Rundown Residential Properties Liable to Pay Vacancy Tax

EghtesadOnline: Any residential unit located in cities with a population of over 100,000 is considered vacant property, if it remains unoccupied for more than 120 days, and will be taxed.

News ID: ۷۸۶۴۲۶

08 May 2021

Rundown residential properties (residential units that are considered old to a degree that only the underlying land is useful for construction) that cannot be rented will still be subjected to the vacancy tax, IRNA reported.

According to the law, the age of a building is not a criterion for its taxability.

Heads of the households, whether homeowner or renter, should register their properties online within two months by visiting the National Property and Housing website—http://amlak.mrud.ir as of April 8, Deputy Roads Minister Mahmoud Mahmoudzadeh said last month.

“Vacancy tax for real entities will be six times more than the value of the property’s rent in the first year, 12 times more than the value of the property’s rent in the second year and 18 times more than the value of the property’s rent in the third year. For legal entities, vacancy tax has been set at 12 times more than the value of the property’s rent in the first year, 24 times more than the value of the property’s rent in the second year and 36 times more than the value of the property’s rent in the third year,” Mahmoudzadeh was quoted as saying by IRNA on March 29.

This comes as Mehr News Agency quoted Omid Ali Parsa, the head of the Iranian National Tax Administration, as saying on March 23 that, “The first vacancy tax will be levied in the Iranian month starting July 23 and it will be half the value of the monthly rent of the property.”

Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami said a total of 1.3 million empty homes subject to vacancy tax were introduced to INTA during the year ending March 20.

“According to a report by the Association of Realtors, measures taken by the ministry resulted in a 25% decline in home prices in the fourth quarter of last year [Dec. 21, 2020-March 20],” he added.

The Guardians Council – an oversight body that ensures laws are in line with the Iranian Constitution and Islamic law — approved the parliament’s bill on revisions to Article 54 of Direct Tax Code, i.e., vacancy tax, in December.

Abbasali Kadkhodaei, the council spokesman, tweeted the approval of the parliament’s revised proposal on taxing empty homes.

The Iranian Parliament approved the proposal on Aug. 5.

The final approval came after the council returned the vacancy tax bill to the parliament on Aug. 12, citing "ambiguities" and called for amendments to the document.

The government has projected revenues worth 2,000 billion rials ($9 million) from vacancy tax, Mehr News Agency reported.

Revenues collected from the taxation of empty homes will go to the National Housing Fund to finance loans to low-income households, Mahmoudzadeh had said, adding that the database was not designed solely for taxing vacant homes, as it aims to identify the housing conditions of Iranian families for devising future plans.

“Article 54 of Direct Tax Code stiplates that failure to register one’s housing information according to the instructions will result in the discontinuation of a number of public services, including cash subsidies and banking, passport and vehicle registration plate services,” he was quoted as saying by Eqtesad Online.