Choosing an LMNP real-régime accountant in 2026: a practical guide

In French LMNP (loueur en meublé non professionnel) under the régime réel, the value a good accountant brings shows up in two places above all: the quality of the depreciation schedule and the clarity of the engagement letter. These two elements determine whether your file is properly secured or is silently accumulating weaknesses that will surface during a tax audit or a property sale.

Since 15 February 2025, the capital gains treatment of a property rented furnished under the régime réel has changed materially. The French Finance Act for 2025 (loi n° 2025-127 du 14 février 2025, article 84) provides that cumulative depreciation deductions reduce the acquisition price used to compute the taxable capital gain. A firm that has never formally documented your depreciation, or never explained this consequence to you, exposes you to a significant tax surprise at disposal. That makes depreciation documentation a selection criterion in its own right.

A competent régime réel accountant commands three pillars of the regime: component-based depreciation schedules, the annual 2031 tax package with 2033 annexes, and the administrative obligations attached to your status (SIRET registration via the INPI single-window platform, CFE business levy, professional tax space on impots.gouv.fr). They raise consequences with you before they become problems.

There is no legal obligation. But in the vast majority of cases it is the most prudent course. The régime réel requires full bookkeeping under BIC rules: properly maintained accounts, a 2031 tax filing submitted on time, a component-based depreciation schedule, and documentary support for every deduction. An error in the depreciation methodology or a missing document can trigger an adjustment or distort the capital gain calculation when you sell.

In practice, the situations most likely to have benefited from earlier engagement are a depreciation schedule reconstructed late from incomplete records, a 2031 filing submitted after deadline due to poor coordination, and an unexpected CFE bill that was never flagged.

As the number of properties grows, renovation costs accumulate or your overall estate structure evolves, the case for structured professional support only strengthens.

Fees depend on the number of properties, the volume of documents to process, the complexity of the depreciation schedule and the precise scope of the engagement. As a rough, indicative guide:

These ranges are indicative. A headline-low fee paired with a vague scope can look attractive at a glance, but the cost of retrospective regularisation or out-of-scope work can quickly exceed the initial saving. The right question is not "what is the price?" but "what is included, and what will be billed separately?"

The annual 2031 tax filing and 2033 annexes#

This is the core deliverable. The accountant prepares the annual 2031 return and its 2033 annexes covering the balance sheet, income statement and tax computations for your furnished rental activity. They verify that deducted expenses are consistent with your supporting documents and that the declared result feeds correctly into your personal income tax return.

The component-based depreciation schedule#

Depreciation is the primary reason many landlords opt for the régime réel. A property is not depreciated as a single block: the structure, roof, electrical systems, fixtures and furniture each depreciate over distinct useful lives. Building that schedule correctly from day one requires a rigorous method.

Since the 2025 Finance Act (art. 84, amending article 150 VB of the Code général des impôts), cumulative depreciation deductions are added back when computing the capital gain on disposal. This applies to depreciation taken from the outset, including amounts deducted before 2025. A well-documented depreciation schedule therefore becomes a patrimonial traceability document with consequences that extend well beyond the annual filing.

Worked example: you purchased a property for EUR 300,000 in 2019 and deducted EUR 60,000 in cumulative depreciation between 2019 and 2025 under the régime réel. On a sale in 2026, the acquisition price for capital gains purposes is reduced to EUR 240,000 (300,000 - 60,000). If you sell for EUR 380,000, the gross gain is EUR 140,000 rather than EUR 80,000 without the reform. The accountant who has maintained your depreciation schedule since 2019 is the only one in a position to reconstruct that calculation reliably. A firm picking up the file days before completion is working in the dark.

SIRET registration and the INPI single window#

Every furnished rental activity must be declared within 15 days of commencing operations via the INPI single-window platform (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr). A SIRET number is assigned, required both for BIC income declaration and for CFE assessment. A competent firm ensures the registration is correct and that your professional tax space on impots.gouv.fr is active.

