Landowners with large and idle garden space will soon have to declare their land under new tax laws

The new tax law is to encourage home building

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Landowners with large and idle garden space will soon have to declare their land under new tax laws.

The Residential Zoned Land Tax comes into effect in 2024.

It's replacing the vacant site levy and is aiming to deter land hoarding and encourage home-building.

The Irish Independent reports local authorities are due to publish maps outlining which gardens are liable for tax in November.

Homeowners with gardens or yards bigger than an acre could find themselves caught within the zones targeted for taxation.

They will not have to pay the tax so long as the land is genuinely part of their home and used as a garden, but they will be required by law to register for it.

Once the maps are published, the countdown to paying the tax begins.

The first payments fall due in February 2024 and must be paid by May of that year and each year thereafter if the land remains undeveloped.