€15m ‘windfall’ for Galway City Council on second homes tax

Galway City Council is sitting on a potential windfall of more than €15 million from landlords and holiday home owners who have never paid the ‘second homes’ tax.

The annual ‘Non-Principal Private Residence’ levy of €200 – which was in place from 2009 to 2013 – has never been paid by an estimated 2,100 owners of second homes in Galway City.

At the moment, each of those properties is now liable for a payment (including late payment penalties and fees) of €4,220 – however, on September 1, that figure will increase to a total of €7,230 as a final penalty on those who have not paid up.

That translates to a potential windfall of almost €15.2m for the City Council – with those liable set to be ‘hunted down’ by Revenue, while it also becomes a charge on the property if it is being sold on.

Around 12,400 people in Galway City paid the NPPR levy in 2012, which is understood to have been the highest level during the four years of its existence.

However, based on Census figures, there may be more than 14,500 homes in the city that are liable for the NPPR – 10,523 rented properties and a further 3,984 lying empty.

That implies there are more than 2,100 ‘second homes’ on which the tax has never been paid.

A Council spokesperson said: “If you owned a second home for the full period of the NPPR from 2009 to 2013, and you never paid, the total due to date is €4,220. As of September 1, this figure will increase to €7,230.”

For more on this story, see this week’s Connacht Sentinel