Farmers must act on residential zoned land tax by April 1
Farmer-owned land, which is zoned residential, will be liable for a 3% tax of market value.
Farmers with land that may fall under the scope of Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) are reminded to double-check updated maps for 2026.
Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) farm business chair, Bill O’Keeffe, has reminded affected farmers of RZLT’s that these updated maps can be viewed via their local authorities' website, and lands falling under this category are liable for the tax at 3% of market value.
“There is an opportunity again for farmers to get an exemption from RZLT in 2026, as they did last year. Farmers must make an application to their local authority to have their lands re-zoned, based on the current agricultural economic activity on the affected land,” he said.
Landowners must apply before April 1 to their county council or local authority to re-zone their land, if they wish to avail of this exemption. Details on how to submit de-zoning are available on each council’s website.
Once farmers receive acknowledgement of their application to rezone their affected land, they can use this acknowledgement to make a return to the Revenue Commissioners for an annual exemption from this grossly unfair tax.
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IFA believes that hundreds of farmers around the country have land on the outskirts of towns and villages that has been zoned residential, often without the knowledge of the landowner.
IFA has objected to RZLT being imposed on farmland since it was first announced in 2021 and continues to campaign for a permanent solution that will remove farmland from the scope of RZLT.
The exemption announced in Budget 2025 and continued in Budget 2026 is only a year-by-year solution that places full responsibility on landowners to go through this two-step process to gain an annual exemption.
“It is important that farmers realise they must act before the April deadline and apply for their lands to be rezoned, regardless of previous applications,” Mr O’Keefe concluded.
