Revenue warns it will take unpaid property tax

The Revenue Commissioners has started to pursue property-owners who did not pay the property tax before the end-of-May deadline, having so far collected almost €175 million in an 89 per cent compliance rate.

Revenue is on track to achieve its €250 million budget target for collection of the tax, with €174,919,483 collected, and a further €60 million committed in phased payments.

Revenue has warned it will deduct the remaining €15 million due in property tax payments directly from the salary, pension or bank accounts of the 11 per cent of homeowners who have not yet co-operated with the taxation authority.

Figures published by Revenue yesterday show the tax has been paid on 1.58 million of the 1.96 million properties in the State, with that figure rising to 1.74 million when properties for which local authorities or housing associations have responsibility are included.

The yield from the tax is estimated to be €250 million in 2013 (half-year charge) and €500 million for the full year in 2014. In a regional analysis of the payments to date, Donegal has the lowest compliance rate at 84 per cent, with Tipperary and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown sharing the highest compliance rate at 92 per cent.

Compliance rate
Galway county, Laois, Leitrim, Offaly, Waterford county, Westmeath, Wicklow, and Wexford all have a compliance rate of 90 per cent. Almost €30 million has been collected in Dublin city, while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown homeowners have paid €17.9 million, with €12.7 million collected in Fingal. Some €839,147 has been collected in Leitrim and €819,618 in Longford.

Revenue said it had already begun writing to property owners who are in employment or have an occupational pension but who have not met their LPT obligations.

They will have seven days from the date of the letter to file their return online to prevent Revenue issuing instructions to their employer to deduct the LPT estimate from their wages or pension. Self-employed property owners who have not complied with their LPT obligations will not qualify for a tax clearance cert.

Revenue said employers will be instructed to deduct LPT in equal instalments from the employee’s salary.

It also said rising property prices would not affect the tax until 2016 with initial property valuations valid up to then.

Exempt
Property prices in June registered their highest monthly increase since the housing market crashed more than half a decade ago, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office. Residential prices throughout the country rose by 1.2 per cent compared to May, and showed a similar rise year on year.

New and previously unused properties as well as second-hand properties purchased by first-time buyers between now and the end of 2016 will be exempt from the tax.