You sign a preliminary sale agreement for a €280,000 flat and the agent tells you to "budget about 8% for notary fees". That is nearly €22,000 which funds neither the walls nor your down payment, but the State, the municipality and the department for the most part. And since 1 April 2025, that envelope has grown even larger: the 2025 Finance Act allowed departments to raise their share of the transfer duties, and almost all of them did.
The result: in 2026, the bill is no longer quite the same depending on the department where the property is located. Understanding the exact make-up of these fees — what goes to the notary, what goes to the tax authorities, what is negotiable — lets you size your financing plan to the right amount, and sometimes claim an exemption you are entitled to.
For an existing (resale) property, notary fees represent around 7% to 8% of the price; for a new-build, only 2% to 3%. The transfer-duty increase that took effect on 1 April 2025 raises the overall acquisition rate from roughly 5.80% to nearly 6.40% of the price in the departments that applied it.
What this article covers
This article breaks down notary fees in 2026 precisely: their four components (transfer duties, the notary's fees, disbursements, the property-security contribution), the reform of departmental duties introduced by the 2025 Finance Act, the line-by-line calculation method, a fully worked example for a resale purchase, the exemption reserved for first-time buyers, and the costliest mistakes to avoid when finalising your financing.
Notary fees 2026: what does the term really cover?
The phrase "notary fees" is misleading: the largest part of the sum does not go to the notary but to the State and local authorities. The legally accurate term is "acquisition costs". They break down into four distinct line items, only one of which actually pays the notary's office.
| Line item | Beneficiary | Indicative weight (resale) |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer duties for valuable consideration (DMTO — droits de mutation à titre onéreux) | Department, municipality, State | ~5.80% to 6.40% of the price |
| Notary's fees (émoluments) | Notary | ~0.8% to 1% of the price |
| Disbursements and formality costs | Third parties (land registry, mortgage registry, etc.) | A few hundred euros |
| Property-security contribution (contribution de sécurité immobilière) | State | 0.10% of the price |
The transfer duties for valuable consideration (DMTO — droits de mutation à titre onéreux), often called "registration duties", make up the bulk of the bill. They are governed by articles 1594 A and following of the French General Tax Code (CGI — Code général des impôts). They consist of a departmental share, an additional municipal tax (1.20% as a rule) and a State levy for the equalisation fund, all collected by the notary, who pays them over to the public treasury.
The notary's fees (émoluments) are set by a regulated national scale, degressive by bracket, defined in article A. 444-91 of the French Commercial Code (decree of 28 February 2020, as amended). This scale is identical at every notary in France: the notary does not set its own rate freely. Disbursements are the amounts advanced by the notary on the client's behalf (cadastral extract, mortgage-registry statement, publication costs). Finally, the property-security contribution (contribution de sécurité immobilière), levied by the State for land registration, amounts to 0.10% of the price (article 879 of the CGI).
The 2025-2028 reform: why notary fees went up
Act No. 2025-127 of 14 February 2025 (the 2025 Finance Act) introduced a new option for departmental councils: to raise the rate of their share of the transfer duties by 0.5 point, taking it from the historical cap of 4.50% to 5.00%. This option is time-limited: it applies to deeds signed between 1 April 2025 and 30 April 2028, after which the rate is supposed to revert to its previous level, unless extended by law.
The measure is optional, but departments' budgetary situation tipped the balance: according to the administration, around 83 departments voted for the increase. In practice, for a buyer in an affected department, the overall transfer-duty rate rises from about 5.80% to nearly 6.40% of the sale price. On a property worth €250,000, that is an extra cost of roughly €1,250.
⚠️ Warning: the applicable rate is the one in force in the department of the property being purchased, and at the date the deed of sale is signed — not the date of the preliminary agreement. The same property will therefore not carry the same fees depending on whether it sits in a department that voted the increase or not.
This increase concerns only the departmental share of the DMTO. The other components — the notary's fees (national scale), the municipal tax, the property-security contribution — remain unchanged. It is therefore local taxation, not the notary's remuneration, that explains the heavier bill in 2026.
How notary fees are calculated in 2026
The calculation is done line by line, almost entirely as a percentage of the sale price (the taxable base). Here is the detailed mechanism.
1. The transfer duties (the heaviest part)
For a resale property, you add together: the departmental share (4.50% or 5.00% depending on the department's vote), the additional municipal tax (1.20%) and the State's levy for assessment costs (2.37% of the departmental-share amount, i.e. about 0.107% of the price). The total comes out at around 5.80% in a department not affected by the increase, and nearly 6.40% in a department that adopted it. For a new-build, the property is subject to VAT rather than the standard transfer duties: only a reduced fixed duty applies, which is why acquisition costs are only 2% to 3%.
