Taxpayers will not have to face increased Local Property Tax bills for 2021 after the Finance Minister decided to defer the valuation date for the tax from November this year to November next year.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said that as with many aspects of the economy, the pandemic has introduced volatility into the residential property market.
Mr Donohoe said he was also conscious of the need to allow sufficient time for the Revenue Commissioners to introduce the necessary changes to the LPT regime before any new valuation date.
"Consequently I have decided to defer the valuation date from November 1, 2020 to November 1, 2021. With this new valuation date, there will be no change in LPT liabilities until 2022 at the earliest," Mr Donohoe said.
New homes purchased since since the introduction of the tax in 2013 have been exempt.
The Minister said he will bring forward proposals for primary legislation to implement the Programme for Government commitments on LPT in early 2021.
He said these proposals will be designed to ensure fairness and that most homeowners will face no increase in their LPT liabilities.
They will also bring new homes, which are currently exempt from the LPT or outside of the tax, into the taxation system.
"I will also seek to promote the other policy objectives that I consider should underpin the tax, ie protecting the overall LPT yield; maintaining the tax base with a small number of exemptions and upholding the progressivity of the tax," Mr Donohoe added.
A review into the property tax was undertaken in 2015 but no changes have been made since.
