‘There’s no escape from tax on second homes’

Tens of thousands of households who still have not paid the so-called second-home tax have been warned "there is no escape".

Property owners who are liable for the full five years of the Non-Principal Private Residence charge now owe their local authority just over €4,200, when late penalties are added to the €200 annual charge. That will jump alarmingly to €7,230 from Monday unless outstanding charges are cleared by Sunday.

While the exact number of households owing charges levelled between 2009 and last year is unknown, the Local Government Management Agency said it believed “tens of thousands” of second-home owners owed some or all of the current maximum €4,220.