You will pay Taxe Habitation on a house that you live in on 1st January in the tax year, if you moved in or bought after this then you will only pay the year afterwards and even then this is only paid in the following year, confused ??? Example : you buy property in May 2005, you are eligible for Taxe d'habitation from January 2006 but you will be asked to pay it in 2007. Taxe d'habitation takes into account the people living in the house (number of children etc) but taxe foncière is solely valued on the house and its facilities like council tax in the UK. Taxe foncière is normally divided between the purchaser and the seller of a house in the year that the transaction takes place and on a pro rata basis (split according to the months you or they own the property over a 12 month period) this is normally specified in your purchase agreement documents from the notaire. Not sure when you get this bill though. hope this helps