Deadline
The 27th of November 2013 was the final date to file the return online. The deadline applied to:
- Taxpayers who paid by a single payment or
- By direct payment
Due to the extraordinary high volume of calls, emails and letters the Revenue Commissioners have now accepted that a person leaving a genuine message or sending an email/letter which is not yet replied to will be deemed to have filed their return on time.
The deadline did not affect the half million taxpayers who selected recurring methods of payment last year, including salary deductions, as continuous payments were sanctioned when filling initially.
How the Revenue see it
The Revenue Commissioners are proud of the following facts on the administrative challenge the LPT presented:
- It took the new tax from a concept stage to a fully functioning tax:
- In a very short period of time
- Including the enactment of legislation
- The creation of a Property Register and
- The provision of a customer service to a large volume of tax payers
Blunders
Blunder 1 – In what has been described as a “blunder” the new tax is causing problems as taxpayers paying by credit or debit card would effectively have to pay both the 2013 and 2014 taxes in one calendar year.
Blunder 2 – A 3 year exemption for purchasers who, as owner occupiers, complete the purchase before the 31st of December 2013 is causing difficulties in house sales as the vendor in some cases is refusing to pay the LPT for 2014 on the grounds that he/she won’t reside in it. The 3 year exemption was intended for 1st time purchasers only.
The Revenue Commissioners have so far refused to move on the problem as liability to pay the 2014 LPT falls on the current owner as of the 1/11/2013 even if the current owner no longer owns the house in 2014.