What You Need to Know in August 2026
Several important administrative changes and deadlines may affect English-speaking residents in France this month. Our August French Admin Update includes: The arrival of taxe foncière bills, new protections for families arranging funerals, revised university fees for some British students and better information for families choosing an EHPAD.
Here is what has changed, who is affected and what you may need to do.
Taxe foncière bills are arriving
The 2026 taxe foncière notices are now being issued to property owners and usufructuaries in France.
If you receive your notice electronically, it should be available in your espace Finances publiques:
- from 27 August if you do not pay monthly;
- from 19 September if you are already paying by monthly instalments.
Paper notices are being sent between 24 August and 21 September for non-monthly payers, and between 21 September and 9 October for monthly payers.
The payment deadlines are:
- 15 October 2026 for eligible payments made by cheque, bank transfer, cash or another offline method;
- 20 October 2026 when paying online.
If the amount due exceeds €300, it must be paid electronically.
Could you qualify for an exemption or reduction?
Some property owners may qualify for a complete exemption or a €100 reduction.
A full exemption may apply to recipients of:
- Allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées — ASPA;
- Allocation supplémentaire d’invalidité — ASI.
An income-related exemption may also apply if you:
- were over 75 on 1 January 2026; or
- receive Allocation aux adultes handicapés — AAH.
People who were aged between 65 and 74 on 1 January 2026 may qualify for a €100 reduction, subject to the same income limits.
For a household with one fiscal part, the 2025 revenu fiscal de référence must not exceed €12,793. Different limits apply according to the number of fiscal parts in the household.
Check the first page of your 2026 income-tax assessment. If you believe an exemption or reduction should have been applied, contact your tax office through the secure messaging service in your online account.
Official information:
Funeral companies must provide clearer information
Included in our August French Admin Update: Upcoming changes from 1 October 2026 concerning funeral arrangements. Funeral operators in France will be required to give families a standardised information notice when arranging a funeral.
This applies to funeral companies, communes and associations providing funeral services.
The notice must explain:
- the family’s right to choose its funeral operator;
- which funeral services are legally compulsory;
- which services are optional;
- when additional services may be necessary for health, transport or preservation reasons;
- the rules concerning burial, cremation and the destination of ashes;
- the available complaints and consumer-mediation procedures.
It must also remind families that funeral estimates are free and do not commit them to accepting the offer. Families are entitled to request estimates from several funeral companies before making a decision.
The notice must be neutral. It cannot carry the funeral company’s logo, advertising or promotional messages. It must be displayed at premises open to the public and published on the operator’s website where one exists.
This is an important improvement for bereaved families, who are often expected to make expensive decisions very quickly and may not realise that some proposed services are optional.
If you are arranging a funeral after 1 October, ask for the official information notice and a detailed written estimate before signing anything.
Read the official funeral-services guidance
Add this immediately before the “Need help with French administration?” section:
New bereavement administration services
Help in France now offers practical English-language support following a death in France. We can guide families through the first administrative steps, communicate with funeral directors and French authorities, help families understand and compare funeral estimates, and assist with the paperwork surrounding cremation and ashes. We can also help obtain the authorisation required to transport ashes from France to the UK when the family wishes to take the urn home themselves. Our role is to reduce the administrative and language burden so that families can make informed decisions at an extremely difficult time.
August French Admin Update: British students should check their university fees carefully
Public-university registration fees for the 2026–2027 academic year are:
- €178 for a licence;
- €255 for a master;
- €398 for a doctorate;
- €105 for the separate student and campus contribution known as the CVEC.
However, differentiated fees for some non-EU students are considerably higher:
- €2,902 for a licence;
- €3,950 for a master.
Since the UK is no longer part of the EU, a British student could initially be classified as a non-EU student. However, British nationality alone does not necessarily mean that the higher fee applies.
The standard French rate may still apply if the student:
- holds a French carte de séjour;
- has been attached to a French tax household for more than two years;
- has declared their own French tax household for more than two years;
- has refugee status or subsidiary protection;
- is studying for a doctorate;
- qualifies under another statutory exemption.
Universities can also grant individual exemptions, particularly because of a student’s financial or social circumstances. These discretionary exemptions are now limited to 30% of the relevant foreign students for the 2026–2027 academic year.
Students who received an exemption for 2025–2026 may normally retain it until the end of the same licence or master cycle, provided they continue the corresponding course at the same institution.
British families should not automatically accept a demand for the higher non-EU fee. Ask the university to check the student’s residence status, French tax-household history and eligibility for an exemption.
Check the official university-fee rules
New information is available when comparing EHPADs
Families choosing an EHPAD can now access more information about individual establishments through the official government directory.
Since August 2026, each participating EHPAD listing includes three additional indicators:
- the medical, paramedical and social-care staff-to-resident ratio;
- the staff absence rate for the previous year;
- the staff turnover rate.
The directory already provides information about:
- accommodation prices;
- single and shared rooms;
- places eligible for aide sociale à l’hébergement;
- the presence of a night nurse or coordinating doctor;
- specialist equipment and services;
- the establishment’s latest independent quality assessment.
The online comparison tool allows families to compare up to three EHPADs at a time. The new staffing indicators may help identify establishments with greater continuity of care or more stable staffing.
Read about the new EHPAD indicators
Electronic Invoice Software & Register
Please read our guide to the new rules being introduced in September HERE.
Need help with French administration?
Help in France provides English-language assistance with French administration, including tax queries, CAF and CPAM matters, official correspondence and support understanding unfamiliar procedures.
If you have received a document you do not understand or need help contacting a French authority, visit helpinfrance.fr.
This article provides general administrative information. Individual entitlement and procedures depend on personal circumstances and the rules in force when an application is made. For more articles about life in France, see our blog page.