You bought a studio in Le Gosier or a villa in Saint-François, rented it out for a few years as a furnished tourist rental, and the time to sell is approaching. The big question that comes up in all our conversations with owners across the archipelago: how much will the State take from the gain? Real estate capital gains in Guadeloupe follow the same rules as in mainland France (an overseas department remains a French department), but the LMNP status, depreciation and the new reintegration rule that took effect in 2025 change the picture. Based on the ground and supporting landlords between Sainte-Anne, Deshaies and Le Gosier, we untangle the real calculation here, figures in hand, so you know exactly what you actually keep.
Real estate capital gains in Guadeloupe: the basic principle
A capital gain is the difference between your sale price and your adjusted purchase price. As long as the property is not your main residence (the case of a furnished tourist rental, by definition rented to vacationers), this gain is taxable under the individuals’ regime, calculated and withheld by the notary on the day the deed is signed. You advance nothing: everything is deducted from the sale proceeds.
The tax is made up of two layers, identical in Guadeloupe and mainland France:
- Income tax at the flat rate of 19% on the net capital gain.
- Social levies at the rate of 17.2%.
That is a theoretical total of 36.2% before any allowance. On this point there is no overseas-territory specificity: unlike the 30% tax reduction that lightens your rental income, capital gains for Guadeloupe residents are taxed at the full national scale. The good news comes from the holding-period allowances, which can bring the bill down to zero.
Calculating the “increased” purchase price
The tax authorities don’t crudely compare your two prices. The acquisition price is increased by several items that mechanically lower the taxable gain:
- Acquisition costs (notary, transfer duties): a flat rate of 7.5% of the purchase price, no proof required.
- Improvement, construction or extension works: on invoice, or a flat rate of 15% of the purchase price if you have held the property for more than 5 years. In a tropical zone, where salt and humidity require regular renovations, this item is rarely negligible.
A concrete example for a Grande-Terre villa bought for €380,000 in 2014, resold for €520,000 in 2026:
- Increased acquisition price: €380,000 + 7.5% (€28,500) + 15% flat-rate works (€57,000) = €465,500.
- Gross capital gain: 520,000 − 465,500 = €54,500, not €140,000 as a naive calculation would suggest.
Holding-period allowances: the key to the final bill
This is the most powerful mechanism, and the one that rewards patience. The longer you keep the property, the more the taxable gain melts away, up to full exemption. Be careful: the scales differ between income tax and social levies.
For income tax (19%):
- 0% allowance before 6 years of holding.
- 6% per year from year 6 to year 21.
- 4% in year 22.
- Full income tax exemption after 22 full years.
For social levies (17.2%), the pace is slower:
- 0% before 6 years.
- 1.65% per year from year 6 to year 21.
- 1.60% in year 22.
- 9% per year from year 23 to year 30.
- Full social levy exemption after 30 years.
Let’s take our villa held for 12 years (bought 2014, sold 2026), with a €54,500 gross gain:
- Income tax allowance: 7 full years beyond the 5th × 6% = 42%. Taxable income tax base = €31,610, tax at 19% = €6,006.
- Social levy allowance: 7 × 1.65% = 11.55%. Base = €48,205, at 17.2% = €8,291.
- Total due: about €14,300, an effective rate of 26% on the gross gain, far from the gross 36.2%.
Note: a surtax applies to net gains (after allowances) above €50,000, in brackets of 2% to 6%. Most resales of Guadeloupe furnished rentals fall below this threshold, but a large beachfront villa may be affected.
LMNP, depreciation and resale: the major 2025 change to know
This is where the taxation of a furnished tourist rental differs from that of an unfurnished let property, and where many owners get caught out. Until the end of 2024, the non-professional furnished landlord (LMNP) under the real regime enjoyed two advantages: they depreciated their property each year (often erasing all tax on rents), and this depreciation had no impact on resale. The gain was calculated on the original purchase price, depreciation ignored.
The 2025 Finance Act put an end to this double favor. From now on, for transfers carried out from January 1, 2025, the depreciation deducted during the LMNP real-regime rental period must be reintegrated into the calculation: it reduces the acquisition price, which increases the taxable gain.
What it changes in practice
Let’s take the villa bought for €380,000 (of which €300,000 is the building excluding land), rented for 12 years under the real regime with annual depreciation of €8,000:
- Cumulative depreciation reintegrated: €8,000 × 12 = €96,000.
- Net acquisition price after reintegration: €465,500 (increased) − €96,000 = €369,500.
- Recalculated gross gain: 520,000 − 369,500 = €150,500, versus €54,500 under the old regime.
The gap is considerable. Fortunately, two safeguards limit the damage:
- Holding-period allowances still apply to this increased gain, so the longer you hold, the more the surplus is neutralized.
- Some depreciation remains excluded from reintegration: that relating to construction, reconstruction, extension and improvement expenses, as well as properties classified as furnished tourist rentals in certain cases. Only the “ordinary” depreciation of the original building is affected.
The lesson from the field: if you used the LMNP real regime, have the calculation done by your accountant before signing the preliminary agreement. The trade-off between selling now or holding for three more years to gain 18 points of allowance can represent several thousand euros. This is exactly the type of simulation we direct toward the right contacts in our owners support.
