Late surge in numbers paying ‘second home tax’

Homeowners who have not paid the tax on second homes risk late payment penalties of up to €7,230 from today after a deadline for paying the charge expired last night.

Local authorities experienced a late surge in numbers paying the tax over the weekend. About €1.5 million was received over the weekend.

The €200 tax, introduced in 2009, applied to anyone who owned a property that was not their principal residence, with exemptions allowed for mobile homes and those involved in judicial separation or divorce.

It was replaced with the property tax last year, but thousands of owners of more than one property had not paid the original charge.

Late payment penalties

The annual charge of €200 applies for the years 2009-2013, and homeowners who have not yet paid the charge are liable for a series of late-payment charges and penalties.

As of today, if payment has not been made in full or if settlement terms have not been agreed, an additional late payment fee of €120 per year applies. In addition, the homeowner’s entire liability will be increased by a factor of 50 per cent. A series of other penalties may also apply.

This means that if a property owner has never paid the charge, they could be liable for a total fee of up to €7,230 from today.

The hefty penalties have attracted criticism from opposition parties such as Fianna Fáil, as well as emigrants who have properties at home but claim they were unaware of the charge.

A spokesman for the Local Government Management Agency has said, "The clock will stop ticking" for those who contacted their local council by letter or email "expressing genuine financial difficulty" with paying before today. No proof of financial difficulty is needed.

Outstanding payments

The homeowner will still be liable for any outstanding payments plus penalties accrued to date, but the extra penalties will not be applied. If the penalty is not paid, a charge will be held against the relevant property for 12 years after the fees become due, and it will have to be discharged, in full, before a transfer or sale of the property can be completed.

Property owners can contact the relevant local authority to discuss or pay the charge, or alternatively any charges can be settled at www.nppr.ie.

In all, the charge has netted the exchequer almost €445 million. Recent publicly over looming penalties saw almost €20 million of this total amount paid in the last month alone.