Property Declaration Legislation

The Land & House Tax Act Cap 15.13 : Section 14
Declarations To be made on Purchase, sale, etc of Property

1. Owners or Disposer of Property
Any person who becomes the
Owner or Disposer of any land or house or both whether by:-
· Purchase
· Gift
· Deed
· Parol or any manner whatsoever
Shall within 30 days after he/she becomes the owner or disposer of the same, make a declaration of such to the Comptroller of the Inland Revenue Department
2. Owner(s) who improve their property/ies
Any person who erects, adds to or otherwise increase the value of any house, or is of the opinion that his/her property has decreased in value due to an “Act of God” etc shall within 30 days thereafter, make a declaration of such to the Comptroller of Inland Revenue Department.
3. Owner(s) of vacant land(s) or house or both.

If You Do Not Declare Your Property

Failure To Declare
Failure to declare your ownership of land or house or both can result in an assessment being made based on information available to the Department and the levying of penalties and interest.

Failure To Provide True And Correct Information
Property owners are expected to provide true and correct information when complying with the Department’s request or completing the prescribed declaration form
Failure to provide true and correct information will result in the levying of penalties and interest.

Valuation Methods

The Valuation Surveyor uses one or more of the following valuation methods to value your property:-
¨ Market or sales comparison—examining transactions of similar properties and adjusting for variables such as size, location, design, amenities, etc.
¨ Cost approach—the cost of creating or purchasing a modern equivalent asset, assuming no undue costs due to delay.
¨ Income approach—analyzing the anticipated income flows and comparing to an alternative producing a similar investment return with equivalent risk
Classification of Properties
In Saint Lucia there are three broad classes of properties:-
Residential—any property used predominantly for dwelling purposes
Commercial—any property used predominantly for commercial purposes by the owner but does not include rental property used primarily for residential purposes.
Combination—any property used for both residential and commercial purposes.
¨ All residential and combination properties are valued by the Department’s Valuation Unit.
¨ Owners of commercial properties must submit a commercial valuation to the Department declaring the value of their property.
¨ Commercial valuation must be done by a Recognized Valuer. Please visit our offices/website or Other Agencies. for the list of Valuers.

*Visit the Department or its website to obtain a listing of Recognized Valuer.

Property Tax Valuation Legislation

The Land & House Tax Act Cap 15.13 : Section 17
Power of Inspection and Survey
The Land & House Tax Act gives the Comptroller the powers to inspect and value any land or house or both in Saint Lucia for the purpose of tax assessment.

A Valuation is an assessment of the Open Market Value of a property at a specific date.

The Open Market Value is the amount that a property might be expected to realize if it is sold on the open market by a willing seller to a willing buyer dealing with each other at arm’s length

• As of January 2011, all residential properties are valued and assessed at the Open Market Value.
• Prior to 2011 all residential properties were valued and assessed using the Annual Rental Value.

The Annual Rental Value is an estimated amount that a particular property is likely to yield over a period of one year if that property were put up for rental.

Valuation Objections

If you are aggrieved by the valuation of your property as shown on your assessment notice, you may object. This must be done by completing the back of the assessment notice, within thirty (30) days of the date of the service of the assessment or within such further time as the Comptroller may allow. 

You may object on one or more of the following grounds that:

1. The value assessed is too high;
2. The value assessed is too low;
3. The land which should be included in one valuation has been valued separately
4. The interest held by the various persons in the Land/house have not be correctly divided.
5. The person named in the notice is not the owner of the land/house

Where the objection is to the values assessed please attach a Valuation Report by a Recognized Valuer which should include:

a. Evidence of open market sales of comparable properties.
b. Evidence of the condition of your property that the Valuer may not have known.
c. If other than above, state the evidence on which your objection is based.

For further assistance, you may contact us at 758 468 4736

Property Tax Rates

General Property Tax Rates

The following rates apply effective from January 2011.

Classification		Rates
Residential Property		0.25% of the Open Market Value
Commercial Property		0.4% of the Open Market Value
Combination Property		Apply residential rate to residential portion and commercial rate to the business portion.

 

Property Tax Payment Legislation

The Land & House Tax Act Cap 15.13 : Section 35—38

Notice For Payment

Owners are notified of their property tax liability via a property tax notice. The amount stated on the notice is due and payable annually.

Property Tax Due Date

Tax assessed and charged is due and payable within thirty (30) days of the notice of assessment.

Payment of Property Taxes

You may pay your property tax over the counter or by mail (cheque).

Please provide the Block & Parcel Number of your property and your N.I.C / T.A.N Number when making payment.

Payment of Land / House tax and / or both can be made at any of the following locations:

• Inland Revenue Offices (Castries, Vieux-Fort and Soufriere)
• City/Town/Village Council office of the district in which the land/house are/is situated.

Property taxes may be paid by cash, cheque drawn on a local account, money order or bank draft, which must be payable to the ACCOUNTANT GENERAL.

Please ensure that you receive a Land & House Tax receipt for all payments.

Cashier Hours
Monday—Friday: 8:30a.m.—3:00 p.m.

Penalties

Failure To Pay Property Taxes

If you fail to pay property taxes due, this will result in:

1. Levying of collection fee and interest in accordance with the Land & House Tax Act. Interest is calculated at two percent (2%) compounded for every period of three (3) months that the taxes remain unpaid.

2.The claim for mortgage interest being disallowed as an income tax deduction .

3. Registration of the outstanding property taxes as a judgment debt in the Registry of Deeds & Mortgages.

4. A Gazetted notice of the seizure and sale of property for the unpaid property taxes.

Property Tax Collection Fees

Collection fee rates are as follows:-

Amount of Tax		Collection Fee
Not exceeding $2.50		$0.10
Exceeding $2.50, but not exceeding $5.00		$0.25
Exceeding $5.00		5% of the amount of tax in arrear