The good news is that once you complete your property valuation for the new property tax period, you won’t have to do it again until 2030.
The bad news, of course, is that you have to do it in the first place – and it’s also likely that your annual bill will increase.
Yes, Revenue is calling on all property owners to value their properties, as of November 1st, 2025, and file an accompanying tax return by November 7th.
This new value will determine how much property tax you will have to pay over the next five years.
So, it’s important to get it right.
Fortunately, while property values have soared by about 20 per cent nationally since the last valuation period in 2021, valuation bands have also been widened. This means that more homeowners will be kept in the same band.
So the increases mightn’t be as dramatic as they otherwise would have been. But remember, it’s not just about what Revenue tells you – councils also have discretion to increase – or decrease – your bill. And this discretion is soon to increase to a possible 25 per cent hike.
And if the increase in your house price has pushed you into another band, you’ll face a sharper hike again.
As a result, most homeowners will still pay more from next year. But how much? And who will end up paying the most?
Revaluation
If you haven’t yet done your revaluation for your home, the first step is to have a look at Revenue’s suggested valuation. You can find this here.
Just put in your property’s Eircode, and you’ll see an overview of prices in your area. By clicking on your own property, you can see the suggested valuation band. This graphic only goes up as far as €735,001, however, so if you’re above this, you’ll have to log in and see what value Revenue has assigned your property.
Remember – this is an average, and may not be reflective of your property’s value.
As Revenue says: “You are responsible for assessing whether or not the average valuation band for your area applies to your property.”
So don’t just go with this – take a look at the property price register for recent sales in your area, and consider the average prices being attained for similar properties.
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If you recently switched mortgage lenders, you will likely have had to get a valuation carried out – this can be used, or if it was some time ago, adjusted for likely growth in the interim.
You can also call your local estate agent for advice on the right band for your property – this might be a particular issue if you’ve a €2 million-plus home and need an actual valuation, rather than a band.
You can expect to pay about €250 to €400 for a written report, but we’ve been told that many estate agents will take a friendly call on the issue. However, if you have left it until now to get professional advice, be prepared that it might be too late.
You won’t need any of this research to complete your LPT return – but Revenue says you should keep it “in the event of a review of your self-assessment of your property’s value”.
This valuation will hold until 2030, so whatever improvements you might carry out between now and then won’t impact in the intervening years – so you can forget about the impact of next year’s extension until 2030.
Having sorted your valuation, you need to file an LPT return by November 7th. If you normally file tax returns online – either through Revenue’s myAccount portal or via ROS – you can submit your return in the same way. Otherwise, you can go through Revenue’s dedicated LPT online channel.
Will I pay more?
The big question for most of us, perhaps, is whether the new valuation date means that our tax will go up or not.
Valuation bands have been widened by 20 per cent, which means that most homeowners will stay in their existing bands. However, base LPT charges will increase by a small amount, so the Department of Finance said earlier this year that about 96 per cent of homeowners are expected to stay in their existing band.
Thus, most of us should expect a tax increase of about 5-6 per cent, for properties valued at under €1.26 million.
For example, Band 1 has been widened and now reaches €240,000, while Band 2 is from €240,000 to €315,000. The charges for both these bands have been increased, from €90 to €95 for Band 1, and €225 to €235 for Band 2.
The bigger increases will be for those with more valuable properties; tax for properties valued at between €1.26 million and €2.1 million in value will increase by 7 per cent to 14 per cent.
So, someone with a home valued at €200,000, who will stay in Band 1, will face the lowest increase, of €5 a year. Homes valued at between €525,000 and €630,000 will pay an extra €28, while the top band, of €1.995 million-€2.1 million will pay an extra €389 a year.
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If you are fortunate enough to have a property that’s worth in excess of €2.1 million, then a different metric applies. This is worked out as 0.0906 per cent of the first €1.26 million of the property, 0.25 per cent of the amount between that and €2.1 million, and 0.3 per cent of the declared market value above €2.1 million.
Also worth noting is that this cohort of homeowners has to declare a specific market value for their property on their return.
Moving up a band
If the increase in value of your home means that you will move up a band, then you might face a greater increase.
As shown in our table, a house that was worth €200,000, but is now valued at €245,000, will move into Band 2, which may mean a significant increase.
Consider a homeowner in Fingal, north Dublin. This year, with a valuation of €200,000, they would have only paid €83 in property tax, thanks to a 7.5 per cent reduction in the rate from Fingal council. Next year, however, they will move into Band 2, while the council’s reduction has been lowered to 5 per cent. This means that they will pay a hefty €168.70 extra in their tax next year.
It’s a similar story in Cork city, where someone with a house that was valued at €750,000, and is now worth €900,000, will see their bill increase by €47 a year.
Some lucky homeowners, however, will actually save money. In Galway city, a homeowner whose property has increased in value from €450,000 to €500,000 will actually pay €13.50 less. This is because they actually moved down from Band 5 to Band 4.
County-by-county rates
Another factor to bear in mind is where you live.
Local authorities around the State have discretion to charge LPT at the basic rate – or to increase or decrease the rate, by as much as 15 per cent. This is known as the local adjustment factor.
This means that it’s not just the valuation that will determine your bill next year – it’s also about where you live.
And as our table shows, councils across the State have interpreted this in different ways.
In Clare, the council voted through a 15 per cent increase in the rate – but in Fingal the rate was decreased by 5 per cent. For someone with a property in the €240,000- €315,000 band, the tax they must pay will be €270 in Ennis – but just €223 in Portmarnock.
And the more valuable the property, the more sizeable the difference might be. A house in the €840,000-€945,000 category, for example, will have a LPT bill of just €686 in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown next year, thanks to a 15 per cent reduction in the rate, while over the county border in Wicklow, a similar homeowner will have to pay €856, and in Cork city, the rate will be as high as €904.
Your bill won’t stay the same
Bear in mind that just because your valuation might hold until 2030, it doesn’t mean that the rate will stay the same.
This is because local authorities have discretion to lower or increase the standard rate.
And this is also set to change – from 2027, the councils will be able to increase the charge by as much as 25 per cent, but will only be able to decrease it by 15 per cent.
This would mean that someone living in a county such as Louth could see their tax increase by 25 per cent between now and 2030 if the council opts for an increase.
The changes together are expected to generate about 8 per cent additional yield for the tax, or about €45 million a year, which will go directly to the local authorities.
LPT is not for all
Finally, remember that if you have been exempt from LPT previously, it is likely that this will still hold.
If your house has been adapted for someone with a disability, then you can reduce your valuation by €105,000. Properties that have been vacant for long periods of time due to illness of owner, and properties built with defective blocks or have pyrite damage can also seek exemptions.
Mobile homes – even if occupied – house boats and camper vans, are not deemed to be liable for property tax.
This year, there is also expected to be a sharp increase in the number of homeowners who will be claiming either full, or part, deferrals of the tax, due to a move taken in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
This is because the income thresholds, below which you’re entitled to ask for a deferral of the tax, have increased by about 30-40 per cent, from €18,000 to €25,000 for a single person, and from €30,000 to €40,000 for a couple.
Even if you don’t meet these thresholds, you can apply to pay just half of your bill, if you earn €40,000 as a single person (up from €30,000 previously) and €55,000 as a couple (up from €42,000 previously).
Remember, however, that the tax will become due at some point (either when you pay it or upon death) – and you will pay interest at an annual rate of 3 per cent on the deferred amount.