Key Points: Tax Credit for EV Charging Station Installation (CGI Art. 200 quater C)
Available to owners, tenants, and free occupants domiciled in France (CGI Art. 4 B). No income ceiling, no means test, no requirement to own or intend to purchase an electric vehicle. Scheme period: expenditure paid between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2023; verify post-2023 extension.
Covers both the principal residence and up to one secondary residence. This extension to a secondary residence distinguishes the EV credit from the accessibility credit (CGI Art. 200 quater A), which is restricted to the principal residence only.
Rate: 75% of qualifying expenditure, capped at €300 per system. Maximum is reached where the combined supply and installation cost is €400 or more. Maximum total credit: €600 (single: 2 systems) or €1,200 (couple: 4 systems across 2 residences).
The credit is subject to the global €10,000 cap on personal tax incentives (CGI Art. 200-0 A), unlike the accessibility credit which is outside the cap. No carry-forward and not restitutable: unused credit is definitively lost in the year of payment.
Equipment must meet the technical standards of CGI Ann. IV Art. 18 ter A. Invoice must be issued by the installing company (or regulated subcontractor) and must mention the works address, nature, description, amount, and equipment characteristics. Missing mentions trigger a clawback.
Five-year clawback where a third party reimburses part of the expenditure within 5 years: the credit is recalculated on the net retained expenditure and the excess is recovered. Exception: no clawback where reimbursement follows an insured loss (sinistre) after the expenditure.

At a Glance

Rate 75%
Of the combined acquisition and installation cost of each qualifying charging system
Per system ceiling €300
Maximum credit per qualifying charging system (regardless of actual cost; maximised at cost ≥€400)
Max — single person €600
1 system in principal residence + 1 system in 1 secondary residence = 2 systems × €300
Max — couple €1,200
2 systems per residence × 2 residences (principal + 1 secondary) = 4 systems × €300

Eligible Taxpayers

The credit is available to taxpayers domiciled in France within the meaning of CGI Art. 4 B, without any income ceiling or means test. Three categories of occupier qualify: owners; tenants; and persons occupying a property free of charge (à titre gratuit).

Unlike the accessibility credit under CGI Art. 200 quater A, which is restricted to the principal residence, the EV charging credit extends to both the taxpayer’s principal residence and up to one secondary residence. The secondary residence extension is limited to one property per taxpayer: where a person has several secondary residences, only one may benefit.

There is no requirement that the taxpayer owns an electric vehicle or intends to purchase one. The credit is available simply on the basis of the installation of a qualifying charging system in an eligible residential property.

Qualifying Expenditure

The credit covers expenditure incurred between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2023 for the acquisition and installation of an electric vehicle charging system. Both supply and installation costs qualify, but only as a combined invoice.

Technical Compliance Requirement

The equipment must meet the technical characteristics specified in CGI Ann. IV Art. 18 ter A. These standards define the minimum technical requirements for EV charging systems — in practice covering standard home charging stations (wallboxes) complying with applicable French and European electrical standards. Equipment that does not meet these standards does not qualify, even if invoiced by a registered installer.

Invoicing Requirements

The acquisition and installation costs must be invoiced by the company that supplies and installs the equipment, or by a company that subcontracts the installation to another company under the subcontracting framework of the law of 31 December 1975. A deposit invoice (facture d’acompte) does not qualify; a final invoice evidencing the completed installation is required.

The invoice must mention: the address where the works were carried out; the nature, description, and amount of the works; and, where applicable, the technical characteristics of the equipment installed. Where these mentions are missing, the credit is clawed back in the year in which it was applied.

Number of Systems per Property and per Taxpayer

The number of qualifying charging systems per property is capped at one per property for a single person (widowed, divorced, or unmarried), and two per property for a couple subject to joint taxation. Since the credit applies to both the principal and one secondary residence, the maximum scenarios are:

Taxpayer status Principal residence Secondary residence (max 1) Total systems Maximum credit
Single / widowed / divorced 1 system 1 system 2 systems €600
Couple (joint taxation) 2 systems 2 systems 4 systems €1,200

Rate and Per-System Ceiling

The credit is equal to 75% of the qualifying expenditure, within a ceiling of €300 per system. The ceiling applies to the credit itself, not to the expenditure base. A system costing €400 generates a credit of €300 (75% × €400 = €300, ceiling reached). A system costing €300 generates a credit of €225 (75% × €300). A system costing €500 still generates only €300 (cap applies).

