Short answer. The usufructuary pays. Under Civil Code Article 596, annual charges, taxes, and levies considered a lien on the fruits are the usufructuary's expense for the entire duration of the usufruct. The naked owner bears heavier obligations — annual fruit taxes belong to the person enjoying the fruits.
What the law says
The payment of annual charges and taxes and of those considered as a lien on the fruits, shall be at the expense of the usufructuary for all the time that the usufruct lasts.
Civil Code, Article 596 — Annual Charges and Taxes. Read the full provision →
The usufructuary carries the annual tax burden
Article 596 follows a consistent principle running through the Civil Code's usufruct provisions: the person who enjoys the fruits pays the carrying costs that attach to those fruits. Annual charges, taxes, and levies that are treated as a lien on the fruits — burdens that follow the produce of the property rather than the land itself — belong to the usufructuary, not the naked owner. This obligation runs for the full duration of the usufruct, beginning when the usufruct commences and ending when it is extinguished.
What counts as a lien on the fruits
The phrase 'considered as a lien on the fruits' refers to charges that are assessed against or payable from the produce of the property. These are distinguished from taxes and charges that attach to the property itself — to the land or building as such. The distinction matters because usufruct is a split right: the naked owner retains ownership of the property's substance while the usufructuary has the right to its use and fruits. Charges that follow the substance of the property may fall on the naked owner; charges that follow the fruits fall on the usufructuary.
The obligation runs for all the time the usufruct lasts
Article 596 specifies that the usufructuary's liability persists for all the time that the usufruct lasts. The obligation does not diminish as the usufruct ages, and there is no provision for splitting it based on how long the usufruct has been in force. From the first year to the last, every annual charge and fruit tax that comes due is the usufructuary's to pay. When the usufruct ends — whether by expiration of the term, by the usufructuary's death, or otherwise — this liability ends along with the right to the fruits.
Disputes between usufructuary and naked owner about tax obligations
In practice, the distinction between fruit-related taxes and property-related taxes is not always obvious, and disputes between usufructuaries and naked owners about who owes what are not uncommon. A real property tax assessed on the land as a whole may have different treatment from an income tax on agricultural produce derived from the land. The starting point for resolving any such dispute is Article 596 and the other usufruct provisions of the Civil Code. If you are in a usufruct arrangement and there is disagreement about who should pay what taxes, getting legal advice on how the applicable charges are classified is the most efficient path to a resolution.