Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the actions a homeowner should take if they disagree with the Revenue assessment of their property value; the evidence that homeowners will be required to produce to substantiate their valuation; if he has considered on a one off basis making a tax credit available to allow homeowners to undertake a professional valuation of their property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13693/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) sets out how the Local Property Tax (LPT) is to be administered and how a residential property is to be valued for LPT purposes. As I have previously stated, the Revenue Commissioners will not be involved in valuing individual properties. LPT is a self-assessed tax so in the first instance it is a matter for the property owner to calculate the tax due based on his or her assessment of the chargeable value of the property. As values for properties under €1 million are organised into valuation bands for the purposes of LPT, property owners will not be required to provide a precise value for their property.

The Revenue Commissioners have prepared valuation guidance which, taken together with the owner’s own knowledge of the property, will assist him or her in assessing its value. The guidance, which is now available on the Revenue website, includes an on-line guide that provides indicative property valuation bands depending on the property type, age and location. If a property has certain unique features, is smaller or larger than the average for the area, is in a significantly poor state of repair or has exceptional features, property owners will have to factor this into their assessment of the valuation of their property. Where property owners consider that the on-line valuation guide is not indicating a reasonable valuation for their property, they should make their own assessment of its value. As I have previously advised the House, where the Revenue guidance is used in an honest manner, the valuation made by a property owner will not be challenged by the Commissioners in accordance with its normal Customer Service Charter.

I am further advised that additional sources that a property owner would find useful to help them with their property value assessment include the property prices register, the property section of local newspapers, information from local estate agents and property websites.

It is a matter for the property owner to decide whether they should have their property professionally valued. However, it is expected that, for the vast majority of properties, the guidance provided by Revenue will give the owner sufficient information which, when combined with their own knowledge of their property, will allow them determine the valuation band for their property. Consequently I do not believe that a tax credit to have a residential property professionally valued is necessary.

Finally, I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a copy of the information sources used by the property owner to inform their self-assessment of the value of their property should be retained as proof of compliance with their LPT obligations. This might include a paper record of the property section of their local newspaper, information downloaded from the property price register regarding the sales price of a similar house sold in the area, information downloaded from property websites or details taken from Revenue’s valuation guidance.