Property capital gains and losses

[Debra]

Does anyone know how this works if you have both a loss and a gain in the same tax year when selling property?

I know that normally if a gain has been made the notaire deducts plus value tax and social charges from the sale proceeds.  

What happens if the gain you've made is a lot less than the loss you made on another sale in the same tax year?  

Can one be offset against the other and if so can the notaire allow that no tax is due on the second sale because of the prior loss or is it a matter of them taking the tax and charges anyway and the seller having to claim them back from the impots?

[shenvenevr]

If you've made a loss and a gain from selling property in the same tax year, you can offset the loss against the gain. This means that you'll only have to pay taxes on the net gain. Regarding the notaire, they are responsible for deducting taxes and social charges from the sale proceeds, but they should take into account any losses you've made.

[Debra]

Just to update this to say you can't offset the loss against the gain if you're a private individual - only if you're a business.  That was a bit annoying, to say the least!

[Hectorsdad]

Thanks Debra for clearing that up. It is a pity that rogue posters are able to convey inaccurate advice and then disappear.