French tax authorities use AI to find undeclared home improvements
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The French tax office is expanding a program to identify undeclared home alterations such as garden sheds, extensions, and conservatories.
The agency uses a program called Foncier Innovant to detect changes to buildings and land. The system uses satellite images from platforms like Google Maps and applies artificial intelligence to compare current photos with older versions or local plans.
When the software flags a change, a tax office employee reviews the image to determine if the work constitutes a building alteration. The staff then checks official records to see if the homeowner reported the project. Homeowners in France face two types of taxes when they modify their property.
They must pay a one-off taxe d’aménagement based on the type of project and a likely increase in their annual property tax, which is calculated on the rental value of the home. Owners are required to declare these changes within 90 days of completing the work. While some small projects have exemptions, the government is using this new technology to ensure local authorities collect the correct revenue.
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