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Paying Immovable Property Tax 2014

Paying Cyprus Immovable Property Tax 2014SINCE announcing that those who purchased property for which a Title Deed has yet to be issued are required to pay Immovable Property Tax this year, I have been inundated with requests for further information.

I am grateful to Mr Christofi at the Finance Ministry’s Tax Department for providing me with the following advice:

Any person who has purchased and has the use of an immovable property in Cyprus (before 1/1/2014), for which a Title Deed has yet to be issued, should complete the Declaration of buyer/assignee/beneficial owner (Form T.D. 318A) 2014, even if the development company is in the hands of the Official Receiver or a liquidator.

In case that the vendor (developer) of the property is unwilling to provide the buyer with all information needed to complete the above mentioned Form, the buyer may provide us with any information that would be useful in order to be able to proceed with a valuation of the property as at 1/1/1980. This information may include description of the property such as the area where the property is located, square metres of the land and building, description of the building e.g. house, apartment, number of rooms etc.

Please note that, in case where the buyer (non-Cyprus resident) has not yet obtained a Cyprus Tax Identification Code (T.I.C.), he should fill and submit the “Registration form of new taxpayers” (Form I.R.163A), which should be accompanied by a clear copy of the relevant page of his passport, in order to be registered with the Tax Department for immovable property tax purposes.

The above mentioned Forms and documents should be submitted to the District Tax Office where the property is located.

Completing form 163A

To be submitted by non-residents of Cyprus who do not have a Tax Identification Code (TIC).

Complete sections 4, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 22 and in section 14 tick box 92 – Individual with Immovable Property obligation ONLY, plus their name, signature and date at the bottom.

Download Form I.R.163A

Form T.D. 318A 2014

Download form T.D. 318A 2014

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35 COMMENTS

  1. Why are those without Title Deeds queuing up to be ripped off by the Cyprus government!? Without Title Deeds you are not the legal owner of the property……….so why pay tax on it!? It could only happen in Cyprus!

    • @Paul on 2014/10/25 at 1:28 pm – In virtually all the sale agreements I’ve seen, people are liable to pay Immovable Property Tax and other local taxes when they take delivery of a property.

      Some developers recover IPT they have paid on behalf of their customers every year. However, many developers wait until the Title Deeds are available for transfer and then bill their customers – and many add penalties imposed on them by the Inland Revenue for failing to pay by the due date or failing to submit IPT returns.

      Also, a developer will be the owner of many properties and will be paying IPT at a much higher rate than someone with a single property. But once the buyer gets their Title Deeds they can apply to the Inland Revenue to recover any legitimate overpayments of IPT. (This takes anything between 18 months and 3 years).

      At least paying IPT to the Inland Revenue means that buyers will pay tax at a much lower rate and will not have to go through the rigmarole of reclaiming any legitimate overpayments they have made to the developer.

      Of course all these problems would be resolved in an instant if the Land Registry could have Title Deeds available for transfer when a purchaser accepts delivery of a property. (But I may be confusing ambition with ability on this).

  2. Quick question when completing forms td318a as joint owners do we put the full valuation on each form or half of the value for each of us?

  3. Went to pay my Property tax today for 2014, even though I did not receive any notice or bill from them,only to be issued with a bill for 2013. My 3 properties are valued less than €11,000 each as at 1980 level, and I understood properties less than €12,000 were exempt.

    • @Robert on 2014/10/23 at 2:17 pm – Immovable Property Tax is calculated on the combined 1980 values of your properties. If each of your properties has a 1980 value of (say) €10,500, your IPT will be calculated on a figure of €31,500.

  4. Don’t want to muddy the waters here, but I spoke to a mr.a.chyrsostomou in Nicosia office who answers queries re matter of ipt and lack of deeds, he explained if the reason you do not have title deeds is (e.g flagrant planning violation by developer) then the developer is liable for the tax. I know ultimately tax will burden the buyers once deeds are ready as developer will ask buyers to cough up! but there is also the IF the deeds are ever ready in cases like this….damned if you do and damned if you don’t….what if as in many cases the developer just doesn’t have the dough to pay? fines will pile up and it becomes a vicious circle…do you as a buyer jump in and pay tax for your ‘deedless’ property? or just sit back and wait?

  5. @Aggis Demetriou. Such cemetery tax bills are quite normal in Cyprus. The central government via district office and then village councils requires the capital cost of (new) cemeteries to be recouped by a cemetery tax on local tax payers. Typically, the total amount will be disbursed over several years e.g. Euros 80 per year per local tax household for 15 years (as is the case in our village). The amount may go up after the repayment period has started; ours is now Euros 90. However, pensioners get a discount.

