Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 January 2018
237. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the amount of local property tax, LPT, liability that has been deferred by liable persons in line with the legislation to date; the number of persons who have availed of this deferral method; the amount of interest that has accrued to date in respect of LPT deferred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1686/18]
View answerThe Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides for a deferral or partial deferral (50%) of LPT where certain specified circumstances exist. These circumstances include ‘Income Level’, ‘Hardship’, ‘Personal Insolvency’ and ‘Personal Representative of a Deceased Person’.
Once granted, a deferral normally remains in place for the duration of the ‘valuation period’, which is currently 1 May 2013 to 31 October 2019. However property owners can opt to pay the outstanding liability at any time and discontinue with the deferral. Where a deferral is in place, the outstanding liability remains as a charge on the property and must be paid before a sale or transfer can be completed. Interest is also charged on the deferred amount at a rate of 4% per annum.
Revenue has confirmed that there are currently almost 62,000 properties with LPT deferrals in place amounting to €61.7m (for all years from 2013 to 2017 inclusive). The accumulated interest to date is in the order of €6m.
