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Revenue has decided to again increase the general clearance thresholds for LPT. The last time this was done was in November 2015, and it had the effect of reducing the number of cases requiring specific clearance for the purpose of closing property sales. The thresholds are now being further increased, in recognition of the further increase in property prices.

Revenue has indicated that these changes will come into effect for sales on or after 1 September 2017. Revenue is updating its and these, including revised examples, will be available on .

Where at least one of the four conditions in paragraphs 4.2.1 to 4.2.4 of the above guidelines (relating to clearance for potential uncrystallised liabilities at date of sale) applies at the date of sale, a purchaser can be assured that Revenue accepts that there is no charge on a property in respect of ‘uncrystallised’ liabilities following a sale, where it establishes after the sale that a vendor had underdeclared his or her LPT liability before that sale.

In summary, the main revisions to the clearance guidelines include:

4.2.1. General clearance condition 1 has been changed to reflect an increased limit from €300,000 to €350,000 – that is, where a property is sold for a price that does not exceed €350,000, general clearance will apply.

4.2.2. General clearance condition 2 – allowable valuation margin. The condition in this section relates to the allowable margin by which the sale price of a property exceeds the valuation band/chargeable value that was declared for the property in relation to the 1 May 2013 valuation date. The allowable margins have been changed (from 50% to 80% in Dublin city and county, and from 25% to 50% for all other property), and now are:

• Where the sale price is not more than 50% (80% for properties in Dublin city and county) higher than the upper limit of the band declared, and
• In the case of properties for which the declared chargeable value exceeds €1,000,000, where the sale price is not more than 50% (80% for properties in Dublin city and county) higher than the chargeable value.

4.2.3. General clearance condition 3 – expenditure on enhancements to a property. Where the sale price exceeds the valuation band/chargeable value declared, any such excess must be within the specified margins set out in general clearance condition 2, adjusted by the amount of any verifiable expenditure on refurbishment or improvement incurred since 1 May 2013. The specified margin set out in general clearance condition 2 is now 80% in the case of properties with a chargeable value exceeding €350,000 situated in Dublin city and county, and 50% for all other properties.

4.2.4. The existing guideline on sales of comparable properties was not revised.

Note also that the specific clearance form (LPT5) has been renamed and edited.