Definition
What this is about
Taxpayers subject to income tax on property capital gains may ask the tax authorities for a prior notice covering the elements used to determine the net taxable property gain and the corresponding amount of tax or, where applicable, entitlement to the exemption art. 234 quinquies GTC. This is not mere information: the authorities' reply constitutes an assessment certificate for the tax or for the exemption.
The mechanism addresses a difficulty specific to this field. A property gain is computed from an old acquisition price, from flat-rate or substantiated costs, from investment expenditure and from a revaluation coefficient art. 65 GTC, while entitlement to an exemption depends on conditions of holding period and use art. 63 GTC. The prior notice makes it possible to settle these elements before the sale is completed.
Scope
Who is concerned
- Any seller who has signed a preliminary sale agreement covering a property or a real property right, where the transaction falls within the scope of property capital gains.
- Sellers who intend to rely on an exemption, in particular the principal residence exemption, and wish to have it recognised before the sale.
- Heirs, whose acquisition price is the market value at the date of death and frequently gives rise to discussion.
- Owners who have incurred substantial investment expenditure, or whose title of acquisition is an old one.
- Sellers residing abroad, for whom uncertainty as to the amount due is the main difficulty in a sale conducted remotely.
The request relates to a contemplated transaction. It therefore presupposes a signed preliminary sale agreement and a sale that has not yet been completed.
Applicable rules
What the authorities' reply produces
The request is filed electronically, using a form drawn up by the authorities, within thirty days of the date of the preliminary sale agreement. The reply must be communicated to the applicant within sixty days of receipt of the request, and remains valid for a period of six months. After the sale, if the taxpayer files the return and makes payment on the basis of the elements set out in the assessment certificate, they are exempt from any tax audit in respect of income tax on property capital gains. Conversely, a return that has not been prepared on that basis may be adjusted art. 224 GTC.
Amount settled before the sale
The tax is known and assessed before final signature. A return that conforms to the certificate carries an exemption from any tax audit in respect of property capital gains.
No provisional payment is required: the seller does not tie up cash beyond the tax actually due.
Additional provisional payment
A seller who has not requested the prior notice and has not filed on the basis of an assessment certificate pays, on a provisional basis, the difference between the tax declared and 5 % of the sale price art. 173-I.
That payment is refunded automatically, in whole or as to the balance, but no refund deadline is set art. 241 bis-II-C.
This mechanism should not be confused with the request for a prior tax ruling art. 234 quater GTC, which is a separate instrument: it is addressed to the Director General of Taxes, calls for a reply within a period not exceeding three months, and is available only for legal and financial structures relating to investment projects, corporate and group restructurings, transactions between related enterprises located in Morocco, and transactions liable to constitute an abuse of law. A property sale between individuals falls into none of these categories.
The preliminary sale agreement and the deed of sale that follows it relate to real property rights and are drawn up by a notary or an adoul. Aurion brings in a professional from its network, prepares the request together with them and coordinates the transaction through to completion.
Deadlines and limitation periods
The timeline
- Within 30 days of the preliminary agreement
Window for filing the request, electronically and using a form drawn up by the authorities. The starting point is the date of the preliminary sale agreement, not that of the final deed.
- 60 days from receipt
Period within which the reply constituting the assessment certificate for the tax or the exemption must be communicated to the applicant.
- Six months
Period of validity of the reply. Beyond that point, the position communicated ceases to cover the transaction.
- Within 30 days of the sale
Return filed against receipt with the collector of the tax authorities, and payment of the tax art. 83-I and 173-I, on the basis of the elements set out in the certificate.
- 90 days after filing
Adjustment period, confined to the case of a return that was not prepared on the basis of the certificate art. 224.
Persons who have drafted or assisted in drafting a deed subject to registration must read out to the parties the provisions of articles 83, 173-I and 234 quinquies, among others art. 139-VI GTC. That reading is informative; it does not dispense with any deadline.
Documents and supporting evidence
The elements of the file
The file rests on the following elements:
- A presentation of the contemplated transaction: a description of the elements relating to the planned sale, a document that article 234 quinquies expressly requires to be attached to the request.
- Supporting evidence relating to the determination of the tax or to the exemption: the same article requires it; its content is not listed in the code, and in practice covers the title of acquisition, the costs, the investment expenditure and the components of the sale price.
- The elements specific to the exemption relied on: the use to which the property is put, the duration of that use and, where applicable, the family relationship.
- Any other document or information supporting the request: the text leaves this category open.
This list is indicative; the exact composition of the file depends on the circumstances.
Points requiring attention
What can cause a file to fail
- Counting the deadline from the deed of sale: the thirty days run from the date of the preliminary agreement. A request made after the sale falls outside the mechanism.
- Allowing the six-month validity to lapse: a sale delayed beyond that point no longer benefits from the position communicated.
- Assuming the audit exemption is acquired in all cases: it presupposes that the return and the payment are in fact based on the elements of the assessment certificate.
- Confusing the two mechanisms: the prior tax ruling under article 234 quater, with its three-month reply period, does not cover the sale of a property by an individual.
- Waiving the request without measuring its effect: failing the request, the seller pays, in addition to the tax declared, the difference between that tax and 5 % of the sale price art. 173-I, that additional amount then being refunded automatically but with no set deadline.
The two periods in this mechanism are frequently transposed. The General Tax Code in its 2026 edition is explicit: thirty days is the filing window open to the taxpayer from the preliminary sale agreement, and sixty days is the period within which the authorities must reply, running from receipt of the request.
We take the file in hand
Aurion assesses whether a prior notice is appropriate for your sale, assembles the file and brings the request before the tax authorities. The firm follows the position obtained through to the return and the payment made in accordance with it. We take responsibility for the elements submitted and for the positions adopted. Sellers residing abroad are handled on the same terms.
Have my sale reviewed- General Tax Code, 2026 edition — art. 63, 65, 83, 139-VI, 173-I, 224, 234 quater, 234 quinquies, 241 bis-II-C
- Finance Act no. 50-22 for the 2023 budget year — creation of the prior notice on property capital gains and of the provisional payment
- Finance Act no. 68-17 for the 2018 budget year — request for a prior tax ruling
Page updated as at 20 August 2026. The amounts and time limits cited are those of the General Tax Code in its 2026 edition.
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