Section 7 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides an exemption for residential properties that are used to accommodate people with special housing needs where the properties in question are owned by a tax-exempt charity or a public body. “Special accommodation needs” refers to the provision of housing and support for people who have a particular need in addition to a housing need to enable them to live in the community and includes the elderly and people with disabilities. Properties which have been adapted by parents to provide for the care of their disabled child are not exempt from the charge to Local Property Tax (LPT). The Deputy will be aware that the State provides supports in other targeted ways, including the Housing Adaptation Grant, where changes need to be made to a home to make it suitable for a person with a physical, sensory or intellectual disability or mental health difficulty to live in. The impact of such adaptations on a property, as the Deputy suggests, can be to decrease the value which may in turn affect the LPT liability.
In cases where there is an inability to pay the LPT, Part 12 of the Act outlines cases where the tax can be deferred. Where the residential property is the sole or main residence of a liable person and their estimated gross income from all sources does not exceed €15,000 for a single person or €25,000 for a couple during the year covered by the return, they will be eligible to apply for full deferral of the LPT charge. Moreover, owner-occupiers may be eligible to apply for partial deferral where the gross income from all sources is less than €25,000 in the case of a single person and €35,000 in the case of a couple. In these cases the owner-occupier will qualify for deferrals of 50% of the LPT liability and the balance of 50% of the tax must be paid. Where the property was purchased with a mortgage, these thresholds are increased by 80% of the mortgage interest payment.
