By Ted Healy of DNG TED HEALY

Revenue has this week defended its system for the payment of the Local Property Tax (LPT) after a number of homeowners said they have paid but still received letters telling them they owed the tax.

150,000 letters have been issued by Revenue to property owners who haven't yet paid their Local Property Tax (LPT) or made an arrangement to pay.

Last November letters were issued to property owners who had paid last year’s property tax using a credit/ debit card or a single annual debit instruction to inform them of their liability for this year and advise of due dates for payment.

Revenue said over half of the 150,000 property owners who received these letters have already corrected their position by either paying the liability or putting a payment method in place.

Under the legislation, all residential properties were required to set up their payment method by January 10 this year.

To date, over 1.7 million properties have payment arrangements in place for 2023, which includes 350,000 payments scheduled for March 21. The total take for LPT so far this year is €314 million.

While the large majority of property owners have met their payment obligations Revenue advise that those who haven't yet paid or set up a payment arrangement, leave themselves open to collection and enforcement action.

It is important to note that 2022 was the first year that newly liable properties came within the charge to LPT on an annual basis. The owners of properties built last year were required to submit a LPT return and set up a payment arrangement for 2023.

A spokesperson for Revenue has urged all property owners who haven't made arrangements to pay their LPT to take immediate action.

LPT payment method can be set up online at revenue.ie or contact the LPT Helpline at 01 738 36 26.