    When we got ‘hit’ with this a few years ago, I checked with our lawyers who confirmed its legality.

    Landlords are entitled to defray their cemetery tax by including an element for it in their rents.

  6. Is this IPT just another way to raise funds by the Cypriot Government at the expense of Foreign Owners. Why should we pay for Developers wrong doings, as thats what it appears to me it is. Its about time someone stood up for us and said enough is enough! because I for one like thousands of others are fed up to the back teeth with the Cypriots and there little plans to extort money from us all. I have an apartment in Tersefanou 56m2 2 rooms and a Bathroom, any idea how much Tax I would have to pay on this now, and who calculates the amount! We bought our apartments in 2007 at Premium Rates from Pascali Developers and now having had mine valued it is worth about a third of what we paid for them.

    I am a Pensioner and cannot afford to keep paying these exhorbitant trumped up bills. Look at The Planning Amnesty debacle where we shelled out at least 500 Euro’s for nothing, all for The Governments benefit.

    I look forward to hearing from you because at this juncture I do not feel inclined to deploy any further monies to this Cash Cow of a Cypriot Economy. We wish we’d never heard of Cyprus!!!!! ever.

    Graham Freeman

    • @Graham Freeman on 2014/10/21 at 6:27 pm – It’s been estimated that there are somewhere in the region of 130,000 properties waiting for deeds to be issued and I would say getting on for two thirds of these properties have been purchased by Cypriots. Since 2000 131,442 sales contracts have been in favour of Cypriot purchasers, while 54,149 have been purchased by non-Cypriots of all nationalities.

      I don’t you why you think this problem only affects foreigners?

      I doubt if you would be liable to pay IPT on your small apartment at Tersefanou. The IPT is assessed by the Inland Revenue – from what I’ve heard from other people with small apartments, 1980 valuations are between €200 and €230 a square metre.

      So far this year around 76,800 people have paid their IPT.

  7. I was a little surprised by what Costas Apacket said on Saturday about filling in two Form TD 318As as joint owners and then paying IPT on half of the property each. I know that is the way Transfer Tax is calculated, but believed IPT was on the overall 1980 value, never mind how many joint owners. This would take most joint owners out of the IPT threshold of €12,501, I would have thought.

    Has anyone else come across this ?

    • @Martin Bean on 2014/10/21 at 3:23 pm – What Costas said about each purchaser completing a Form TD 318A is correct. IPT is calculated based on a individual’s property holding.

      I expect many with holiday apartments will be exempt from IPT. Those with decent sized houses and apartments will not.

  8. I totally agree with Steve and Brian. I for one will not be running to the tax office and filling in a form and paying IPT on a property that the bank has told me l can’t have the title deeds for, because my developer secured a loan against it 12 years ago and has now gone bankrupt having not paid a single cent off and they can seize it any time they want leaving me homeless. Unless of course I would like to pay off the developers debt . (or part thereof) oh and mustn’t forget I will have to pay his unpaid taxes as well. So as far as I am concerned the bank reckon they own my property they can pay the IPT.

  9. Has anybody received a “Cemetery Tax bill”?
    Ayios Tychonas council has sent all house holds a Cemetery tax of €150, I was told if your not Christian you don’t need to pay and that most people are refusing this bill.

  10. We are a couple that have not received Title Deed has yet but have already paid the IPT to the developer earlier this year as we have done in previous years was this the right thing to do?

  11. Thank you Nigel, just to clarify:

    I am only registered at the IR with a land title deed. My house is not on this deed. I informed the IR that this was the only deed I had (which is correct) On this TD I am exempt.

    I am not wishing to avoid paying my IPT but I do not have a TD with my house on it. As I said previously, am willing to pay what is owed but am concerned that once my IPT has been assessed and paid, my updated TD may not be deemed a priority for issue by the LR?

    • @Kate on 2014/10/20 at 10:56 am – If you have the deed to the property registered in your name (even if it’s only just the land) and you have registered with the Inland Revenue, you need do nothing more.

      If you are liable for IPT, the Inland Revenue will send you an IPT notice.

      But you need to get your house added to the deed. You’ll find information on how to go about updating the title on pages 12 and 13 of the Department of Lands and Surveys Citizens Charter.

  12. Our property was completed in 2006, therefore not built in 1980. We were told at the time of purchase from Aristo that the price was below the threshold to pay IPT. The house has been standing empty for three years due to mismanagement of the mortgage by BOC. Litigation in progress. Any comments welcome!

    • @Diana Woodward on 2014/10/20 at 10:30 am – Please re-read the first paragraph of the advice from Mr Christofi.

