Only a small group of countries tax land value on its own rather than lumping land together with the buildings on it. A frequently cited survey puts the number at about seven. Estonia, Denmark, and Taiwan run the best-known national systems. New Zealand councils, Australian states, and a handful of Pennsylvania municipalities apply the same idea locally. The countries with a land value tax structure their versions differently, but each assesses the site as if it were empty and ignores whatever has been built on it.
That “as if vacant” mechanic is the whole point. Location, nearby infrastructure, and permitted use drive the valuation. A vacant lot beside a subway station and a same-size vacant lot in the countryside get very different assessments. Buildings, landscaping, and other improvements are excluded from the calculation. Many systems also value land at its most productive permitted use under zoning, so a surface parking lot in a district zoned for high-rises is taxed as high-rise land.
Estonia
Estonia runs one of the purest national land value taxes anywhere. The tax applies only to land value and completely ignores buildings. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board pulls data from state registers and local authorities, then issues tax notices through its online system by February 15 each year.
Local governments set the rate within statutory bands tied to how the land is classified. Residential and yard land runs from 0.1% to 1% of assessed value. Profit-yielding land runs from 0.1% to 0.5%. All other land runs from 0.1% to 2%.1Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Land Tax
Payment splits across two deadlines. If the total tax on land in a single municipality is under €100, the full amount is due by March 31. Above €100, at least half is due by March 31 and the rest by October 1.1Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Land Tax Late payments accrue interest at 0.06% per day, roughly 22% per year.2Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Payment of Interests
Taiwan
Taiwan taxes land value in two ways at once. An annual land value tax charges owners every year on the total value of their holdings. A separate land value increment tax kicks in only when land changes hands, capturing the gain since the last transfer. Both sit under the Land Tax Act, which cross-references the Equalization of Land Rights Act for the increment tax rules.3Ministry of Finance, R.O.C. Land Tax Act
Annual Land Value Tax
The annual tax is progressive. Each municipality has a starting cumulative value, and rates escalate as an owner’s total land value stacks up above multiples of that baseline:
- At or below the starting cumulative value: 1%
- Up to 5 times the starting value: 1.5% on the excess
- 5 to 10 times: 2.5% on the excess
- 10 to 15 times: 3.5% on the excess
- 15 to 20 times: 4.5% on the excess
- Above 20 times: 5.5% on the excess
A small owner with one modest plot pays the 1% base rate. A developer amassing large tracts across a municipality moves quickly up the schedule.3Ministry of Finance, R.O.C. Land Tax Act
Land Value Increment Tax
When land sells, the increment tax applies to the gain in value since acquisition, adjusted for inflation using consumer price indices. Three tiers apply: 20%, 30%, and 40%, depending on how large the gain is relative to the original assessed value. Land held more than 20 years qualifies for graduated reductions, shaving 20% to 40% off the applicable rate depending on holding period. Self-use residential land gets a preferential flat rate of 10%.4Taipei City Revenue Service. Land Value Increment Tax Building values are appraised separately and excluded from both taxes.
Denmark
Denmark’s land tax, grundskyld, is one of the oldest in continuous operation. A long-delayed property tax reform took effect in 2024, replacing the old valuation system, introducing new municipality-specific rate caps, and merging grundskyld with a separate property value tax into a single “housing tax” line item on residents’ assessments.5SKAT. Introduction to Property in Denmark
The tax still targets land value and excludes buildings. Municipalities set their own rates, but the statutory maximum is now 30 promille (3%) of assessed land value, with a separate and lower ceiling for agricultural production land. Actual rates dropped sharply after the reform because new assessments pushed land values significantly higher. Copenhagen’s grundskyld rate, for example, fell from 34 promille to roughly 5 promille to keep bills from spiking.6Skatteministeriet. Ejendomsskatteloven
Homeowners whose bills rise under the reform can defer the increase through an interest-bearing state loan that comes due only when the property is sold. That state program replaced an older interest-free municipal loan that still covers pre-2024 increases.5SKAT. Introduction to Property in Denmark
New Zealand
New Zealand gives its local councils a choice. Under the Rating Valuations Act 1998, territorial authorities can assess properties on capital value (land plus buildings), on land value alone, or on annual rental value. About a third of councils opt for land value rating, taxing only the unimproved value of the site and excluding all buildings and structures.
