Local property tax returns are due on Friday, with the owners of around 2.25 million residential properties obliged to send updated valuations for their homes to the Revenue Commissioners.
These valuations, setting out what the properties were worth last Saturday (November 1st), will determine how much local property tax households will pay each year between 2026 and the end of 2030.
There are 19 valuation “bands”. The first covers all homes worth up to €240,000, the second covers properties between that figure and €315,000. After that, the bands go up in amounts of €105,000 as far as €2.1 million.
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The tax bill will range from €95 for those in the lowest band to €3,110 for homes worth between €1.995 million to 2.1 million. If your home is worth more than €2.1 million, you’ll pay 0.3 per cent of any value above that level.
Glitches with the Revenue’s Commissioners’ local property tax portal which have randomly locked out people looking to file returns and a helpline that appears to be an answerphone have caused some confusion. So what happens if you have not managed to get through to file your updated valuation, or if you just haven’t bothered?
What happens if I have missed the deadline?
Revenue still expects you to file a valuation and, hopefully, with the last minute rush over, the tech glitches that have plagued Revenue’s LPT portal will prove less of an issue.
Until Revenue gets your valuation, it will work off the estimate it included in the letter that it sent you in recent weeks with your property ID and PIN. But it notes in that letter that it will “continue to seek submission of your LPT return and confirmation from you of your property valuation”.
And, unless you pay by direct debit, you’ll also need to tell Revenue how you want the tax collected.
If Revenue has their estimate, can I just leave it at that?
No, you cannot. Revenue notes that it is just an estimate based on average property prices in your area and may not accurately reflect your property’s value. Your home could be worth less or, more likely, more.
In any case, the Revenue letter makes clear: “Regardless of whether you accept the estimate, or you determine that it should change based on your own self-assessed valuation of your property, you are required to submit an LPT return.”
What happens if I just keep the valuation the same as last time?
The valuation bands have changed since you were last required to update the market value of your home back in November 2021. as has the tax rate. The bands are wider and the tax rate lower.
The end result, if you submit the same valuation figure as last time, is that your bill will fall. However, a lower tax bill at a time of rising property prices will certainly be a red flag for Revenue and will almost certainly lead to them challenging you to defend your valuation at some point over the coming years. And it will likely lead to a bill for arrears.
I don’t agree with local property tax. What happens if I simply ignore the whole thing?
That would be building up trouble for yourself. First, Revenue has its estimate for your property. Of course, if you don’t engage at all, it has no way of collecting on that estimate but it will almost certainly pursue you for compliance and arrears.
And if you go to sell the property, there will be no escape. Revenue will not clear the sale of any property where there is outstanding local property tax due, or where your LPT returns are not up to date.
In addition, you will need Revenue clearance. Any property selling for more than €400,000 (€500,000 in Dublin) requires specific Revenue clearance. The same is true if your property sells at a price more than 25 per cent above the upper limit of whatever valuation bands you declared in your return.
In either case, you’ll be asked to fill out an LPT5 form. And for properties selling at a price more than 25 per cent ahead of their stated value, you can expect a revaluation and a bill for arrears before the sale is allowed to close.
Can I defer payment?
In certain circumstances, you can defer payment of local property tax fully or in part. However, this is deferral not an exemption. The money is still owing and interest is charged currently at 3 per cent per annum until the bill is paid.
Grounds for deferral include low income. A single person earning less than €25,000 can seek a full deferral; if they earn less than €40,000, they can seek deferral of half of their LPT bill. For couples, the relevant figures are €40,000 and €55,000.
Those limits rise for people paying mortgage interest – by 80 per cent of your mortgage interest bill.
Other grounds for deferral include personal insolvency, hardship and where you are dealing with the assets of the property owner who has died.
If you want a deferral, you will need to apply for it. Don’t just assume it applies.