Residential Zoned Land Tax

Galway County Council has prepared an annual draft map for 2026, identifying the land considered to be in scope for the RZLT as of January 1 2025.

The annual draft map is available here Residential Zoned Land Tax - Annual Draft Map 2026 | Galway County Council Online Consultation Portal and at  The Planning Department, Galway County Council, Áras an Chontae, Prospect Hill, Galway, H91H6KX

Any interested individuals or parties may make submissions in respect of land on the annual draft map. This is dealt with in further detail below.

Please note that although they are included on the map, residential properties are not subject to RZLT if they are subject to Local Property Tax. It is not necessary to make a submission to remove this type of residential property from the map.

Land appearing on the annual draft maps, taking into consideration submissions, will be included on the annual final map of land in scope for the tax in the local authority area. This map will be published on 31 January 2026. This land may be subject to the tax in 2026, unless it is a residential property subject to Local Property Tax or qualifies for other exemptions, as provided for in the legislation.

The RZLT map as prepared and published by the local authorities indicates lands that meet the relevant criteria for inclusion on the map, as set out in the legislation.

The administration of the RZLT is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners.  

The legislation underpinning the RZLT can be found in Part 22A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Guidance in respect of the administration of the tax may be found HERE .

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has published guidance on the Residential Zoned Land Tax. It aims to help planning authorities publish the maps. It can be viewed HERE

You can find answers to some frequently asked questions about the RZLT and how to make a submission here :  

Submissions can be made by 1 April 2025 to:

• Identify additional land that may fall within the scope of the tax but is not included in the 2026 annual draft map.
• Challenge the inclusion of land on the map if the owner believes it does not meet the criteria for being in scope.
• Challenge the date from which the land is considered to be in scope.
• Support the proposed exclusion of land from the map.

Your submission must clearly identify the site and specify the change you are seeking—whether it's the exclusion of land, a correction to the in-scope date, or support for a proposed exclusion. You must also provide a justification for the change, referencing the criteria set out in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The local authority may request additional information, such as proof of ownership.

Landowner Submissions

If you are submitting in respect of land you own or on behalf of a landowner:

• Include your name and address.
• Attach an Ordnance Survey map showing the property at an appropriate scale:
  • 1:1000 for urban areas
  • 1:2500 for rural areas
• The local authority may request proof of site ownership.
• If your land is on the map, you may highlight why it is not in scope or why the in-scope date should be changed.
• Reference the criteria in Section 653B and provide supporting evidence (e.g. lack of services, planning restrictions, or physical constraints).
• If requesting the inclusion of additional land, the same criteria and evidence must be referenced.

Third-Party Submissions

If you are submitting about land you do not own:

• Include your name and address.
• Provide enough information to identify the land—such as a written description, Eircode, or map with the area outlined.
• If the land is on the map, you may explain why it is not in scope or why the in-scope date should be changed.
• Reference the criteria in Section 653B and provide supporting evidence.
• Clearly state your justification for inclusion or exclusion of the land.

What Format Should the Submission be Made?

Submissions must be made in writing and received no later than 1 April 2025. You can submit:

• By post:
  “RZLT”
  The Planning Department
  Galway County Council
  Áras an Chontae
  Prospect Hill
  Galway, H91 H6KX
• By email: rzlt@galwaycoco.ie
• Online: https://consult.galway.ie;

In respect of making any submission, be it by the landowner or a third party, please note the following:   

The personal information (data) collected during the consultation process is collected for the purpose of receiving and dealing with submissions.

Contact details provided may be used to contact a submitter who claims to be the landowner of a particular site. This will be to request evidence as is necessary to prove their ownership of the site, or request further information from the landowner.

A local authority may, where it considers it necessary for the purposes of making the determination, request further information from Irish Water, the National Roads Authority or from a person referred to in article 28 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001.

For further information on how Galway County Council processes Personal Data, please see our Privacy Statement

Please identify any parts of your submission that contain personal or commercially sensitive data that you do not wish to be published.

What Happens Next? 

The local authority will evaluate all written submissions. Then, it will decide and issue a written response to landowners' submissions. Before publishing the final map each year, it will take key steps, including the following:

2026 Annual Draft Map

• Submissions received in relation to the annual draft map will be published on the local authority website by 11 April 2025 (note: personal data, i.e. name, address of submitter and contact details of the submitter, are redacted, but location of lands to which the submission relates are published along with the grounds of the submission).
• Where a landowner requests the exclusion of their land from the annual draft map on the basis that it does not meet the criteria for being in scope, or challenges the date from which land on the map met this criteria, the local authority must notify the owner of its decision not later than 1 July 2025.
• An appeal of the local authority decision on a landowner’s submission on the annual draft map must be lodged by the landowner with An Bord Pleanála by 1 August 2025.

Where a person has requested the addition of a site to the draft map and the local authority considers that site satisfies the relevant criteria, then it will be identified on the next Annual Draft Map, which will be published by the Local Authority on the following 1 February.

