Last Week for Farmers to Act on RZLT

IFA Farm Business Chair Bill O’Keeffe is reminding farmers that they must act before next week’s deadline and apply for their lands to be rezoned regardless of previous applications.

Farmers with land that may fall under the scope of Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) should make themselves fully aware of the 2025 updated zoning maps in their county.

These maps were updated in January.  Lands that are zoned residential and serviced are liable for the tax at 3% of market value.

Following intensive lobbying on RZLT by IFA last year, the then Minister for Finance Jack Chambers announced an exemption for landowners in Budget 2025. In order to avail of this one-year exemption, landowners must make an application to their local authority to have their lands re-zoned based on the current economic activity on the land.

Landowners with affected land must apply before Mar 31st to their local County Council to de-zone their land, if they wish to avail of this exemption. Details of how to make a submission for de-zoning are available on the website of each local authority.

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. It is important that landowners check the zoned land maps in their county.

IFA has objected to RZLT being imposed on farmland since it was first announced in 2021 and continue to campaign for a permanent solution that will remove farmland from the scope of RZLT. The exemption announced in last year’s Budget is only in place for 2025.

Bill O’Keeffe said, “IFA and farmers understand the need to build new homes, but RZLT is not the instrument that will solve the current deficit in housing supply. There are many other barriers to the supply of new housing that the Government needs to address. IFA will continue this campaign to have all farmland excluded from the scope of RZLT”.

Regardless of the outcome of the application to rezone, it is the act of applying that will facilitate an exemption from the scope of RZLT for landowners in 2025.

Information on RZLT and making a submission is available here.