My husband and I bought a plot of land and built our second home ourselves. We now want to sell it. For the purpose of calculating the capital gain, which acquisition date should be used? Can the cost of materials be included?

The holding period for calculating real estate capital gains tax starts from the date of the deed of acquisition of the land, not the completion date of the construction works (BOI-RFPI-PVI-20-20).

The acquisition price may be increased by construction expenses for their actual amount, provided the works were carried out by a professional company (Article 150 VB, 4° of the French General Tax Code). Therefore, you cannot deduct the works you carried out yourself, nor the cost of materials purchased (BOI-RFPI-PVI-20-10-20-20 §220).