NEARLY ONE QUARTER of Local Property Tax returns have yet to be filed despite the deadline for submission passing last week.

Revenue announced today that it has received returns for 1.5 million properties, representing 77% of the expected number of properties liable for the tax in 2022.

The tax applies to all residential properties in the country and homeowners were obliged to submit a return by 5pm last Wednesday. 

It is the first time a re-evaluation has taken place since the tax was introduced in 2013. The government announced changes to the tax earlier this year in order to account for the sharp rise in house prices in recent years.

Revenue said preliminary analysis indicates that the property owners who have not yet submitted their LPT return mainly fall into two distinct categories: Property owners with recurring payment arrangements in place and owners with no recurring payment arrangement in place.

It noted that neither group has met their legal obligation.

Despite 23% of submissions remaining outstanding, Revenue said today “it is evident that property owners are still making their best effort to file their returns.”

It said staff in the LPT branch handled almost 10,000 calls to its helpline over last Thursday and Friday.

“For all other property owners who did not file their LPT Return by the extended deadline Revenue reminded them that they still have an obligation to do so and strongly encouraged them to file their return immediately,” Revenue said.

The tax agency noted that the due date for payment of the 2022 LPT for those property owners who do not have a payment option in place is 12 January.

Statistics released today show that almost 32% of people who submitted a return valued their property between €0 and €200,000.

A total of 22% said their property is worth between €200,001 and €262,500. A further 20% valued their property in the €262,501-€350,000 band and almost 11% placed their property in the €350,001-€437,500 bracket.

A total of 91% of returns were filed using Revenue’s online service. The tax agency said that exemptions were claimed for 11,800 properties and deferrals were claimed for 9,300 properties.