Can I Appeal a Decision of The Local Authority?

A landowner has until 1 August 2025 to appeal the local authority decision regarding submissions.  Appeals may be made to An Bord Pleanála in respect of the exclusion of their site from the annual draft map for 2026 on the basis that it does not meet the criteria for being in scope, or challenging the date from which land on the map met this criteria date to. Appeals must be made in writing setting out the grounds of appeal. There are no provisions for a third party to appeal a local authority decision to retain or remove land from an annual draft map.

Rezoning Requests – Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT)

An additional provision introduced in the Finance Act 2024 allows for a further round of rezoning requests to remove land from liability to the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT).

Key Dates and Eligibility

• Rezoning requests may only be made for land identified on the final annual map for 2025, published on 31 January 2025.
• Requests for land not included on this map will not be considered.
• The submission window for rezoning requests is from 1 February to 1 April 2025.

Submission and Review Process

• Rezoning requests must be submitted to the relevant local authority.
• The local authority will issue a rezoning request acknowledgement letter by 30 April 2025, which will include details of the recent planning history of the land.
• A decision on whether to proceed with a variation to the statutory land use plan will be communicated in writing to the landowner by 30 June 2025.
• Decisions on rezoning requests cannot be appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Use of Acknowledgement Letter

• The rezoning request acknowledgement letter can be used to support a claim for exemption from the RZLT for 2025.
• This exemption claim must be included in the 2025 annual return, which must be submitted to the Revenue Commissioners on or before 23 May 2025.

Please click HERE to see the 2025 Final Map published 31 January.

For more details on the annual draft map or submissions, please see 

 For questions about specific land or not covered in FAQs, please contact the Planning Department - rzlt@galwaycoco.ie.

Further information on the process is also available HERE.  

As outlined above, the RZLT process has two parts.  Local authorities are required to undertake the mapping that identifies the land subject to the tax. The local authority is also responsible for publishing the annual final map. This was published on 31 January 2025 for the 2025 year, and will be revised annually. Thereafter, the administration of the tax will be undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners. Queries on the mapping should be made to Galway County Council. 

This includes queries on:

• Criteria for inclusion on annual draft map
• Submissions on annual draft map
• Determinations on annual draft map
• Appealing a determination (which must be submitted to An Bord Pleanála)
• Annual final map
• Zoning submissions on the annual final map for 2025 published 31 January 2025

All queries regarding the administration of the tax should be directed to the Revenue Commissioners. Its website provides details on the general administration of the tax and links to a comprehensive guide to the tax. The Revenue website also provides details on:

• Liable persons
• Amount of residential-zoned land tax
• Obligation to register
• Obligation on liable person to prepare and deliver return
• Deferral of, or exemptions from, Residential Zoned Land Tax
• How to contact Revenue with queries on the administration of RZLT

Your house and garden are identified on the map because it meets the criteria for the tax, which is based on residential-led zonings and servicing by infrastructure suitable for the provision of housing.  The house and garden are not liable for the tax, as long as the house is subject to Local Property Tax (LPT).

Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 states
In this Part, a reference to land which satisfies the relevant criteria is a reference to land that:

(a) is included in a development plan (under section 10(2)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000) or a local area plan (under section 19(2)(a) of the same Act), and is zoned:

• (i) solely or primarily for residential use, or
• (ii) for a mixture of uses, including residential use;

(b) it is reasonable to consider may have access to, or be connected to, public infrastructure and facilities necessary for residential development, including:

• roads and footpaths,
• public lighting,
• foul sewer drainage,
• surface water drainage, and
• water supply,
  with sufficient service capacity available;

(c) it is reasonable to consider is not affected, in terms of its physical condition, by issues that would preclude residential development, such as:

• contamination, or
• the presence of known archaeological or historic remains.

However, this does not include land that:

(i) is zoned as in (a)(i) and is currently in use as a premises for a trade or profession liable to commercial rates, and is reasonably considered to be providing services to nearby residential areas;

(ii) is zoned as in (a)(ii), unless it is reasonable to consider the land is vacant or idle;

(iia) is not suitable for development due to zoning phasing, specifically:

• (I) where the land is zoned in a development plan, and its development would not conform to the phased development strategy in the core strategy (section 10(2A)(d)); or
• (II) where the land is zoned in a local area plan, and its development would not align with the phased development objectives consistent with the core strategy (section 19(2));

(iii) is reasonably considered necessary for, or integral to, the use of:

• (I) social, community, or governmental infrastructure (e.g. education, healthcare, public administration),
• (II) transport infrastructure,
• (III) energy infrastructure,
• (IV) telecommunications infrastructure,
• (V) water and wastewater infrastructure,
• (VI) waste management infrastructure, or
• (VII) recreational infrastructure (e.g. sports facilities, playgrounds);

(iv) is subject to a statutory designation that may preclude development;

(v) is subject to the derelict sites levy under the Derelict Sites Act 1990.