Cyprus Property Forum for Buyers, Sellers & Investors

I wonder if I have read this correctly...We bought a half built property 2 years ago and have been busy trying to get it finished. We own the title deeds for the land, but have not added on the build yet as it is not completed and has not been signed off. But I am horrified to read that, if a property is valued over €800,000, then the owners would have to pay over €47,000 per year!! Am I reading this right??

Hi Beaulygirl and welcome to my property forum.

Unfortunately there are a lot of 'doom & gloom merchants' around who are making sensational and totally unjustified claims about the level of Immovable Property Tax (IPT) people are being asked to pay.

IPT this year is based on the 1980 value of a property, which you can find on the second page of your land deed.

You can read more about IPT and how it is calculated at Money off your Immovable Property Tax bill. There you will also find English translations of the form that I have put together together with a guide on how to complete them and how to pay.

Although the Council of Ministers (the cabinet) wants to make some changes to help those with low value properties, their proposals have yet to be voted through by parliament. (Parliament discussed these proposals yesterday, but as a vote was not taken, we'll have to wait and see if they become law). It's unlikely that the proposals will affect you - they are:

• Remove the minimum tax payment of €75.
  
  Owners of properties whose total 1980 value is no more than €5,000 are exempted from paying IPT.
  
  Owners of properties whose 1980 value exceeds €5,000 will pay tax on their total 1980 value and will not benefit from the €5,000 exemption.

When you visit the Inland Revenue Department to pay your IPT, I expect they will contact the Land Registry to get their assessment of the 1980 value of your property i.e. the land plus the house. I will be very surprised if you will be asked to pay €400 let alone €47,000!!!

Regards,

Hi Nigel

That is such a relief! We have been so worried! But may I ask one more question? We have the title deeds to our land, but as our property has not been completed and has not been signed off, would we still have to pay for the build? Or do we just have to pay for the land? We do not even have an address yet so I am not sure ho0w to go forward as we have not received any bills as yet. We have no water or electricity etc so we have never lived on the property.

Many thanks! Beaulygirl

Hi Beaulygirl

I cannot be certain whether you'll be asked to pay IPT on the land + the building. If you take your Deed to the Inland Revenue they may contact the Land Registry to see if they have any information about the house.

In theory you should be paying IPT on the land and the 1980 value of the construction work that has been completed to date. Your architect may have this information?

Regards,