Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 section 8

Exemption for first-time buyers

Section 8 provides an exemption from local property tax for properties purchased in 2013 by first-time buyers who occupy the property as their main residence.

• Properties purchased during 2013 by qualifying first-time buyers were exempt from LPT for the liability dates in the years 2013 to 2020.
• A qualifying buyer is someone who would have been entitled to first-time buyer mortgage interest relief (under section 244 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) had they taken out a qualifying home loan between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2012.
• Where the property was purchased by a married couple, civil partners, or cohabitants, the exemption still applied even if only one of the pair qualified as a first-time buyer.
• The exemption ceased to apply if the property was sold or if it was no longer used as the sole or main residence of the qualifying buyer at any time after purchase.