Owners of undeveloped, residential land across Galway paid barely half their tax liabilities last year, according to new figures from Revenue.
Although Galway city and county’s total Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT ) liability was €4 million, only €2.3 million has so far been collected from the 110 landowners who made a tax return.
Across Galway, 148 land parcels zoned residential were deemed taxable last year, because no homes have been built on them.
The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT ) is a self-assessed tax of three per cent of the market value of unused residential land. It is designed to deter land hoarding, and incentivise development.
This means owners of 207 hectares of empty, residential land across Galway – equivalent to 512 acres, or around 200 rugby pitches – value their holdings at just €133 million. Land zoned residential in Galway city sells from €400,000 to €650,000 per acre at present, depending on local circumstances, but Galwegian land owners are telling the taxman that – averaged over city and county – their land is worth €260,000 per acre.
Based on a conservative calculation of 35 units per hectare, as per the current Galway City Development Plan, these tax figures indicate there is empty space zoned residential in the city to build almost 3,300 homes, or 4,700 units if high density housing is stipulated by planners. The city’s development plan itself suggests almost 7,000 units could be constructed, if lands zoned mixed-use and agricultural are included.
In Galway city, there were 75 land registrations for RZLT up to March 5, and 73 in County Galway. These Galway registrations make up just over 5 per cent of the 2,741 total pieces of land registered nationally. The four Dublin local authorities accounted for almost 24 per cent of the total, followed by Cork city and county combined – accounting for almost 11 per cent.
Location vs value
In Galway city, 94 hectares of empty land is zoned residential, while in County Galway it is 113 hectares. Of the €2.4m liability in the city, €1.4m has been collected so far, while just €900,000 of the €1.6m liability in the county has been paid to date.
Land maps have been anonymised in Galway city to protect tax payers’ privacy, while in County Galway, the largest concentrations of RZLT liabilities appear to be around Athenry and Loughrea. Closer to the city, land in Briarhill, Ballymoneen, Cappagh, Roscam, Doughiska, Ardaun and along the Tuam Road is understood to face potential RZLT liabilities, if its owners deem it has value.
Some Galway landowners are understood to have valued their empty, residentially-zoned holdings as nil for tax purposes, because access, services, infrastructure or planning issues make them unviable for development.
Property owners subject to Local Property Tax (LPT ) do not need to register for RZLT. This week, the Revenue Commissioners reminded LPT payers who have not filed a tax return as part of last year’s revaluation process, to do so now.
The property valuation submitted through this process determines the LPT charge applicable annually from 2026 to 2030.
Across Galway, homeowners owe €29 million in LPT: just over 5 per cent of the €557 million owed nationally. This is €11m owed from city dwellers, and €18m from the county.
Newly liable homes – ie built or occupied in the past year – accounted for just €70,000 in LPT in Galway city, and €190,000 in County Galway.
LPT returns and payments have been made for over 1.9 million properties so far this cycle. Revenue states that there are returns outstanding for approximately 390,000 properties nationally.
