Homeowners who haven't paid their Local Property Tax (LPT) or Household Charge have six weeks to pay up and avoid penalties and interest, Revenue has said.

Just over 100,000 property owners who were eligible for the half-year tax in 2013 have not paid, and 350,000 have ignored the deadline of last November to register to pay the 2014 tax.

Revenue is also seeking payment from some 460,000 who didn’t pay the 2012 Household Charge of €100 and now owe €200.

Revenue had set a deadline of November 29th last for a householder to nominate a method of paying the LPT, and had warned of penalties for those who failed to meet the deadline.

Penalties
It now says homeowners who regularise their affairs by March 31st will avoid interest and penalties.

"We are giving property owners a final opportunity to bring their LPT or Household Charge affairs up to date before we launch our nationwide compliance programme," Revenue's LPT programme manager Vivienne Dempsey said.

“There is now a six-week window where interest and penalties will not apply, but on March 31st that window closes,” she said.

Undervaluation
From April 1st, penalties and interest will apply to those who haven't paid the 2012 Household Charge or haven't filed and paid their 2013 and 2014 LPT, as well as those who have undervalued their property or claimed an exemption from property tax to which they were not entitled.

Interest will be charged on outstanding arrears not paid by March 31st, at a rate of .0219 per cent per day from the date the tax was due. In relation to the 2013 tax and the household charge, that date was July 1st, 2013, and for the 2014 tax the interest will apply on the daily rate from January 1st this year.

Interest will also apply where additional tax becomes payable where a property was undervalued.

Those who continue to evade payment or the tax or charge risk prosecution, Ms Dempsey said.