2. The notary's fees (degressive national scale)
The notary's proportional fees follow a bracket-based scale set by regulation (article A. 444-91 of the French Commercial Code). The higher the price, the lower the marginal rate of each bracket.
| Price bracket | Fee rate |
|---|---|
| From €0 to €6,500 | 3.870% |
| From €6,500 to €17,000 | 1.596% |
| From €17,000 to €60,000 | 1.064% |
| Above €60,000 | 0.799% |
These fees are then subject to VAT at 20%. It is this degressiveness that means, proportionally, the more expensive the property, the lower the overall notary-fee rate: the transfer duties remain almost proportional, but the notary's share shrinks in relative terms.
3. Disbursements and the property-security contribution
Disbursements cover the actual costs incurred by the notary to assemble the file (planning documents, mortgage-registry statement, surveyor where applicable). They generally amount to a few hundred euros, almost independent of the price. The property-security contribution, by contrast, is strictly proportional: 0.10% of the sale price (article 879 of the CGI), with a minimum charge of €15.
Key takeaway: on a resale purchase, the share actually collected by the notary (its fees, excluding tax) represents less than 1% of the price. Nearly 80% of the "notary fees" envelope is in fact taxation.
Worked example: a resale purchase at €285,000
Let us take a concrete, representative case. You buy an existing 58 m² flat listed at €285,000 in a municipality in the Loire-Atlantique department — an order of magnitude consistent with the median prices observed in the area according to transaction data (DVF — the French public land-transactions database / Notaires de France). The department voted for the duty increase, so the departmental share stands at 5.00%.
Scenario — Existing flat, €285,000, department at 5.00%
| Line item | Calculation detail | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer duties | ~6.40% × €285,000 | €18,240 |
| Notary's fees (excl. VAT) | Degressive scale on €285,000 | €2,674 |
| VAT on the fees | 20% × €2,674 | €535 |
| Property-security contribution | 0.10% × €285,000 | €285 |
| Disbursements and formalities | Estimated flat amount | €1,100 |
| Total acquisition costs | — | €22,834 |
| As a share of the price | €22,834 / €285,000 | ≈ 8.01% |
This example is indicative: the disbursements and the exact duty rate vary by department and by file. But the order of magnitude is reliable: for a resale property around €285,000, budget close to €23,000 in fees, i.e. practically 8% of the price. If the same property were in a department that did not vote the increase, the transfer duties would fall to about €16,530 (5.80%) and the total to nearly €21,100, a difference of roughly €1,700.
These fees must be funded on top of the price and are, as a rule, not covered by the mortgage: most banks require them to be met from your own down payment. Hence the importance of costing them out before setting your budget.
Common mistakes on notary fees in 2026
Mistake No. 1 — Applying 8% to a new-build purchase
A new-build is not subject to the standard transfer duties but to VAT, with a reduced fixed duty. Acquisition costs there fall to 2% to 3% of the price. Working out 8% on a VEFA (vente en l'état futur d'achèvement — off-plan sale) needlessly inflates your down-payment requirement by several thousand euros.
Mistake No. 2 — Forgetting the departmental-duty increase
If you rely on a simulation predating April 2025 or on a generic 5.80% rate, you underestimate the bill in the roughly 83 departments that voted the increase. Always check the rate in force in the property's department, at the date the deed is signed.
Mistake No. 3 — Ignoring the first-time-buyer exemption
The 2025 Finance Act lets departments exempt first-time buyers purchasing their main residence from the increase, where the property is worth less than €250,000. Many eligible buyers pay the increase because they failed to flag it to their notary. Check the option voted by your department.
⚠️ Warning: notary fees are calculated on the price of the property excluding furniture. If the preliminary agreement lists furniture (fitted kitchen, appliances) with a justified value, that share is deducted from the taxable base — which legally reduces the transfer duties.
Mistake No. 4 — Confusing notary fees with agency fees
Estate-agency commission is not a notary fee. Depending on how the mandate is drafted, it may be "payable by the buyer" and included in the listed price. If the commission is payable by the seller, it should not enter the base used to compute the duties: check this point with your notary, as it can lighten the bill.
Work out your 2026 notary fees before you sign
Mon Simulateur Immobilier notary-fee calculator
Estimate in a few seconds the total amount of your acquisition costs: transfer duties (with or without the 2025-2028 departmental increase), the notary's fees on the degressive national scale, the property-security contribution and disbursements, based on the price of the property and whether it is resale or new-build.
To go further: the borrowing-capacity calculator to set your budget including the down payment, and the loan-instalment simulator to cost out your mortgage.
Conclusion
In 2026, notary fees remain a major line item in any property purchase: 7% to 8% of the price for a resale, 2% to 3% for a new-build. The transfer-duty reform from the 2025 Finance Act has increased the tax share in most departments, while opening a targeted exemption for first-time buyers. Knowing the exact make-up of these fees and the rate applicable to your department spares you both unpleasant surprises and fees paid in error.
Before setting your budget and your down payment, cost the bill out precisely. The Mon Simulateur Immobilier notary-fee calculator incorporates the national fee scale and the 2025-2028 departmental increase to give you a realistic figure, for both resale and new-build.
