NPPR
The Non Principal Private Residence charge was introduced in 2009 and was payable on all residential property where the owner had more than one residence. The liability date for this charge was the 31st March each year and if you were the owner of the property on that date and it was not your main and only residence you became liable to pay this charge of €200.00. The money was paid directly to the local authority and goes towards local community services. This charge has now been abolished and 2013 will be the last year this charge will be levied. It has now been replaced by the Local Property Tax however all outstanding NPPR charges still remain due. It is important that you pay any outstanding NPPR charges as they continue to accrue late fees and penalties until payment is made.
Local Property Tax
The Local Property Tax replaces the NPPR charge and the Household charge. This is a tax on all residential property and was introduced in 2013. This is a self assessment tax and is based on current market value on the liability date. However it is not just confined to home owners, if you hold a residential property under a 20+ year lease, a life interest or long term right of residence, or a person acting as a legal personal representative to an Estate then you too are also liable to pay this tax. If you are in rented accommodation and your lease is for less than 20 years it is your landlord who is liable to pay.
The liability date for 2013 was the 1st May, this meant that if you were the owner of the property on this date you were liable to pay for 2013. For the year 2014 the liability date will be the 1st November 2013 and every 1st November thereafter will be the liability date.
Exempt properties
If you are the owner of residential property which is not suitable for use as a dwelling on the liability date then you are not liable, however you should notify the Revenue Commissioners as soon as possible of this fact. You should note that even if you own a residential property that is exempt you still must file a return to Revenue.
Any new and previously unused properties that were purchased from a builder or developer between 1 January 2013 and 31 October 2016 will be exempt until the end of 2016 (even if sold again in this period). So if you buy a second hand house that was previously bought for the first time in this period you are not liable for LPT until 2017.
Valuing your property
As this is a self assessment tax you are free to value the property at price different to the allocated Revenue valuation. Revenue have provided guidance in relation to this on their website. You do not need to submit any supporting documentation with your return however you should retain copies of all your supporting documentation for reference later should Revenue query your valuation. If you do not submit a valuation Revenue will use their valuation as the rate payable. You should note that an authorised Officer of the Revenue Commissioners is legally entitled to enter your property for the purposes of inspecting your property if deemed necessary.
Selling your property
If you sell your property for example in July 2013 you are liable to pay the Local Property Tax for the year 2013. If you own a property on 1 November 2013 and subsequently sell it any time before 1 November 2014 you are liable to pay LPT for the year 2014. In general this payment should be made before the sale of the property closes.
Household charge
This was a charge of €100.00 introduced in 2012 and has since been abolished. Any outstanding charge and arrears will from the 31st July 2013 will form part of the Local Property Tax.
If you have any queries in regard to any of the above information or you need clarification on nay matter please do not hesitate to contact us on 061-303311 or [email protected]