Landowners will be notified by local authorities by the end of this month on the decision to proceed or not to proceed with a process to amend a land zoning.

June 30, 2026 is the date by which local authorities must respond to rezoning requests from landowners.

The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is an annual tax, charged for the first time in 2025.

The tax seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of residential development on lands which are suitably zoned and appropriately serviced.

Farmland

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris said that to come within the scope of the RZLT, farmland must be both zoned for residential use and serviced.

"Farmland that is zoned for residential use, but which is not currently serviced is not within the scope of the tax and will only come within the scope of the tax should the land become serviced in the future," he said.

"The legislation also provides that farmland which is zoned for mixed use, including residential use, and which is integral to the operation of a farming trade carried out on or beside it, is excluded from the tax."

This is even the case where such land is serviced, and should not be included on the RZLT maps prepared and published by local authorities identifying land within the scope of the tax.

Finance Bill 2025 provided an opportunity for landowners whose land appeared on the revised map for 2026 - published on January 31, 2026 - to request the relevant local authority to change the zoning of the land.

This included requests to change the zoning to reflect the current economic use of the land.

"The application must have been made between February 1 and April 1, 2026 to the relevant local authority," the Tánaiste said.

"Where certain conditions are met, a landowner could have claimed an exemption from RZLT for 2026 on foot of making such a rezoning request."

This claim must have been made as part of the 2026 RZLT return which had to be filed by May 23, 2026.

Rezoning

Local authorities consider rezoning requests, "having regard to the proposed planning and sustainable development of the area, along with any relevant section 28 guidelines issued by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage". 

Landowners will be notified of the decision to proceed or not to proceed with a process to amend the land zoning by June 30.

"Where the landowner's application for the rezoning of land is successful, this land will not be subject to RZLT going forward," Minister Harris continued.

"As the landowner may claim an exemption from RZLT on foot of making such a rezoning request, and the local authority has made decisions on foot of those rezoning applications, it is not possible to grant the exemption for more than one year."

Exemption

The Tánaiste was responding to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty who asked for an update for farmers operating on zoned land and if there are plans to "bring forward a permanent solution". 

"The deputy should also be aware that as much as possible, it is important to treat all landowners in a similar way in relation to the application of RZLT," the Tánaiste said.

"Consequently, if we were to exempt one group of landowners such as farmers, other than in the circumstances already mentioned, whilst applying the tax to others who may have equally compelling reasons from an economic activity perspective to seek an exemption, there is a risk of a legal challenge to the legislation."

He added that as with all taxes, the RZLT is "kept under regular review" by his department.

Revenue told Agriland that in the period leading up to the filing deadline of May 23, it observed a "notable increase" in the number of site owners registering for RZLT and filing returns.

"Site owners have continued to engage with the RZLT registration and filing system prior to the filing deadline," Revenue said.

"While this level of engagement is welcome, site owners are reminded that RZLT is a self-assessed tax and, as such, they are expected to take all reasonable steps to determine whether they have an RZLT liability and, if so, to ensure they meet their pay and file obligations."