Exemption from tax surcharge on property tax or property charge

In the beginning of the summer, the Tax Agency announced that it will not impose tax surcharges if the basis for property tax and property charge has not been included in the income tax return, or if the details have been filled in incorrectly but are available in the land registry.

The entity holding a property at the beginning of a given calendar year is to pay, annually, property tax or a property charge. The Tax Agency obtains details regarding ownership and property tax values from the land registry. The Tax Agency considers that even if the land registry is not included in the category “assessment tax data”*, exemption should still be granted from tax surcharges in the following situations:

• When a property owner has filed an income tax return in which the basis for property tax or a property charge is manually filled in with an incorrect amount, or where the details have not been filled in at all, but the correct details can be found in the land registry and have been pre-printed in the income tax return form sent out by the Tax Agency.
• When a property owner has not filed an income tax return and the Tax Agency has made a discretionary assessment of the property tax or property charge based on information from the land registry and which have been pre-printed in the income tax return form sent out by the Tax Agency.

*Tax surcharges cannot be imposed if incorrect information is apparent based on the assessment tax data which are available to the Tax Agency within one year from the end of the financial year in question.

Comments

The property tax value stated in the land registry is based on the property tax assessment decision taken by the Tax Agency. All property owners of rental buildings should have received a new property tax assessment decision in the beginning of the summer. It is a good idea to check this decision against the details filed in the property tax return to ensure that you agree with the decision.

Based on our experience, pre-printed details in the income tax return can, unfortunately, be incorrect, which is the reason we recommend that you review the pre-printed information so that the correct property tax or property charge is paid to the Tax Agency.