The LPT is an annual charge on all residential properties in Ireland which has come into effect in 2013 and will be collected by the Revenue Commissioners. The tax payable will be based on the market value of your property but does not apply to development sites or farmland. The tax is a self assessed tax and therefore you calculate the tax due based on your own assessment of the market value of the property.
By now you should have received a letter from the Revenue Commissioners which includes a LPT return form which you need to complete together with an information booklet and the Revenue Commissioners estimate of your tax liability. If you have not received this correspondence, you should contact the Revenue Commissioners immediately.
The liability date is the 1st May 2013 for the year 2013 and for the following years it is the 1st November. It is important to note that the liability date for 2014 is therefore the 1st November 2013. You need to return the LPT form to the Revenue Commissioners by the 7th May 2013 if you are submitting a paper return or by the 28th May 2013 if you are submitting your return online. The LPT payment is due on the 1st July 2013 and the payment is for six months only.
The valuation date for your property is the 1st May 2013 and this valuation will suffice for the four year period until 2016. The Revenue Commissioners will accept your self assessed property valuation but if they have reason to believe that their valuation guidance has not been followed, they may query your valuation.
If you have a long term lease on a property on the 1st May 2013, you are the liable person for the tax and you must submit your return to the Revenue Commissioners on or before the 7th May 2013.
If you have purchased a property since the 1st January 2013 or if you are a first time buyer who purchased a property as your principal private residence since the 1st January 2013, you are exempt from the LPT. However, you must still make a return to the Revenue Commissioners.
After you have submitted the return to the Revenue Commissioners in 2013, you do not have to submit another return until the 7th November 2016. You will pay the LPT at the same rate every year up to and including 2016.
You can pay the LPT in a number of ways. You can pay in one single payment or alternatively you can pay the tax in equal instalments. The payment method you choose for 2013 will apply for all subsequent years unless you inform the Revenue Commissioners that you wish to change your method of payment.
