Who is liable for the Local Property Tax when you purchase a property?

The Local Property Tax (LPT) means that if you own a residential property or are a joint owner of one on the 1st of November 2021, then you have to pay the property tax on it for 2022 for that property. You are liable for this tax even if it’s not your primary residence. You do not have to be the owner to pay the LPT – you can nominate someone to submit the LPT returns and make the necessary payment to Revenue.

The liability of the LPT falls on the 1st of November each year. If you are the person that is responsible for paying this tax it can be paid in full, monthly instalments, cash payments, deduction at source (which can be paid through your salary, pension, Department of Social Protection or the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine payment).

If you have more than one property that you owe the LPT for, then you are required to make the payment for LPT through one of the online options. However, it’s still possible to pay for the LPT using a paper form called LPT1 if you would prefer.

But what if a Vendor/Seller puts a property up for sale and subsequently sells the property – who is liable to pay the LPT? The Vendor/Seller must have paid the LPT before the property can be transferred to the new owner.

The purchaser of the property will refund the owner the Local Property Tax from the date of the closing of the sale until the end of the LPT year (which is November). If you need any more information on this go over to this link where Revenue have their own article on the Local Property Tax charge.

If you are wondering about the LPT, you may also be wondering about The Land Registry Fee and Stamp Duty. If so, we have two concise answers to some frequently asked questions in this area for you to read: What is Stamp Duty? and What is a Land Registry fee?