The cotisation foncière des entreprises (CFE)#

Furnished landlords are in principle liable for CFE as a professional activity. Exemptions exist, such as the rental of part of one's primary residence or certain meublés de tourisme following a local authority resolution, but each carries specific conditions. A firm that does not track CFE leaves an unmanaged fiscal exposure.

Read the engagement letter before you sign. If a topic is not mentioned, ask directly: "Is this included, or will it be billed separately?"

The gap is not a question of intention. It is a question of focus: a generalist firm applies equal attention across dozens of different tax regimes. A firm with a substantial LMNP real-regime caseload has refined its processes and developed reflexes that a generalist firm rarely has time to build.

Before entrusting a firm with your régime réel file, ask these specific questions. The answers will tell you more than any commercial pitch:

1. How many real-regime LMNP files do you currently manage?
2. Who builds the depreciation schedule and who validates it each year?
3. How do you treat renovation works incurred during the year, capitalised or expensed, and what documentation do you require?
4. Is CFE management and professional-space support included in the engagement, or billed separately?
5. Are you up to date on the capital gains reform introduced by the 2025 Finance Act? How does that affect the way you maintain depreciation records?
6. What is your typical turnaround for a question raised between annual filings?
7. If my situation changes, an additional property, approaching the LMP threshold, a planned sale, how is that handled within the engagement?
8. What happens if I submit my documents late? Are there consequences for the filing deadline?

A firm that knows its subject answers precisely and without hesitation. A firm that generalises or sidesteps technical questions warrants closer scrutiny.

This is one of the most common concerns among furnished landlords considering a change. In practice, the transition is manageable provided it is organised.

The incoming firm needs the following to pick up the file properly:

• The complete depreciation schedule from inception, with component split, useful lives and values applied
• Annual 2031 filings from prior years
• The closing balance sheet for the most recent financial year
• Rental income records and principal expense invoices for the last three financial years
• SIRET number and CFE history

If your outgoing firm is slow to provide these documents, note that they belong to you: the file documentation is your property. A serious incoming firm will take the time to verify the consistency of the schedule being transferred, particularly to reconstitute the capital gains base for any future disposal.

In files we have taken over from other practices, the most frequent obstacle is the absence of a formalised, component-based depreciation schedule. Either it was never built properly, or it was established as a block without the component split required. Reconstruction takes time but is generally possible from available documents.

Before the 2025 Finance Act, the main purpose of a well-maintained depreciation schedule was short-term tax reduction: lowering taxable profit each year. Since 15 February 2025, the implications extend to disposal.

Cumulative depreciation deductions from the start of the activity now reduce the acquisition price for capital gains purposes (article 150 VB of the Code général des impôts, loi n° 2025-127). A firm that has never formalised your depreciation schedule rigorously leaves you unable to reconstruct that calculation at the moment it matters most.

Exceptions apply: certain properties in managed residences (student residences, residences for people under 30 in education, senior residences, care homes) are excluded from the add-back. So are works that have already been taken into account in the capital gains computation under article 150 VB II of the CGI. A competent firm knows these exceptions and documents them.

The underestimated risk: many LMNP réel landlords still do not know that their historic depreciation, including amounts deducted before 2025, is subject to the reform. This is not a point to raise only when a sale is approaching. It belongs in the annual review from now on.

It is worth reassessing if your situation has shifted: acquisition of a second or third property, significant renovation works, a planned disposal, proximity to the LMP threshold (annual rental receipts above EUR 23,000 and exceeding other professional income of the tax household), or a change in the property's use.

The right moment to review your arrangement is before complexity exceeds what your current setup can handle, not after the first significant error. A well-prepared transition, with complete file transfer, does not put your history at risk. It protects it.

Current as of 26 May 2026. This article is for information purposes only and does not replace advice tailored to your specific situation. For any fiscal or patrimonial decision, consult a chartered accountant registered with the Ordre des experts-comptables.