PROPERTY owners and purchasers have until April 25 next year to appeal the government’s valuation of their real estate and correct any other mistakes made in the process of fixing immovable property tax (IPT).
The three-month extension – the previous deadline was end of January 2015 – was approved in a law passed yesterday by the House plenum.
The new 2013 property values have been published on the land registry’s website. These new values will be used for accessing and paying IPT from 2015. This year, IPT will be assessed using the old 1980 valuation.
Owners can file an appeal by paying a fee that depends on the value of their property.
Authorities have received thousands of complaints from people about errors made in the new valuations.
Earlier, lawmakers had heard of massive mistakes, including cases where new property values were hundreds of times larger than the initial values.
A Paphos hotel valued at €6.5m at 1980 values had been revalued at €162m, while a bank had estimated it at just €40m. A plot of land valued at €227,000 at 1980 values had been revalued at €7m.
As part of Cyprus’ bailout agreement with international lenders, authorities here completed the revaluation of some half a million properties in June. It was initially planned that IPT for 2014 would be levied based on the up-to-date values, but the new rates will now apply for IPT payable in 2015.
Filing an appeal
Those wishing to file an objection may phone the Land Registry help line on 77777730 and follow the instructions.
You will need to have your passport and details of the property handy. The Land Registry officer will check if there has been a mistake in the valuation while you wait.
If they say there is nothing wrong and you then decide to object to the valuation you will need to visit the Land Registry office and complete the appeal forms. The cost of submitting an appeal depends on the 2013 valuation of the property:
For a property valued up to €100,000, the charge is €37.50.
For a property valued between €100,001 and €500,000 the charge is €75.00.
For a property valued between €500,001 and €1 million, the charge is €150.00.
For a property valued in excess of €1 million, the charge is €357.00.
And even if your objection is successful, the charge will not be refunded.
Complainants may also visit their local Citizens Service Centre and file their objection with them.
Thanks Nigel – it does sound like they are in an awful muddle again.
It leaves me and others too perhaps, in a quandary; should one appeal or not?
One would be appealing blindly without knowledge of the amount of IPT one was being lined up for.
If the valuation looks completely silly, one should of course appeal.
But if it just a simple matter of the valuation being jacked up 1,000%, like mine, then not necessarily.
If it still looks a reasonable guess in the present market one might trust the government to come up with a fair system and expect the tax levy to be reasonable. But can we trust them?
@Johnny Cyprus on 2014/11/24 at 4:46 pm – They get themselves into “an awful muddle” quite frequently.
IMO IPT rates next year will be set at a level that will result in IPT payments being around the same as they are this year. I do not envisage massive hikes – apart from anything else, many Cypriots just could not afford to pay.
Thanks Nigel, I’ll look forward with anticipation.
My own property’s 2013 Valuation has increased almost tenfold from the 1980 figure, and yet it would be difficult to challenge the valuation even in today’s market.
If the current bands and rates were applied to the new value, then my IPT bill would increase from 800 to 14,960 Euros.
One must hope that the rates are reduced and/or the bands altered to mitigate the effect of the revaluations.
In the meantime it is difficult to know whether to appeal or not, and if one were to do so, on what grounds.
@Johnny Cyprus on 2014/11/24 at 2:53 pm – My property’s valuation has increased around 700% – but there is no way the government will not change the IPT bands next year.
This year the proposal was to charge IPT based on 0.1% of a property’s 2013 with owners whose properties were valued at €200,000 or less being exempt (54% of owners) – this was rejected by Parliament.
Several other suggestions were put forward:
– Tax free threshold set at €100,000 and remaining taxpayers pay at 0.11% (expected to generate €136 million).
– Tax free threshold set at €130,000 and remaining taxpayers pay at 0.11% (expected to generate €127.9 million).
– Tax free threshold set at €130,000 and remaining taxpayers pay 0.09% for property holdings valued up to €500,000, 0.1% for property holdings up to €5 million, 0.13% for property holdings up to €10 million and 1.5% for holdings in excess of €10 million (expected to generate €125 million).
