Daft Property - Irish Property News

Homeowners' guide to calculating and paying the new tax... From next week 1.9 million homeowners will start getting letters from the Revenue outlining how they are to pay a new local property tax which is to replace the household charge that was introduced two budgets ago. Property tax? But I paid a fortune in stamp duty when I bought my house at the height of the boom. Surely I can’t owe more money on a property that is now worth half of what I paid for it? Yes you can. The Government, has decided to ignore the massive amounts of money it collected from us in property-related stamp duty over the last decade or so and start on a blank page when it comes to property tax. The good news (for the Government) is that it should raise €500 million a year from the new tax. How much will this one cost me?  Well it depends on where you live, but the good news is that the majority of people will be expected to pay less than €500 a year thanks to the all but total collapse of th...

THE taxman will use GPS-style technology to help work out your property tax bill. Sophisticated aerial mapping will be used to measure a home's proximity to shops, transport links, schools and other amenities that have a bearing on a property's value. A 'deprivation index' will also be used to measure the affluence or poverty of an area, which will also have a bearing on the value and the amount of tax that should be paid. Homeowners will receive letters in the coming weeks telling them how much the Revenue thinks their home is worth and the tax band the property falls into. The revelations show the hi-tech lengths the Revenue is going to in order to clamp down on those who knowingly undervalue their home for the new charge. It is employing a sophisticated database which calculates a property's location in relation to facilities that increase its value. Aerial maps and GPS-style systems will measure "the distance from each property to a series of...

Revenue table of local property tax bands at a tax rate of 18% for 2013 and 2014: Revenue is to send homeowners an estimated value of their home and property tax due, in letters to be issued in the coming weeks. The local property tax payable on the market value of a property is to come into force from July and will be administered by Revenue. Revenue will write to residential property owners in March including notification of an estimated amount of local property tax, a booklet on the operation of the tax, valuation procedures and payment methods and a form for completion. The completed forms with a self-assessment of property value will have to be sent back to Revenue by May 7th on paper or May 28th electronically. The return will be valid until 2016 unless circumstances change. If Revenue believes the amount of property value declared does not reflect the market value, it may question the declaration. If people refuse to pay or do not send back the form the tax...

Revenue targets landlords in rental income crackdown... TAX officials are making door-to-door checks in estates across the country to see if landlords are paying all their taxes. Revenue officials are focusing on estates where there is known to be a high level of rented properties in the new clampdown on landlords. They are probing landlords who have buy-to-lets to see if they are making the correct tax claims on their rental returns and to see if they are registered with the State as landlords. It is part of an overall investigation by Revenue Commissioner officials into the black economy, the Irish Independent understands. There are fears that many buy-to-let landlords do not register with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), accept cash in rent and do not make tax returns. It recently emerged that the State paid more than €250m last year to thousands of unregistered landlords. Half of the landlords who get rent supplement payments -- which can be as high as ...

Revenue failed to tax €2m staff benefit... BENEFIT-IN-KIND TAX: DELAYS BY the Revenue in identifying obligations to tax benefit-in-kind (Bik) of approximately €2 million paid to its own staff is highlighted in the report. In the course of drafting a Statement of Practice during 2006, officials raised concerns in relation to the tax treatment of benefits received by Revenue's own staff in respect of travel to and from work. A working group reviewed benefits which had accrued from January 2004 to June 2007. About €2 million accrued by way of Bik during the period reviewed. This comprised €1.7 million for use of official vehicles by officers for travel to and from work, and €0.3 million paid under agreements made with staff whose work began or ended between the hours of 11pm and 8am in locations not served by public transport. An overall liability was calculated at €1,656,920, including interest and penalties. The relevant Inspector of Taxes was informed of Revenue's intention to ...