The Household Charge

The Household Charge is an annual charge introduced by the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 which is payable by owners of residential property. It is a matter for owners of residential properties to register and pay the Household Charge on or after the 1st of January 2012.

The EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland commits the Government to the introduction of a property tax for 2012. We are one of the last countries in Europe that does not fund local services through local property-based charges.

These services are essential to your community. They include: fire and emergency services; maintenance and cleaning of streets; planning and development; public parks; street lighting; libraries; open spaces and leisure amenities. These facilities benefit everyone.

A property tax, requiring a comprehensive property valuation system, would take time to introduce and accordingly, to meet the requirements in the EU/IMF Programme, the Government has decided to introduce a Household Charge in 2012.The Household Charge is an interim measure only and a comprehensive and equitable valuation-based property tax will be introduced as soon as possible.

Payment

As set out in the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011, liability to pay the charge is determined on the basis of ownership of the property in question on a single day each year. This date, which is called the "liability date", is the 1st of January. The charge must be paid within three months (31st March) of the liability date in order to avoid late payment penalties.

Payment can be made online at www.householdcharge.ie, or by completing the relevant form (https://www.householdcharge.ie/Forms/HC12N_web.pdf) and returning it to Household Charge, PO Box 12168, Dublin 1 with the bank debit form completed or with a cheque, bank draft or postal order made payable to household charge.