– Tax free threshold set at €100,000 and remaining taxpayers pay 0.09% for property holdings valued up to €5 million, 0.11% for property holdings up to €30 million, 0.12% for property holdings in excess of €30 million (expected to generate €138 million).
– Tax free threshold set at €130,000 and remaining taxpayers pay 0.11% for property holdings valued up to €5 million and 0.12% for property holdings in excess of €5 million (expected to generate €129.9 million).
But the Government decided to accept the Inland Revenue’s recommendation that IPT should be based on 1980 values again this year.
In an earlier article the procedure for finding out the updated 2013 value for a property with title deeds was explained.
Are the revised rates of immovable property tax that will be applied to these values available?
@Johnny Cyprus on 2014/11/24 at 11:59 am – The IPT rates for 2015 have yet to be agreed and published. I don’t expect we’ll hear anything before next year. So soon as I have any information I’ll publish an article.
Good morning Nigel,
I have been in contact with the LR on and off for the past three years to find out where my updated title deed is (which will include the house recently built),
Three weeks ago I was told on the phone that “coincidentally, we have just completed your new deed and You will receive it in two or three days”. I was so taken aback I didn’t think to say that I would call in and collect the deed. I phoned back straight away to ask if indeed I could collect it and was told no, it will be posted.
The deed never arrived. I went to the LR to ask what happened and was told that deeds are not sent registered and are not required to be signed for in any way, and not to worry, no one can do anything with your deed?
Where the deed is, who knows. I was told to pay another €10 and that the LR officer will bring it herself to my local LR office a week later (tomorrow) has anyone else experienced this, and do you know whether or not deeds are posted out in this way?
Ok Nigel, I thought the 1.1.80 must be the value as dates were same as on the form – my mistake. I will just take along everything I have and hope they can sort it out!
Thanks
If the valuation figure is the entry in the bordered box one on the right hand side of the N50 which says 1/1/80 then I have an N50 from 2011 which says €19,478 and another done in 2013 which says €495,000 (both for whole block of our apartments).
Which one do I use for putting a figure in the MV personal evaluation box on the 318A?
@molliemoo on 2014/11/23 at 12:20 pm – The N.50 Search Certificate will not show you the 1980 value of the apartment you purchased. Please refer to Paying Immovable Property Tax 2014 for details on how to get the 1980 MV and complete the forms.
jjames has a valid point in my opinion. Now I may be considered a country bumkin, mountain boy, behind the times or just downright living in a time warp (I have been accused of all four) but I have known Cyprus since 1948 albeit until 1974 in the pentadaktylos and I cannot even begin to imagine the telephone number 1980 valuations quoted in millions. The whole Island wasn’t worth that!
In 1963 80 skales in North Famagusta was cy£300. In 1992 to 94 the house build in a Limassol village was cy£36000 (including the land), the 1980 value of 6600m² Limassol village farmland was cy£350. So where do all these millions of Euro properties come from or are they just wishful thinking. Look at the product, look at the construction method and raw material/Labour costs, look at the infrastructure, now try to justify it.
I must be missing something here or is it a case of we were conned into paying 20 times more than it is worth so lets try to maintain that price.
I just really don’t know anymore as we are not in Milan, Frankfurt, London or New York are we, but the prices seem to indicate we are.
Once again one is left wondering if these monumental “mistakes” in valuations are due to gross incompetence or to an on-going and seemingly unstoppable plan to extract more and more money from property owners/”owners”**.
(Have there been examples of property being grossly under-valued I wonder?)
You pay up without question; OR you appeal (non-refundable fee) and get a reduction; OR you appeal (non-refundable fee) and don’t get a reduction.
Whichever option you choose extra money flows out of you account!
Meanwhile the developers who have not paid their IPT get a further extension!
** refers to those without Title Deeds.
Are the Troika taking note?! I’m beginning to fear NOT!