The tax authorities on the trail of 80,000 to 100,000 undeclared swimming pools in France

Beware of those who have not declared their swimming pool… The tax authorities intend to identify between 80,000 and 100,000 this year. The amount of this tax adjustment would thus amount to “from 40 to 50 million euros in 2023”, four times more than last year, indicates to Ouest-France Jérôme Fournel, the director general of Public Finances. By 2022, around 20,000 swimming pools had been unearthed, representing 10 million euros in additional property tax revenue.

For the French who will be pinned, the tax will be affected for the current year. With a swimming pool, the property tax increases by “about 200 euros per year on average”, underlines Jérôme Fournel. They will also be likely to undergo a recall over the previous three years “depending on the date of construction of the swimming pool or the date of acquisition of the property”.

If some intend to keep their swimming pool secret, it will be difficult to escape the tax authorities because the administration directly uses aerial photos from the National Geographic Institute. An artificial intelligence then compares these maps to the cadastre to identify unlisted swimming pools. Last year, this system was tested in nine departments, including Morbihan, Vendée, and Maine-et-Loire. In all, 94% of the owners contacted had then acknowledged having a taxable swimming pool. “This year, all the departments are concerned”, warns Jérôme Fournel. If the project costs 24 million euros to the State, it would “already be profitable”, according to the tax authorities.

However, the conditions for building a swimming pool are clear: if the pool is between 10 and 100 m2, a “prior declaration of work at the town hall” must be made and beyond 100 m2, a building permit must be requested. Then simply declare the construction to the tax authorities via the “manage my real estate” service in its “private space” on the tax site.

For now, only swimming pools will be pinned this year. Other constructions, such as house extensions, will soon be subject to a tax audit. Artificial intelligence will therefore continue to train “in order to obtain an optimal detection rate”, underlines Jérôme Fournel.