      The 1980 value can be roughly calculated by the Inland Revenue based on it’s size, location and type. But the 1980 value that will be shown on the Title Deed, when it is eventually issued, will be calculated by the Land Registry.

  13. Totally agree with Steve. If they want IPT off me they can do their job properly by sending me a bill showing how they have arrived at the figure. If it seems fair then I will pay it. I have no intention of running round filling forms in and doing their job for them.

    My land deeds were registered at land registry in 2007. Cyta, electricity authority and the village muchtar all know my address as they all send me bills.

    The finance ministry know where I live as they paid me the vat grant.

    Why can’t these people talk to one another?…

  14. Nigel, I only have TD for the land my house is built on. The final paperwork, approval etc was submitted to the Lands Registry nearly three years ago. I have enquired as to its progress several times and have been told I have to wait. I am registered with the IR and indeed paid the required fee to the LR two years ago as per my TD for the land (this was promptly refunded after the first review). I have not bought my house from anyone, and I am registered where I’m supposed to be. My question is, should I complete form 163A and send it off, my concern is that there will be no incentive for the LR to get a move on in issuing my TD?

    Many thanks

    • @Kate on 2014/10/20 at 8:33 am – You only have to register once with the Inland Revenue – and as you already have the deed, they should be sending a tax notice to you. I suggest you give the relevant help line a call:

      Nicosia – 22807488, 22807277
      Limassol – 25803700, 25803746, 25803878
      Larnaca- 24803658, 24803655
      Famagusta/Paralimni – 23811458
      Paphos – 26804342, 26804337

  15. Does anyone know where you post the forms to for Larnaca and Paphos for registering as a taxpayer as I can’t find it on any website.

    Also for returning the to 318a form

    Thanks

  16. I am becoming really concerned about the mental state of the victims of the Cyprus property scandal. Buyers with no title deeds who week-in and week-out shout their objections to the way they have been treated are now queuing up like lambs to pay the IPT on properties for which they have not received title deeds, just because it has become inconvenient for the property developers to pay.

    For God’s Sake what is the matter with you?”

    The opportunity to bring some pressure here for change is for everyone without title deeds to refuse to pay!

    Please do me a favour and read again what is written above here. This “helpful” advice from Mr Christofi asks you to provide some information so the tax department can tell you what to pay. Haven’t you noticed that they don’t ask for the year you purchased and the amount you paid for the property for which you have no title deeds? This is what is needed to work out the 1980 value of the property to calculate the IPT. Instead, they want the area of the property because they are going to apply a charge based on Euros per square meter, which means everybody pays and later has to claim back. In the meantime they have your money without just cause.

    The only way achieve change is not to pay anything!

  17. We fall into the category, having no title deeds for 14 years. Would advise anyone who is dithering to go to the tax office in Paphos. The staff were. helpful and the offices on the 2nd floor where they value the property at 1980 values were superb. Payment at the ground floor was swift and efficient.

    You will need your contract, passport, and tax no if you have one. Payment can be made by cash, cheque or credit card.

  18. Nigel can you please help me, we received our IR318 form from Leptos, they had filled out their valuation which was under the €12,500

    I phoned the IR dept in paphos and tried to explain this, as soon as he heard me quote the valuation he just said you don’t pay, and then put the phone down, he couldn’t wait to get me off the phone, (his toast must have been ready!!)

    We guessed we would be exempted a while ago going off reading your previous publications on this matter, do we still have to fill in any forms and if so which one or both?

    Kind Regards

    • @John Mann on 2014/10/18 at 11:22 am – You don’t have to do anything now, but I suggest you complete the 163A and get yourself registered – but there’s no rush.

  19. This may be helpful for someone.

    For anyone without a tax number / IR registration number who is going to pay their IPT for the first time at Limassol Inland revenue we found the following procedure is being used:

    The IR department in Limassol is above the main Post office, just around the corner from the main Limassol police station.

    For us after much queuing and guesswork at Limassol IR paying our 2014 IPT involved three main steps:

    We each filled in an individual T.D. 318A 2014 form and took this along with our passports to room 8 on the second floor to see Maria.

    Because we are joint owners the valuation on each of our T.D. 318A 2014 forms was 50% of our 1980 property valuation

    Maria registered us and issued each of us with an individual Tax number.

    We then went down to the ground floor ‘registration department’ where we were eventually issued with invoices / bills showing what IPT we each had to pay. (Tip – Take a numbered ticket and ask the staff to call out the queue number in English or you will lose your place.)

    Then armed with your individual IPT bills it’s up to the third floor to the cashiers department to pay, and they will reduce this by 15% if you pay before the end of October.

    If you want to also fill in Form I.R.163A please feel free, but we didn’t have to so it’s up to you.

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