RZLT Liability
Overview
Land may be within the scope of Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) if it is zoned as being suitable for residential development and is serviced.
Land is within the scope of the RZLT if it is:
- published on an annually revised RZLT map by the relevant local authority
- and
- not a residential property.
This land is known as a relevant site. You are required to review these maps to confirm if your land is within the scope of the tax. The map is revised annually.
Certain properties are excluded from the tax even if they appear on an annually revised map, such as existing residential properties subject to Local Property Tax (LPT).
However, you must register for RZLT if your residential property:
- is included on an annually revised map
- and
- has a garden or yard that is greater than 0.4047 hectares (1 acre).
Are there any other exclusions from RZLT?
Certain types of land are excluded from RZLT despite being zoned for residential use, serviced and do not appear on RZLT maps. An example could include a shop, liable to pay commercial rates, which provides services to residents of a nearby residential area.
Other exclusions may apply. For further information, please see Tax and Duty Manual Part 22A-01-01.
The liability date for RZLT is 1 February each year.
Note
RZLT will be first due on 1 February 2025 and will be first payable on or before 23 May 2025.
Where land met the relevant criteria on 1 January 2022, RZLT is charged on 1 February 2025.
Where land first meets the relevant criteria after 1 January 2022, RZLT may be charged in the third year after the year in which it met the criteria. As such, land that first met the criteria in the course of 2022 will first be liable to the tax on 1 February 2025.
The tax is calculated at a rate of 3% of the market value of the relevant site.
Where land meets the criteria after 1 January 2022, the date it met the relevant criteria is specified on the annually revised map.
- Example
Grace’s land, which has been zoned for residential use since 2020, is first serviced in 2024. It is included on an annually revised map published by Meath County Council on 31 January 2026. The map specifies that the land first met the criteria on 1 July 2024.
Grace’s land may first be liable to RZLT in the third year following the year in which it first met the relevant criteria, which in this case is 2027. Grace will file a return and pay any RZLT due on or before 23 May 2027, based on an initial liability date of 1 February 2027.
Next: Sites liable to RZLT