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How the Ceiling Works in Practice

The maximum credit of €300 per system is reached where the combined acquisition and installation cost for that system is at least €400 (75% × €400 = €300). Where the total cost is below €400, the credit is simply 75% of the actual cost. In the vast majority of cases where a proper wallbox installation by a certified installer costs several hundred euros or more, the credit will be €300 per system.

Imputation Against Income Tax

The credit is applied against the income tax due for the year in which the qualifying expenditure was paid, after the application of any applicable tax reductions. Unlike the accessibility credit under CGI Art. 200 quater A, the EV charging credit is subject to the global ceiling on personal tax incentives (plafonnement global des niches fiscales, CGI Art. 200-0 A, currently €10,000/year). There is no carry-forward: any portion of the credit that cannot be applied in the year of payment is definitively lost.

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Key Difference from the Accessibility Credit

The EV credit (CGI Art. 200 quater C) differs from the accessibility and disability adaptation credit (CGI Art. 200 quater A) in two important respects. First, the EV credit is subject to the global €10,000 cap; the accessibility credit is not. Second, the EV credit has no carry-forward and is not restitutable — any excess over tax due is lost. Taxpayers with low income tax liability should plan accordingly: a taxpayer owing €200 in income tax can use only €200 of EV credit, losing any remainder.

No Double Benefit with Income Category Deductions

The same expenditure cannot give rise to both the EV charging credit and a deduction against an income category (such as a professional expense deduction or a revenus fonciers charge). The credit and an income deduction are mutually exclusive for the same item of expenditure.

Five-Year Clawback on Reimbursement

Where the beneficiary is reimbursed within five years of incurring the qualifying expenditure for all or part of the amounts that gave rise to the credit, they are subject in the year of reimbursement to a clawback equal to the difference between the original credit and the credit that would have been calculated on the expenditure actually borne after the reimbursement. In other words: if the taxpayer receives back part of what they spent, the credit is recalculated on the net expenditure retained, and any excess already credited is recovered.

No clawback is applied where the reimbursement follows an insured loss (sinistre) that occurred after the expenditure was paid.

Summary: Practical Checklist Before Claiming the EV Credit
Verify the scheme period and post-2023 extension: confirm that the expenditure was paid between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2023 (or that the scheme has been extended by subsequent legislation if the installation is planned for 2024 or later).
Confirm technical compliance: ensure the equipment installed meets the standards of CGI Ann. IV Art. 18 ter A. Ask the installer to confirm compliance on the invoice. A non-compliant wallbox does not qualify even if the installer is registered.
Check invoice completeness: the invoice must include the works address, nature and description of works, amount, and equipment technical characteristics. A deposit invoice does not qualify. Missing information results in a clawback of the credit in the year it was applied.
Plan against the global €10,000 cap: unlike the accessibility credit, this credit counts towards the annual €10,000 global ceiling. If you have other capped schemes (Pinel, Denormandie, etc.), check whether sufficient headroom exists in the same year before timing the installation payment.
No carry-forward: plan for sufficient tax due: the EV credit cannot be carried forward or refunded. If your income tax liability for the year is likely to be lower than the credit, consider whether it is worth timing the installation in a higher-tax year, or whether the secondary residence credit can be split across two years.
Questions About Home Works Tax Credits in France?

Our French law practice advises on EV charging station tax credit eligibility, the interaction with the global cap on tax incentives, the accessibility works credit comparison, invoice compliance requirements, and clawback risk management for French residents.

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Legal Notice. This article is provided for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal or tax advice. The scheme applies to expenditure paid between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2023; verify whether extended beyond this date. Technical standards for eligible equipment are set by CGI Ann. IV Art. 18 ter A. The global ceiling on personal tax incentives is currently €10,000/year. Always consult a qualified French tax adviser before claiming any housing tax credit.