Some 2,284 farmers opted to pay €550,404 in Local Property Tax (LPT) fees in 2020 by having it deducted from their CAP payments.

A property owner can opt to pay their LPT by deduction at source from certain Government departments’ payments, including from certain Department of Agriculture payments such as the Basic Payment Scheme and ANC scheme.

Farmers who want to opt-in must have a herd number and the tax will be deducted from the first Department payment of the year.

Revenue can make a mandatory deduction in the event of the tax not being paid, however a Revenue spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that it did not do this in 2018, 2019 or 2020.

“In 2018, LPT to the value of €530,000 in respect of approximately 2,390 properties was deducted from DAFM payments. In 2019, LPT to the value of €508,000 in respect of approximately 2,350 properties was deducted from DAFM payments.

“All of these payments were deducted as a result of the liable person opting to pay their LPT by deduction from their DAFM payment.”

The tax is only payable on residential houses and up to an acre of land adjoining the house, such as a garden. The tax does not apply to commercial farmland or farm buildings.