LPT – What the changes mean?
On 1 June 2021, the Cabinet agreed to bring forward legislation that will propose changes to how Local Property Tax (LPT) currently operates. LPT is a self-assessed tax charged on the market value of residential properties in the State. There were some exemptions to the system including first time buyers who purchased in 2013 along with all new builds since 2013. LPT is payable by the owner of the property – regardless of whether you live in the property, or it is rented out.
However, since 2013 there has been a rise in the value of property and many people now face an increase in their LPT. The bands have been widened to ensure that most homeowners do not face higher bills. The national average house price in 2013 was €189,000, rising to €284,000 this year. Over the same time, average prices soared in Dublin from €249,500 to €360,000.
Your property will need to be revalued in November 2021, but this can be done by yourself by doing a search on the Property Price Register and also on the main property portals daft.ie and myhome.ie. Failing that we recommend contacting your local estate agent to get an indication of value. The changes to the bill mean that your property value will be reviewed every 2 years.
The LPT is payable to your local authority and local authorities have the ability to vary their rates so check out your local authority’s rates: Has your Local Authority Rate changed? (revenue.ie). Local authorities are entitled to reduce the rate by a maximum of 15%.
The new bands are set out below:
Houses vacated by their owners due to illness are currently not liable to LPT, on the condition the property remains vacant. In future, the condition of vacancy will not apply, meaning that the home could be rented out and the LPT would still not apply.
See The Journal.ie’s article for a more in-depth analysis: Explainer: What will the changes to the Local Property Tax mean for your yearly bill? (thejournal.ie)