PROPERTY TAX: REVENUE VOWS A CRACKDOWN

300,000 have not updated value of homes in nine years

MORE than 300,000 homeowners who deliberately undervalued their property could have their salary or pension deducted at source, Revenue has said.

It emerged that over 316,000 people have not updated the value of their home since 2013 – even though there has been a huge rise in house prices since the post-crash era.

Revenue statistics showed 54% of homeowners say their property is worth less than €262,500, while CSO figures show the average selling price of a Dublin home last year was €506,667, compared with €326,457 nationally.

An additional 20% of homeowners have put a value of between €262,501 and

€350,000 on their property. Last January, callers to RTÉ’s Liveline programme openly confessed to undervaluing their property to Revenue because they didn’t agree with the property tax.

Revenue has warned it has been ‘left with no alternative but to deploy sanctions to ensure payment’ after finding tens of millions in property tax is yet to be paid.

On top of mandatory deductions in salaries, those who fail to pay could have their tax clearance certificate withheld or face interest charges of up to 8% per year.

Without a tax clearance certificate they would not be able to borrow from a bank.

A Revenue spokesman told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘There is provision for Revenue to seek the application of penalties for false property value declarations via the courts. However, most increased valuations are either self-corrections or agreed with the property owner following contact from Revenue.’

In a warning that it will get tough on non-payers, Revenue also said sheriffs and solicitors can be called into action to collect any outstanding payments, which were suspended during the pandemic.

There are an estimated 1.98 million properties liable for property tax in 2022 but as the deadline of

‘ No alternative but to deploy sanctions’

November 2021 has passed, there are still around 99,000 homeowners who have not paid.

On top of that, Revenue believes at least 316,000 have not updated the house value in nine years.

It warned that it has the right to apply penalties if the property is not valued correctly.

Last year, 3,850 tax clearance requests were refused for noncompliance – making it impossible for owners to borrow money.

In their end-of-year report, Revenue said: ‘There was a relatively small number of cases who chose to remain non-compliant, which leaves Revenue with no alternative but to deploy sanctions to ensure payment.’

It said the ‘vast majority’ of tax clearance requests were later cleared after acceptable payment solutions were made.

In 2021, 17,869 surcharges were also applied in income tax and corporation tax cases in 2021 but 71% of these were mitigated or removed, following the payment of any liabilities.

The company has continued to take LPT at source for 73,963 properties through deductions in salaries or pensions.

And 22,020 valuations have also increased since 2013, which has come as a result of self-correction or Revenue challenges.

For 2022-2025, there are 19 different fee bands based on the valuation of the property, ranging from €90 to €2,721. The annual fee for a property valued between €350,001 and €437,500 is €405. Revenue revealed the payment compliance rate stands at 95%, while the return compliance rate is 90%.

The spokesman said: ‘This means there is a cohort of owners who have paid or put payment arrangements in place in respect of their LPT but have yet to file an updated valuation for their property in their LPT return.’

But Revenue insists it will work with those who have not paid, given the financial impact of the pandemic. The spokesman told the Mail: ‘Revenue are very conscious that over the last two years a significant cohort of people have suffered in many ways, including financially due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We will continue to engage with property owners who have yet to comply with their LPT obligations.’

Revenue has received around half a million calls to their helpline and more than 180,000 items of correspondence.

The spokesman explained: ‘We will continue to support those owners to meet their obligations. With this in mind Revenue is encouraging property owners who have not yet submitted their LPT return to do so as soon as possible or make contact with Revenue for any support they need.’

Revenue chairman Niall Cody said: ‘Notwithstanding the strong levels of compliance, we know that some property owners still have not submitted an LPT return and perhaps mistakenly think they have met their LPT obligations.

‘For the remaining minority of property owners who haven’t yet filed their LPT return or paid or made arrangements to pay their LPT for 2022 I strongly encourage them to do so immediately.’

In 2021, €552million was collected in LPT.