In brief
As outlined in an earlier article, the enactment of the State Taxation Acts Amendments (Relief Measures) Bill, provides that the Treasurer may direct the Commissioner of State Revenue to give effect to emergency tax relief measures as announced by the State Government.
As part of its Economic Survival Package the Victorian Government announced land tax relief for eligible landowners for 2020 and 2021, including landlords who provided rent relief to tenants impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
This article serves as a reminder to eligible landowners of the fast-approaching dates to apply for these land tax relief measures.
What you need to know
Eligible landowners are required to apply for land tax relief for all categories for 2020 by midnight on 31 March 2021 and for 2021 by 30 June 2021.
The measures announced for 2020 for eligible landowners include:
- Payment deferral of their remaining land tax assessments for 2020; and
- Land tax reduction of 25% or 50% and deferral for landlords (including those with properties with multiple tenancies and commercial owner-occupiers).
The measures announced for 2021 for eligible landowners include:
- Land tax reduction of 25% and deferral for landlords of the remaining 2021 assessments (including those with properties that have multiple tenancies and commercial owner-occupiers); and
- A waiver of Vacant residential land tax for 2021 if the Melbourne residential property was vacant for more than six months in 2020.
Eligible landowners may defer the remainder of their 2021 land tax assessment until 30 November 2021 including any remaining 2020 land tax assessment, which was previously deferred until 31 March 2021.
Next steps
To access the above-mentioned land tax relief measures, landowners will need to satisfy the eligibility criteria for each of the relevant measures. Information regarding the eligibility requirements can be accessed on the State Revenue Office website. Applications can also be made through the State Revenue website portal before the closure dates.
Please note that at the time of writing this article, applications for commercial landlords of properties with a single tenancy and owner-occupiers for 2021 are currently not open and are expected to be available via My Land Tax on 12 April 2021 and 26 April 2021, respectively.
NB: Following the publication of our article, the State Revenue Office (SRO) has released a further update regarding 2020 land tax relief applications. The SRO may accept an eligible landowner’s late application accompanied by relevant supporting evidence (to be determined on a case by case basis) if there were reasons outside of the landowner’s control that meant the landowner could not apply for land tax relief prior to the closure date. Late applications must be lodged with the SRO by 30 September 2021. Further information regarding late applications can be accessed on the State Revenue Office’s website.
