Daft.ie weighs in on property tax confusion

Variations in the valuation of homes for the property tax have widened further following the launch of a price calculator by daft.ie.

Values can differ by as much as four bands depending on which assessment is used, leaving householders even more confused about how to decide what their home is worth.

In one example, that ofa three-bedroom, two-bathroom semi-detached home in Bray, Co Wicklow, the price calculator used by the Revenue Commissioners places the house in the €150,000-€200,000 price band, meaning €157 is owed on it this year and €315 in a full year.

However, Revenue’s calculator has been criticised for applying the same band to too wide an area and not counting the number of bedrooms or bathrooms.

The more detailed daft.ie calculator, which includes both details and factors in whether the property has a garden, values the same house at €217,000, putting it in the €200,000-€250,000 band and attracting a tax of €202 this year and €405 in a full year.

Daft’s own sales section, however, shows houses almost identical to that example and on the same road currently on the market with asking prices from €250,000 to €285,000, pushing it up another band where it would carry a tax of €247 this year and €495 next year.

Meanwhile, the property price register kept by the Property Services Regu-latory Authority, which records the actual sale prices of all homes sold since Jan 2010, shows two sales of very similar homes on the same road in recent months at €240,000 and €257,000, so they straddle two bands.

The difference in terms of what a householder would have to pay Revenue is as much as €90 this year and €180 in a full year.

A comparison of values for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the same area yielded prices ranging from Revenue’s €150,000-€200,000 to Daft’s €264,000 to the property price register’s recent sale price of €331,000 to Daft’s current on the market price of €375,000 — a jump of four bands.

The difference in terms of what has to be paid in tax runs from €157 to €337 this year and €315 to €675 next year.

All the valuation calculators come with the advice that they are only guides.

Ronan Lyons, economist with daft.ie, said of its version: “Because this model includes measures of size, it is more specific than the guidance provided by the Revenue Commissioners.

“Nonetheless there are many factors beyond location, type, and size that affect property values, such as its age, the size in square metres of the floor area and the site, its building energy rating, and the general condition of the dwelling. Thus, this figure should be taken as an indication only.”

Revenue said it will accept valuations that differ from its own so long as evidence is produced to support the alternative assessment. This can include an averaging of several different values derived from the various calculators available.

A professional valuer can also be engaged but should not be necessary except in cases where there are no similar properties, no sales have been recorded in recent years, and no properties are currently on the market.