Commercial and rental sector

* The €100 annual Household Charge is introduced for 2012, payable before March 31 by house owners and landlords of private rented properties. Refer to coming website www.householdcharge.ie for payment process. Note there will be incremental fines layered on in successive months - 10 per cent for late payment between April and June 30; 20 per cent penalty if between six and 12 months late. Expect a whopping 30 per cent penalty plus 1 per cent interest per month if interest is more than 12 months late, therefore running to repayment of €142 if a year behind.
* Changes to the Non Principal Private Residence (NPPR) include a €10 administration charge on payments to the local authority over the counter.  The exemption to NPPR for properties leased through the HSE and under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is abolished.
* After Budget 2012, Commercial Transaction stamp duty is down from 6 per cent to 2 per cent.
* Upward only rent reviews for commercial premises cannot be abolished legally, which could potentially stimulate that sector’s stagnant supply for overseas buyers sought by NAMA.
* There is Capital Gains tax exemption on properties bought within the next two years and held for at least seven years prior to disposal.
* A new PRSI levy on rental income will be applied in 2013.

Homeowners and TRS upswing

* More generous mortgage interest relief at 25 per cent is afforded to existing first time buyers for 2012 onwards. There will be no TRS - this Tax Relief at Source - awarded to any house loans taken out after December 31, 2012.
* Mortgage holders who bought their own homes after January 1, 2004 and on or before December 31, 2012 are entitled to increased Mortgage Interest relief (TRS - Tax Relief at Source) of 25 per cent. This will last to the end of 2017.
The tax relief is 25 per cent for years 1 and 2; 22.5 per cent for years 3, 4 and 5 and 20 per cent for years 6 and 7.
After year 7, the rates and thresholds for relief drop down to the rates  for non-first time buyers, which is 15 per cent.
TRS is regulated by Revenue Commission, not your bank, and the RC has a dedicated TRS team to handle enquiries and administer.

Drop in ECB rate

The European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates by another 0.25 per cent on Thursday 8 for the second month running. This will bring down the interest paid on tracker mortgages from all lenders but cannot by law be made to influence variable interest rate mortgages.
A cut of 0.25 per cent will reduce the repayment of every €100,000 borrowed by €15.
On going to press, Limerick Post can confirm that Permanent TSB, Bank of Scotland, Irish Nationwide and EBS will pass the cut rate on to tracker and variable interest mortgages. AIB, National Irish Bank and Ulster Bank will not pass on the cut to variable interest loans and Bank of Ireland has passed on 0.15 per cent of the cut.

DIRT increases to 30 per cent

Deposit Interest Retention Tax or DIRT will increase from 27 per cent to 30 per cent from January 2012.
This is the tax paid on interest on deposit savings in banks.