The rates
- 20%, the standard rate.
- 10%, for improvement, fitting-out and maintenance on housing finished more than two years ago (article 279-0 bis of the tax code).
- 5.5%, for energy-saving work such as insulation. A worktop or a terrace doesn't qualify.
When it's 10%
- The building is housing, and a second home counts. Being a British or Dutch owner changes nothing.
- It was finished more than two years before the work starts.
- We supply and fit the stone. Stone you buy yourself is at 20%, and only the fitting can then be at 10%.
So a worktop, vanity top, shower tray, stair cladding or fire surround supplied and fitted in an older house is usually at 10%. Loose furniture is excluded, so a marble table sold on its own is at 20%.
When it's 20%
- New builds and houses under two years old.
- Supply only (fourniture seule).
- Work that over two years effectively creates a new building, adding more than 10% floor area or renewing most of the structure. A barn conversion can fall into this, so ask before assuming 10%.
- Premises that aren't housing, a shop or a tasting room. For a house partly let to holidaymakers, ask your accountant.
No more certificate since 2025
Until early 2025 you signed a separate Cerfa form, 1300-SD or 1301-SD, to get 10%. Now there's a mention on the quote or invoice where you certify the house is over two years old and lived in. Keep a copy. If the conditions turn out to be false, the tax office can claim the difference from you.
HT, TVA, TTC
HT is before VAT, TVA is the VAT, TTC is what you pay. On the same job, the TTC total is 10% above the HT figure at the reduced rate, and 20% above it at the standard rate. When two quotes look far apart, check first whether one is HT and the other TTC.
What a quote must show
- The date, the trader's name, address and SIRET number.
- Your name and the address of the job.
- The stone name, thickness, finish, edges and cut-outs.
- Unit prices, quantities, totals HT and TTC and the VAT rate.
- How long the quote is valid.
- Payment terms, and whether the quote was free.
For repair and maintenance work, a written quote is compulsory above a small legal threshold. In practice every marble workshop gives one for any worktop. Once both sides sign, it's binding.
Acompte or arrhes
An acompte commits both sides, you owe the full price. Arrhes let either side pull out, you by losing them, the trader by paying back twice the amount. If the contract says nothing, money paid in advance counts as arrhes (article L214-1 of the consumer code). Check which word is printed on your quote.
When the final figure changes
We cut to templates taken on site, so the final area can differ a little from the estimate made from plans. A good quote says how that's billed and how long the slab price holds.
Our quotes
Dekorenov is a trading name, as the legal notice says. The company name and SIRET on our quote are those of the business behind it, and you can look both up free on annuaire-entreprises.data.gouv.fr. A slab bought alone and fitted by someone else is at 20%. Supplied and fitted by us in a house over two years old, it can be at 10%.
See also the kitchen timeline and the French vocabulary guide.
These are the general rules as of October 2026, not tax advice. For your own case, the tax office or an accountant has the last word.
