Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) and Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)

Vacant Homes Tax (VHT)

A Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) will be introduced in 2023. This will apply to residential properties which are occupied for less than 30 days in a 12-month period. The chargeable period is 12 months from 1 November 2022.The tax will be calculated at 3 times a property’s base Local Property Tax rate.

The date for filing the return is the 7th day following the end of the chargeable period (i.e., where the chargeable period is 12 months from 1 November 2022, the deadline for making the return is 7 November 2023). The tax payment is on or before 1 January in the year following the end of the chargeable period (i.e., in this case, 1 January 2024).

Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)

Revenue recently announced that claims under the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) for the September 2022 claim period can be made by eligible businesses after the 31 January deadline. The deadline for applications in respect of claims for September 2022 energy bills has therefore been extended beyond 31 January 2023.

The Revenue guidelines have also been amended to clarify that a public body carrying on a trade or profession, the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Schedule D Case I or II, is an eligible business.

When registering for the TBESS, it will be necessary to tick a box declaring that the qualifying business has completed a carbon footprint exercise and is taking steps to reduce its energy use and environmental impact. This can be carried out using the ‘Climate Toolkit 4 Business’. A link to this can be found in the Revenue Guidelines, using the link below. Further information and Revenue guidelines can be found using the following link :

https://www.revenue.ie/en/starting-a-business/tbess/index.aspx