SECOND homeowners will have to pay a €200 tax on their second properties by September 30th, following the passing of the Local Government (Charges) Bill 2009 in the Seanad yesterday. The legislation is expected to be signed by President Mary McAleese in the next few days.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley has set July 31st as the date from which property owners are liable for the tax. They will be able to pay online from that date.

The onus will be on homeowners to register and pay the tax and a late payment fee of €20 a month will be charged if the tax is not paid a month after it is due.

The legislation provides for data sharing between local authorities, the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), the ESB and the Revenue Commissioners.

Estimates of how much the tax, which is paid direct to each local authority, could raise vary considerably. Mr Gormley has estimated that some 400,000 properties – 200,000 rental and 200,000 others – could be liable for the tax, but has also said he hopes it will raise €40 million a year. This suggests that as many as half of all second homeowners could be exempt. Residential rental property, vacant residential property and holiday homes will all be liable for the tax. A range of second properties are exempt: they include newly-constructed and unsold, never-let homes, such as that owned by developers, as well as mobile homes.

Also exempt are properties where people are temporarily in possession of two properties, for example, when they have just married or divorced or are in the process of selling and buying a home. Granny flats vacated by people now living in nursing homes are also exempt.

The department is working with individual local authorities to set up the computerised system of payment. Local authorities don’t know exactly how much income it will yield: Clodagh Henehan, head of finance at South Dublin County Council, says that in her area “Preliminary estimates suggest that there are 9,300 apartments and houses, which could yield over €1 million”. (To put that into context, the council gets the bulk of its income, €121.8m, from commercial rates.)

The bill gives the minister the power to review the amount of the charge “having regard to any change in the consumer price index”.