One third of LPT returns value homes at less than €200,000

Almost a third of homeowners who have valued their homes for property tax have estimated them to be worth less than €200,000, new ­figures reveal.

Statistics from Revenue show that 31pc of property owners have submitted a valuation of their home under that figure, which means they will face an annual property tax bill of €90.

The figures show that most homeowners who have valued their homes have opted for the two lowest valuation bands.

This means that the majority of property owners who have so far submitted a valuation to Revenue will be paying less than €225 a year in the tax.

Just over half of property owners who have so far submitted a valuation to Revenue – 52.4pc – choose the two lower valuation bands.

They have told tax officials their properties are worth less than €262,500.

Many of these homes are understood to be in rural areas. Some homeowners in Dublin and its suburbs are seeing a rise in the tax.

The figures are based on an initial 500,000 property tax valuations that have been submitted so far.

Statistics show that 31pc of property owners have valued their properties at under €200,000.

Another 21.3pc have valued their properties at between €200,001 and €262,500. Homes in this band attract a tax of €225.

This means that more than half of the properties, where a valuation has been submitted, will be paying less than €225.

This is the same sum many of these homeowners were paying before the new valuation system was put in place.

Homeowners have been asked to determine the current value of their property and file a Local Property Tax (LPT) return with Revenue before last Sunday. They must tell Revenue how they intend to pay the tax by this Sunday.

LPT is a self-assessed tax. This means that homeowners have to work out the value of their property by referring to the Revenue interactive valuation tool on its website, property websites, the Property Price Register or by having the property valued.

The Revenue statistics show that just short of 11pc of properties have been valued in the €350,001- €437,500 band.

The band attracts an annual tax amount of €405, unless the local authority in the area has applied a discretionary cut.

It is the first revaluation for the tax since 2013 when it was introduced.

Around 100,000 homeowners are now being told to submit a return and pay LPT for the first time.

Most property owners are unlikely to end up having to pay more than previously, even though there has been a surge of up to 90pc in property values since the tax was introduced. This is because the valuation bands have been widened and the rate of the tax has been lowered.

Revenue figures show that less than 6pc of properties, where a valuation was submitted last week, were valued at between €437,501 and €525,000.

Most are opting to pay by monthly or annual direct debit. Credit or debit cards accounts were used for more than a quarter of payment options. Deduction at source, from wages or pensions, accounts for 12pc of the payment options indicated to Revenue.

Revenue said it has been double-checking valuations up to now, and just a small number of homeowners were found to be undervaluing their properties.

It said that if it has a concern about a self-assessed valuation made by an owner it will ask the owner to support their ­valuation with evidence.

Katie Clair, of Revenue, said if a homeowner does not submit an LPT return, it will use the valuation tool to estimate the charge.