The Local Government Act 2009 introduced a €200 annual charge for owners on non-principal private residences
The charge applies mainly to owners of private rental property and holiday homes. It also applies to vacant residential property unless newly built but unsold (handy if you are a developer, lousy if you are the owner of a newly un-lettable gaff). Liability to pay the charge is assessed by the owners themselves. Ownership of a non-principal private residence on the ‘liability date’ (31st July 2009) determines liability to pay the €200 charge.
Payment is due by 30th September 2009. A €20 per month late payment fee will apply from 1st November in respect of each month for which payment is overdue. This bit is interesting – because normally surcharges and penalties for any unpaid tax are much much lower, this amounts to an ongoing 10% fine for every month – while €20 may not seem excessive, it is certainly (when viewed in percentage terms) extreme. Especially given that there is not much being published regarding the tax, have you read about it recently? Have you been told the deadline is coming?
Funny thing with tax, ignorance is not a defence, so don’t let the surcharge catch you and end up paying over the odds. Another funny thing: if you overpay tax you can only claim back to the last 6yrs, but if you underpay your liability is timeless, you can be screwed going back as far as revenue want. You have to love the system (love=profound hate)
Payment can be made on-line at www.nppr.ie or at the offices of any county or city council. Further information about the €200 charge is available here.
This is the nonsensical bit of property tax that did make it through the system, it has nothing to do with common sense, it doesn’t make everybody pay for the services they receive, it is merely rent taking at its worst, so, my investor readers, you know what to do, assume the position, more luidicrous Irish taxation has arrived.
Hi, We feel very threatened by this imposition of this property tax. We feel a certain level of ‘invasion’ into a part of our lives that we retreat to when we want to relax. What we hold to be sacrosanct has now been encroached upon by big brother and ‘beaurocracy’ and their is no escape from that. They are nameless typefaces and mostly in bold that will track you down and penalise you for existing. Sad very sad.
Hi Jim,
thanks for dropping by! This certainly is an emotive issue! Sadly the tax isn’t even rational in this example and shows the levels the state is willing to stoop to in revenue raising!
karl
Hello,
What about the €30,000 stamp duty I paid on my second house two years ago? Do I get any credit for that? That’s enough NPPR tax for 150 years!!
(By the way it should be non-principAL, not non-principLE, in your headline…..
Hi John,
Thanks for mentioning my type-o in the headline! I think stamp should be offset within a reasonable period against any valuation based/recurring national property tax, the NPPR one won’t be – the main problem is that it isn’t even really a proper property tax, its just revenue raising where the state feels there is money for the taking. You certainly couldn’t be lead to believe it is there to ‘calm the market’! Or really do anything outside of hit people who are assumed to have money because they could afford a second property. Its a nice soft target and precisely the type of thing that a money hungry badly run state looks to when there is an opportunity.
Hi,
Just heard about this NPPR charge. I purchased a place with a friend of mine, and I have recently moved out but he is still living there. Do you know what the rules are for this, are we still liable for the tax since one of us is using it as our PPR. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.