Taxation: Do Nonprofits Still Have to Pay the Housing Tax?
As of January 1, 2023, no household is required to pay the housing tax on its primary residence. However, the tax remains in effect for the premises of both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
According to well-established case law, premises occupied for private use by an association—whether or not they are open to the public—are not considered dwellings—that is, a place where the taxpayer habitually and actually resides with his or her family—and therefore remain subject to the housing tax.
As the Ministry of Public Accounts has just clarified in a recent ministerial response, the government does not plan to extend the elimination of the housing tax to premises occupied by nonprofit organizations. This is especially true given that the Ministry of Finance notes that “this would indeed result in a loss of revenue for municipalities and their intermunicipal associations, even though they most often provide financial and logistical support to these organizations.”
If organizations are experiencing serious difficulties in paying their housing tax, they may apply to the tax office for a waiver of all or part of their tax liability.
