Revenue warns property tax will be deducted from earnings if not paid

The Revenue Commissioners are sending letters to thousands of householders who have not yet filed property tax returns warning that employers will be told to deduct the tax from their earnings.

In a letter which is being sent out from this week, owners of property have been told they will have a seven-day grace period to complete their returns and incur no penalities or charges for late payments.

The letter states the Revenue will contact the employers of householders who fail to respond or to file and instruct them to deduct the amount due directly from their pay.

The tax that will be levied will be the estimate sent out by Revenue to over 1.6 million property owners earlier this year – households whose house is valued at between €200,000 and €250,000 are liable to pay a total of € 202 in 2013 and €404 in a full year.

The payments will begin to be deducted by employers on July 1st, the letter has stated, and will continue until the end of the year.

Householders are warned that this does not conclude the process and that they are still obliged to file their returns for the self-assessment tax.

Those who are self-employed, including companies, are warned that they will not be issued with a tax clearance certificate if they fail to file a return. The letter also contains warnings about penalties and charges.

Well over 1.5 million returns were filed at the end of May with the online deadline extended to accommodate a last minute surge.

This high level of compliance compares favourably with the initially low uptake for the household charge of €100 last year.