Homeowners who haven't paid their Household Charge or Local Property Tax are being given some reprieve.
The Revenue Commissioners is offering people a final opportunity to pay the levies before a nationwide compliance programme is launched.
Homeowners with outstanding charges have until the end of March to avoid facing further interest and penalties.
The offer also applies to people who've undervalued their property or who've claimed an exemption that they weren't entitled to.
Vivienne Dempsey is Revenue's Local Property Tax Manager:
If residential property owners:
- haven’t paid the 2012 Household Charge; or
- haven’t filed and paid their 2013 and 2014 LPT; or
- have undervalued their property; or
- claimed an exemption they weren’t entitled to;
they have until 31 March to bring their LPT affairs (including the Household Charge) up to date and avoid interest or penalties.
The Household charge rate now stands at €200.
If property owners don’t avail of this opportunity:
- Interest will be charged on outstanding LPT (including arrears of Household Charge) that is not paid by 31 March 2014 at the rate of@ 0.0219% per day from the date the tax was due (1 July 2013 in respect of 2013 LPT and the Household Charge; 1 January 2014 in respect of 2014 LPT).
- Interest will also apply where additional tax becomes payable in cases where a property was undervalued.
- Mandatory deduction from wages and occupational pensions of unpaid Household Charge, including interest, will start in April for those who have not paid the €200 liability.
- In line with Revenue policy across all taxes and duties, we will select appropriate cases for debt collection/enforcement action, including referral to the Sheriff, in respect of LPT/Household Charge and for consideration of penalties.
These measures are in addition to not being able to get a tax clearance certificate, which has been applied in 3,500 cases already.
What Should I Do?
- If you were the owner of a residential property on 1 May 2013 and you did not receive any correspondence from Revenue you are, under self-assessment rules, still liable to pay and file your LPT. Contact Revenue at 1890 200 255 and pay and file your LPT by 31 March 2014 to avoid interest and penalties.
- If you undervalued your property for LPT go online and self-correct your valuation and pay the additional liability by 31 March 2014 to avoid interest and penalties. At this stage over 1,400 people have self-corrected their valuation since November. Failure to self-correct an understated valuation will lead to difficulties in the context of property sales.
- Go online @ www.revenue.ie to check your LPT record to see if our records show that you owe the €200 Household Charge; if it does and you have paid the Household Charge contact us immediately with your receipt of payment from the LGMA to enable us correct the record.
- If you have not paid LPT (including the Household Charge arrears) or if you have not filed your LPT return you do not qualify for a Tax Clearance Certificate (even if your LPT liability is being mandatorily deducted from your wages).
- Unpaid LPT and interest will be a charge on a property and will cause difficulties for any transfer of ownership on sale, inheritance, etc.
