You let a flat in Calais, a fisherman’s cottage in Gravelines or a studio facing the promenade at Malo-les-Bains, and one question comes up with the very first tax return: should you stay under LMNP status or switch to LMP? The subject looks technical, but it is in fact very concrete, because the status you fall under determines your tax, your social contributions and the sale of your property. Here is how to decide calmly about LMNP status for short-term letting, without getting lost in tax vocabulary.
LMNP and LMP: two statuses for one activity
Furnished letting, whether by the year or by the night, falls under industrial and commercial profits (BIC), not under property income. That is the first thing to take on board: for tax purposes your furnished tourist accommodation is not an unfurnished home, even though it is the same flat.
Within that BIC category there are two capacities: non-professional furnished landlord (LMNP) and professional furnished landlord (LMP). This is not a box to tick or a status you apply for. You are placed in one or the other according to your actual situation, assessed each year at household level.
In other words, an owner can be an LMNP short-term landlord for three years, move to LMP in the fourth year because they have bought a second property, then return to LMNP after retiring changes their other income. It is an annual snapshot, not a decision set in stone.
The two conditions that tip you into LMP
Moving to LMP means meeting two conditions at the same time. They are cumulative: if one is missing, you stay LMNP.
- Annual receipts from furnished letting exceed €23,000 for the whole tax household. The test is on receipts collected, across all properties, not on profit.
- Those receipts exceed the household’s other earned income subject to income tax: salaries, pensions, profits from self-employment.
It is the second condition that makes the difference in most cases. A couple who both work full time in Dunkirk industry or at the port of Calais will rarely cross that line, even with two well-booked lets. Conversely, a retired person on a modest pension running three properties on the coast can tip over without having planned for it.
These criteria are set out in the French general tax code and how they apply depends on your precise situation. Have them checked by an accountant before any investment decision.
What LMNP actually brings
For the great majority of Opal Coast owners, LMNP remains the clearest framework. Its strengths come down to three points.
- Flexibility in how you declare. Depending on your receipts and your situation, you can fall under micro-BIC or opt for the actual-expenses regime. That choice deserves an article of its own: we set it out in our guide to micro-BIC versus the actual-expenses regime.
- Depreciation under the actual-expenses regime. Each year you deduct a fraction of the value of the building and the furniture, which sharply reduces taxable profit, sometimes wiping it out for several years.
- No automatic affiliation to the self-employed social security scheme, as long as you stay below the thresholds that trigger that obligation.
The trade-off is well known: under LMNP, losses generated by the activity can only be set against profits of the same kind, in later years. They do not reduce your overall income. For a salaried owner who has funded major works in a town house in Boulogne-sur-Mer, that difference is far from trivial: the loss does exist, but it waits to be absorbed by the let’s future profits.
Watch out too for a point often discovered too late: since the 2025 Finance Act, depreciation deducted during operation is, for most non-professional furnished lets, added back into the capital gain calculation on resale. The tax advantage obtained each year is therefore partly paid for on the way out. Here again, have the transaction modelled by a professional before you sell.
The strengths and constraints of LMP
LMP is neither a privilege nor a penalty: it is a different balance.
On the plus side, trading losses can be set against the household’s overall income, which can be a real lever in the early years, when works and acquisition costs weigh heavily. Disposal also falls under the professional capital gains regime, with possible exemptions subject to conditions on how long you have held the property and on your receipts.
On the constraint side, the activity becomes a genuine business. You come under self-employed social contributions, with an overall rate commonly between 30 and 45% of profit depending on the situation. That opens up entitlements, notably to a pension, but it noticeably increases the cash burden. The accounting also becomes more demanding: balance sheet, profit and loss account, tracking of fixed assets, accountant’s fees to budget for every year.
Finally, think about the unexpected. A quiet season, roadworks in front of your building, a year without British guests and your receipts fall: you can drop out of LMP without choosing to, with consequences for what happens to your earlier losses. That relative instability is one more reason to have your file followed by a professional rather than reasoning from a single year.
Social contributions: the real tipping point for furnished tourist accommodation
Here is the most common trap among the owners we work with between Wimereux and Bray-Dunes. For furnished tourist accommodation, affiliation to the self-employed social security scheme can be required as soon as receipts exceed a threshold of around €23,000 a year, even without LMP status. Short-term letting is treated differently here from conventional year-round furnished letting.
In practice, an owner letting two fine seafront properties in Wissant may be caught by this while believing they are safely LMNP. Some situations allow affiliation to the general scheme rather than the self-employed one. This point is technical, it moves, and it must be confirmed with an accountant or URSSAF before your first return.
The comparison at a glance
| Criterion | LMNP | LMP |
|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Outside the two cumulative thresholds | Receipts > €23,000 and > other earned income |
| Use of losses | Against furnished letting profits only | Against the household’s overall income |
| Depreciation | Yes, under the actual-expenses regime | Yes, under the actual-expenses regime |
| Social contributions | Depending on the nature and volume of the activity | Self-employed contributions |
| Capital gain on resale | Private regime, depreciation largely added back | Professional regime, exemptions possible under conditions |
| Accounting complexity | Moderate | High |
Four questions to decide without going wrong
Before making plans, put these four questions to your adviser.
- How much do my other sources of income weigh? As long as they comfortably exceed your rental receipts, the question of LMP does not arise.
- How many properties will I be running within three years? A second purchase in Boulogne-sur-Mer or Saint-Omer can change the picture faster than you might think.
- What is my resale horizon? The treatment of capital gains differs markedly between the two statuses.
- Do I need social entitlements? For a self-employed person or a recent retiree, this aspect matters as much as the tax.
One last remark: status never replaces operating performance. A badly priced, half-empty property will stay barely profitable whatever the regime. Working on your occupancy rate, your presentation and your welcome remains the first lever, as we explain in our guide to your property’s rental yield and in our article on the advantages of furnished letting.
At N&C Conciergerie we do neither accountancy nor tax advice: we look after what feeds your receipts — the listing, the pricing, the housekeeping, the linen and the guest relationship, from the Calais area to the Dunkirk area. If you want a clear view of what delegated management would mean in your case, discover our concierge services on the Opal Coast and our rates and services, then call us on 06.59.97.61.29 to talk it through simply.
Frequently asked questions
Is LMNP a status to declare before letting?
No, LMNP is not a status you apply for. You must, however, declare the start of your furnished letting activity to the business formalities portal in order to obtain a SIRET number, then declare your receipts as BIC. Whether you qualify as LMNP or LMP is then established each year according to your income.
Can you be LMNP with several short-term rental properties?
Yes, without difficulty. The number of properties is not a criterion: what counts is the amount of the household’s receipts and how it compares with your other earned income. Three small seasonal studios in Calais can perfectly well stay LMNP, while a single large, very well-booked house can tip a household on a modest income over the line.
Is moving to LMP permanent?
No. The qualification is assessed year by year, at tax household level. A fall in receipts, a return to salaried work or a change in the household’s composition can bring you back to LMNP the following year. Because these movements have consequences for depreciation and for capital gains, have them analysed by an accountant before you commit.
