Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) aims to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand. Legislative provision for the tax was made in the Finance Act 2022. A residential property will be within the scope of VHT, if it has been occupied as a dwelling for less than 30 days in a chargeable period.

VHT operates on a self-assessment basis, where the number of properties in scope and the amount of tax payable, depends on the self-assessed returns submitted by property owners, the number of properties declared as liable, and the number of property owners entitled to claim available exemptions from the tax. The first chargeable period ended on 31 October 2023 with the first self-assessed returns due on 7 November 2023 and the associated tax payable on or before 1 January 2024.

The revenue raised by VHT will accrue to the Exchequer.

The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is a new tax which was introduced in Finance Act 2021. It seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of development on lands which are suitably zoned and appropriately serviced. It aims to bring those lands which have benefited from investment in services and are capable of being developed forward for housing.

The RZLT measure is a key pillar of the Government’s response to address the urgent need to increase housing supply in suitable locations. However, it is important that affected landowners have sufficient opportunity to engage with the mapping process and that a fair and transparent process is applied when local authorities consider what land should be placed on the RZLT maps. Therefore, as part of Budget 2024, it was decided to extend the liability date of the tax by one year, from February 2024 to February 2025. The policy rationale behind this deferral is to allow for the annual mapping cycle to complete and afford landowners another opportunity to raise issues regarding the zoning status of their land.

Yield collected by the RZLT will also accrue to the Exchequer.