Councils that use land value rating must meet strict statistical accuracy standards under the Rating Valuations Rules 2008, which exist because appraising vacant land is harder than appraising improved property where sales comparables are plentiful.7Land Information New Zealand. Rating Valuations Rules 2008
The system is not national in the way Estonia’s is. Over 65% of councils use capital value rating instead, meaning most of the country still taxes land and buildings together. But the councils that do use land value rating represent a decades-long real-world test of the approach.
Australia
Australian land taxes operate at the state level, not federally. Each state has its own legislation, thresholds, and rate schedules. The common thread is that the tax falls on the unimproved value of land. Most states exempt a homeowner’s primary residence, so the tax lands mainly on investment properties, commercial land, and vacant holdings.
New South Wales
For the 2026 land tax year, the general threshold in New South Wales is $1,075,000 and the premium threshold is $6,571,000. Owners with total holdings below the general threshold pay nothing. Above it, rates scale upward, with higher percentages once holdings cross the premium line.8Revenue NSW. Preparing for the 2026 Land Tax Year The governing statute is the Land Tax Act 1956, alongside the Land Tax Management Act 1956 for assessment and collection.9NSW Legislation. NSW Code Land Tax Act 1956
Victoria
Victoria starts lower. Land valued between $50,000 and $100,000 pays a flat $500. Rates then progress through several brackets up to 2.65% plus a base amount for holdings above $3,000,000. Land held in trusts faces a surcharge schedule starting at $25,000.10State Revenue Office. Land Tax Current Rates
Victoria also adds a 4% absentee owner surcharge on top of regular land tax for properties owned by foreign individuals or entities. The surcharge covers both residential and commercial land, making Victoria one of the more expensive Australian states for overseas investors.10State Revenue Office. Land Tax Current Rates
United States: Pennsylvania’s Split-Rate Property Tax
The United States has no national land value tax. Pennsylvania has a long history with a local variant called the split-rate property tax, which taxes land at a much higher rate than buildings rather than replacing property tax entirely. Around 20 Pennsylvania municipalities adopted some version over the past century, with the land rate averaging nearly eight times the rate on structures.
Pittsburgh ran the most prominent experiment. Beginning in 1913, the city gradually shifted its tax burden toward land, and by the late 1970s it taxed land at more than double the rate applied to buildings. The early 1980s saw a sharp jump in building permit activity for office construction. The split-rate system ended in 2001 after a botched county-wide property reassessment created political turmoil. The repeal followed the assessment controversy rather than any problem with the split-rate structure itself.11Connecticut General Assembly. Split Rate Property Tax
Harrisburg and roughly 15 other municipalities also adopted split-rate taxation during the late twentieth century. At least seven have switched back to a single rate since 2000. The remaining municipalities are the only active implementation of land-value-weighted taxation in the United States.
Other Countries With Partial Approaches
A few additional countries apply land value taxation in more limited forms. Namibia levies a national land tax on commercial farmland and lets local governments set property rates based on unimproved land value. Kenya’s National Rating Act of 2024 gives county governments the option to value properties using unimproved site value, though each county picks its own methodology, and many still tax land and buildings together.
Singapore comes up in these discussions but does not fit. Its property tax is based on estimated annual rental value, which includes buildings. Vacant land and development sites are taxed at 5% of estimated freehold market value, but improved properties are valued on what the entire property would rent for, not just the land.12Internal Revenue Authority of Singapore. About Annual Value That makes Singapore a conventional property tax jurisdiction rather than a land value tax one.