter: after seven years without a rise, the new majority took a strong political decision at the start of its term. The case rested on two strands.

The first was catching up on investment. The council presented municipal buildings and infrastructure (schools, facilities, roads) as heavily run down by chronic under-investment, and in need of being brought back up to standard. The second was the development of public services: the deputy mayor for finance at the time, Syamak Agha Babaei, pointed to the recruitment of around 300 staff, the creation of new tram and bus routes, and free transport for under-18s.

Since that vote, the municipal share has not moved. The town chose not to raise its rate again in the following years. But the level reached in 2022 remains the basis of everything you pay today.

3. What you really pay

The move from 38,94 to 43,44 % increased the municipal share by about 11,56 %. In other words, of the 43,44 % you pay today, close to 4,5 points come directly from the 2022 decision.

Four typical profiles in Tours

These orders of magnitude cover the municipal share alone. They should be set against a Tours market more affordable than those of the neighbouring large cities: the average price of an apartment runs at around 2 889 €/m² in Tours, which softens the tax burden measured against the value of the property.

4. Quick calculator: what the 2022 rise costs you

5. Why your notice climbs despite the frozen rate

This is the most common misunderstanding. A frozen rate does not mean a frozen liability. The property tax is the product of a rate (voted by the town) and a base (the cadastral rental value, revalued every year by the state).

That revaluation follows the harmonised index of consumer prices. Over the last three years it has been particularly strong: +7,1 % in 2023, +3,9 % in 2024, +1,7 % in 2025. For 2026 it comes back down to +0,8 % according to INSEE, the French national statistics institute. Applied to your base, that rise adds up year after year, whatever the freeze on the municipal rate.

6. The freeze put to the test by the March 2026 elections

The political calendar sheds light on the choice to freeze. After the 2022 rise, the council held its rate steady until the end of the term. The 2026 budget, voted without a tax increase, extends that line a few weeks before the ballot.

The end-of-term budget debates turned on three subjects: the level of investment, the town's debt and the path of taxation. The majority, through its deputy mayor for finance Frédéric Miniou, defends tax stability combined with sustained investment. The opposition points to the combined weight of the 2022 rise and the revaluation of the bases on owners' spending power.

7. What impact on the value of your property?

Three effects are worth keeping in mind:

1. A real weight for investors. With a rate of 43,44 %, the property tax eats into net rental yield. For a landlord that is a point to watch, even if a purchase price lower than in Nantes or Bordeaux partly offsets that annual cost.

2. A secondary factor for a main home. For a buyer who is moving in, the property tax remains marginal against the purchase price and the cost of the loan. A 90 m² apartment in Les Prébendes, at around 260 000 € at the average Tours price, carries a municipal share of the order of 1 480 € a year: real, but rarely decisive.

3. Appeal driven by location, not by taxation. Tours benefits from its high-speed rail link (Paris in an hour), its quality of life and a market more affordable than the large cities of western France. It is that gap, rather than a property tax level that buyers take as a given of the town, which supports demand.