Checks carried out notably on undeclared swimming pools have made it possible to recover 40 million euros over the past five years, for the benefit of local authorities.
For years, the tax authorities have been spotting undeclared structures from the sky, including garden sheds. To identify them, they cross-reference aerial photographs with cadastral data.
These checks are not merely a matter of formality. They feed the revenues of local authorities, which are already affected by other structures that have gone unreported.
A garden shed does not automatically fall within the scope of the tax. Three conditions must be met: the shed is enclosed, its surface area exceeds five square meters, and its height reaches at least 1.80 meters.
When these criteria are met, the development tax is due. It is paid once, for an amount between 200 and 1,000 euros depending on the municipality.
The owner is not done with that single payment. The declared structure also leads to a reassessment of the property tax.
Conversely, an undeclared structure exposes the owner to a tax adjustment. The risk is therefore not limited to a late regularization of the file.
Between aerial photographs, the cadastre and the threat of a tax adjustment, the room for maneuver of those who have not declared their shed is shrinking. Staying compliant means checking the structure’s surface area, height and enclosed nature, then paying the taxes that result.