Deferral of The Property Tax

There are  no  Local Property Tax (LPT) reductions , waivers or exemptions for people on social welfare or low incomes .

The only option available for homeowners on low incomes who can’t afford to pay the Property Tax is to request a deferral. The payment of the LPT can be delayed or deferred if the house is your sole residence and your income is below a certain level.

Note :– Deferral prior to Jan 2022 will incur a 4% annual interest rate.  (eg. After 3 years – an LPT charge of €405 a year unpaid each year – will have total interest of  €96.20 added. 
From 1 January 2022 the rate of interest that will be charged on all deferred amounts from 1 January 2022 will be reduced from 4% to 3% per year.

See How Much Property Tax You Will Have to Pay in 2022

Read about the 2022 Property Tax Exemptions Here

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Conditions to Qualify for Deferral of Property Tax

(You must satisfy ONE of these conditions)

Full Deferral  :
Your Gross income for the year is unlikely to exceed €18,000 (single) and €30,000 (couple).

Full Deferral Condition Type 2 For owner-occupiers who have an outstanding mortgage, an adjusted gross income limit applies. The thresholds  (€18,000 single, €30,000 couple) may be increased by 80% of the gross mortgage interest payments that a liable person expects to make by the end of the year for which gross income is being estimated.

Partial Deferral 50% Condition Number 3
Your Gross income for the year is unlikely to exceed €30,000 (single) and €42,000 (couple).

Partial Deferral  50% Condition Number 4
For owner-occupiers who have an outstanding mortgage, an adjusted gross income limit applies. The thresholds of  (€30,000 single, €42,000 couple) may be increased by 80% of the gross mortgage interest payments that a liable person expects to make by the end of the year for which gross income is being estimated.

Summary of  Conditions For Income related Deferral

Liable person	To qualify for a full deferral gross income must not exceed	To qualify for a partial (50%) deferral gross income must not exceed
Single, no mortgage	€18,000	€30,000
Couple, no mortgage	€30,000	€42,000
Single, with mortgage	€18,000 + 80% of gross mortgage interest	€30,000 + 80% of gross mortgage interest
Couple, with mortgage	€30,000 + 80% of gross mortgage interest	€42,000 + 80% of gross mortgage interest

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Gross income is defined for deferral purposes as income before any deductions, allowances or reliefs that may be taken off for income tax purposes. It includes income that is exempt from income tax and income from the Department of Social Protection but excludes Child Benefit. .

Owner occupiers who pay mortgage interest can increase the standard income thresholds by 80% of the gross interest that will likely be paid in the relevant year. To avail of this deferral category, the mortgage should have been taken out before 1 November 2020. You cannot avail of this deferral category if you have taken out your mortgage since 1 November 2020.

For example :  For someone with a €200,000 mortgage  at a rate of 3.5% – the annual interest will be about €7000. Eighty per cent of this would be €5600.  So – a single person with this mortgage and a  gross income of  €30000 could ask for a 50% deferral based on their “adjusted” income being €24400.

All deferred property taxes and interest will have to be paid on the sale/transfer of the property.

(There is no deferral option on second homes or for landlords. )

There are three other categories that may qualify for a deferral of LPT:

• Personal representatives of a deceased liable person where a property has not been transferred or sold within 3 years of a liable person’s death may apply for a deferral until the earlier of (a) the date the property is transferred or sold or (b) 3 years after the date of death.

• A person who has entered into an insolvency arrangement under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 may apply for deferral of the LPT that is due during the period for which the insolvency arrangement is in effect.

• A person who has suffered both an unexpected and unavoidable significant financial loss or expense, as a result of which he or she is unable to pay the LPT without causing excessive financial hardship, may apply for full or partial deferral.

To apply for deferral, you should complete Form LPT2.
You can submit the completed LPT2 form to Revenue online through MyEnquiries

More details here- https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/local-property-tax/deferral-of-payment/income-thresholds.aspx