IFA calls for farmland to be permanently exempt from Residential Zoned Land Tax
Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is an annual tax, calculated at a rate of 3% of the market value of the land within its scope.
The IFA have called for all actively farmed lands to be removed from the scope of the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT), but Tánaiste and finance minister Simon Harris seemed to hold out little possibility of this in a recent statement.
He said there are a number of RZLT exemptions, deferrals and abatements, subject to relevant criteria being met, but no specific exemption for farms. “It should be noted that as much as possible, it is important to treat all landowners in a similar way in relation to the application of RZLT," he said.
"Consequently, if we were to exempt one group of landowners, such as farmers, whilst applying the tax to others who may have equally compelling reasons from an economic activity perspective to seek an exemption, there is a risk of a legal challenge to the legislation.”
He was responding to a parliamentary question before the Dáil adjourned in mid-July from Peter Roche, the Fine Gael TD for Galway East.
RZLT is an annual tax, calculated at a rate of 3% of the market value of the land within its scope. RZLT first arose on February 1, 2025, and the 2026 liability was payable by May 23, 2026.
The IFA has called for all actively farmed lands to be removed from the scope of RZLT in its pre-budget submission. It cited the example of an average-sized suckler farm with seven acres of zoned land which could have an annual RZLT bill not much less than its income.
The IFA said levying the RZLT on farmers will do little to solve the housing shortage; instead, it may be a barrier to land transfers, and an additional cost to the housing supply, rather than encouraging landowners to sell zoned land to potential housing developers.
“Planning, labour availability, and overall affordability are the core housing supply issues, not land availability or land cost,” according to the IFA pre-budget submission.
“RZLT is trying to rectify a problem that never existed. Land availability was never the bottleneck in the adequate housing supply in Ireland."
A stated purpose of RZLT was to prevent “hoarding” of zoned land by speculators, but IFA said farmers are not land speculators, and land is the base input for their food production.
IFA acknowledged that the Government has introduced an exemption based on economic activity, available to farmers, but this must be applied for on an annual basis.
“This exemption from RZLT for actively farmed land should be made permanent,” according to the IFA pre-budget submission. “The 3% annual market value tax is unjust and disproportionate to its income generation capacity, and represents nothing more than a land-grab exercise”.
“By way of example, an average-sized suckler farm with seven acres of zoned land valued at €50,000 per acre would pay a €10,500 annual RZLT liability.”
