Yes, Ireland has a property tax. It’s called the Local Property Tax (LPT), and every residential property owner pays it each year based on the home’s market value. For the 2026–2030 cycle, you value your property as of 1 November 2025 and the charge runs from €95 a year for homes worth up to €240,000 to several thousand euro for properties above €2 million. Revenue, Ireland’s tax authority, administers the system, and the owner on 1 November is liable for the following year’s bill.1Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Local Property Tax (LPT)
Who Has to Pay
If you owned a residential property in Ireland on 1 November 2025, you owe LPT for 2026. That liability date rule is absolute: it doesn’t matter whether you sell the property in January or move abroad in February.2Citizens Information. Local Property Tax (LPT)
Where you live doesn’t change the obligation. Non-resident owners must register for LPT and need a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) to file their return.3Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Non-residents
For rented homes, the landlord pays. The exception is a long lease: if you hold a lease of more than 20 years, or you have a life interest in the property, you become the person liable instead of the owner.2Citizens Information. Local Property Tax (LPT)
What You’ll Owe in 2026
LPT uses 19 valuation bands. You find the band your property’s market value falls into, and that gives you the basic annual charge. A sample across the range:4Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Valuation Bands and Rates
- Up to €240,000: €95
- €240,001 to €315,000: €235
- €315,001 to €420,000: €333
- €525,001 to €630,000: €523
- €840,001 to €945,000: €808
- €1,050,001 to €1,155,000: €998
- €1,575,001 to €1,680,000: €2,060
- €1,995,001 to €2,100,000: €3,110
Your valuation holds for the full five years of the 2026–2030 cycle unless you make significant improvements to the property.5Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Local Property Tax (LPT) Valuation for 2026 to 2030 – Technical Paper
Properties Above €2.1 Million
Homes worth more than €2.1 million are taxed on actual value, not by band. Revenue applies a tiered percentage: 0.0906% on the first €1.26 million, 0.25% on the slice from €1.26 million to €2.1 million, and 0.3% on anything above €2.1 million.4Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Valuation Bands and Rates
Local Adjustment
Your local authority can push the basic rate up or down. From 2026, councils can increase LPT by as much as 25% or cut it by as much as 15%.6Government of Ireland. Minister Donohoe Announces Changes to Local Property Tax to Ensure Fairness Two identical homes in different council areas can end up with different bills. Revenue’s online LPT calculator applies the correct adjusted rate for your area.
Valuing Your Property
LPT is self-assessed, so you decide what your home was worth on 1 November 2025. Revenue provides tools, including the Residential Property Price Register, which shows actual sale prices for homes near you. The standard is market value, meaning what the property would realistically sell for on the open market on that date.
This is not a formality. If Revenue thinks you’ve undervalued, they can challenge the figure and revise your bill. A conservative, documented estimate matters more than shaving yourself into a lower band.
Exemptions
Some properties are fully exempt for the 2026–2030 period, but you still have to file a return and declare the exemption. The main categories:7Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Local Property Tax (LPT) Exemptions for 2026 to 2030
- Homes certified as damaged by pyrite or built with defective concrete blocks.
- Properties bought, built, or adapted for someone who is permanently and totally incapacitated.
- Homes an owner cannot occupy for an extended period because of long-term illness or disability.
- Properties owned by charities, public bodies, or registered nursing homes and used for qualifying purposes.
- Properties that already pay full commercial rates.
You can claim an exemption for 2026 even if you didn’t claim it in previous years. The filing deadline for the 2026–2030 return was 7 November 2025.8Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Properties Certified as Having Pyritic Damage
Deferrals for Lower-Income Owners
If you live in your own home and your income is below set thresholds, you can defer all or half of your LPT. Deferral is not open to landlords or second-home owners. Qualification runs off estimated gross income for the previous year, so the 2026 charge is tested against your 2025 income.9Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Income Thresholds
- Full deferral, single person, no mortgage: gross income up to €25,000
- Full deferral, couple, no mortgage: gross income up to €40,000
- Partial deferral, single person, no mortgage: gross income up to €40,000
- Partial deferral, couple, no mortgage: gross income up to €55,000
If you took out a mortgage before 1 November 2020, each threshold rises by 80% of your gross mortgage interest payments. Gross income counts everything before deductions, including social welfare payments other than Child Benefit.9Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Income Thresholds
Deferred LPT accrues interest at 3% a year, and the debt stays attached to the property until it’s paid. Claim a deferral you weren’t entitled to and the rate rises to 8% a year.10Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Interest Charges If one spouse or partner in a qualifying couple dies, the deferral continues to the next valuation date (1 November 2030) without reassessing the survivor’s income.
How and When to Pay in 2026
You choose your payment method on your LPT return. The deadlines depend on the method.11Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. LPT Payment Dates for 2026
Paying in Full
- Cash through An Post or Payzone: by 9 January 2026
- Debit or credit card through the LPT online service: by 9 January 2026
- Annual Debit Instruction: deducted from your bank account on 20 March 2026
Phased Payments
- Monthly direct debit, taken on the 15th of each month from January 2026
- Deduction at source from salary, wages, or occupational pension, spread across your pay periods through the year
- Regular cash installments through a payment service provider from January 2026
Deduction at source carries forward each year while you stay with the same employer. If you change jobs, contact Revenue to set it up again.12Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Paying Your LPT by Deduction at Source (DAS) Whatever method you pick, you confirm it on your LPT return by 7 November of the preceding year.11Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. LPT Payment Dates for 2026
Vacant Homes Tax Is Separate
Ireland also charges a Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) on residential properties lived in for fewer than 30 days in a 12-month chargeable period. This is a separate filing from LPT.13Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) For the chargeable period from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026, VHT is seven times the basic LPT rate before any local adjustment.14Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Rate of Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) A home in the €240,001–€315,000 band would face an added VHT of €1,645 on top of its €235 LPT charge.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay
Unpaid LPT runs up interest at 8% a year.10Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Interest Charges It also triggers a 10% surcharge on your Income Tax, Corporation Tax, or Capital Gains Tax liability when you file those returns with LPT returns outstanding or amounts owing. The surcharge is capped at 50% of the LPT due, but it attaches to a much larger tax bill, so a small LPT problem turns into a much bigger one.15Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Local Property Tax (LPT) Surcharge
For persistent non-payment, Revenue can attach bank accounts, including joint accounts, or instruct your employer to deduct the debt from your wages. Wage attachment is generally used for debts over €10,000 that have been outstanding at least six months, where the taxpayer earns more than €50,000 a year. If paying is genuinely a problem, apply for a deferral rather than ignoring the bill.
Buying or Selling a Home
If you’re selling, all outstanding LPT has to be cleared before closing. Revenue won’t issue clearance where returns are unfiled, LPT is unpaid or deferred, or old Household Charge liabilities remain. For sales completing after 1 November 2025, the seller also needs the 2026 return filed and the 2026 charge paid.16Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. What Is Revenue Clearance
Some sales get “general clearance” without a separate application: a sale price of €400,000 or less outside Dublin, or €500,000 or less in Dublin. There’s also a route for sale prices that don’t exceed the top of the declared valuation band by more than 25%. Where neither applies, the seller files Form LPT5 for specific clearance. In practice, the solicitor apportions LPT between buyer and seller at closing so the buyer reimburses the seller for the part of the year after the sale date.