RZLT maps will be published in January - what do farmers need to do?
Local authorities will publish the annual Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) maps on January 31, 2026.
These maps identify land that will be liable for the tax in that year.
It has been confirmed that in 2026, landowners will again be able to apply for an exemption from the RZLT if they request a rezoning of their land.
The RZLT is a self-assessed annual tax based on the valuation of a relevant site. It is calculated at 3% of the market value of the relevant site.
The tax aims to prompt residential development by incentivising landowners to activate existing planning permissions, or to engage with planning authorities to seek planning permission in respect of relevant land.
Revenue told Agriland that owners are advised to review the annually revised final maps to confirm whether their lands are included.
RZLT returns
Revenue outlined that RZLT returns for 2026 must be filed on or before May 23, 2026.
"The revised map for 2026, to be published on January 31, 2026, identifies land that may be liable for the tax in that year," it said.
"Owners of such land must submit a request to the relevant local authority to change the zoning of this land before April 1, 2026."
Revenue said that where the relevant conditions are met, landowners may claim an exemption from the 2026 liability after making such a request.
"To avail of this exemption, a new rezoning request must be submitted even if a request had previously been made in respect of the same land," Revenue added.
The RZLT is an annual tax, charged for the first time in 2025.
Only land included on the local authority’s annually revised map can come within the scope of RZLT.
Although the tax is collected by Revenue, landowners should contact their local authority directly with queries regarding the inclusion or exclusion of their land on the annual maps.
Economic use
Latest data up to September 30, 2025, shows that there have been 2,433 registrations for RZLT and 2,002 RZLT returns filed.
Of these filed returns, 160 applicants have claimed an exemption and 585 have requested a deferral.
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris has said that the most common reason to claim an exemption is to request a rezoning of land, to reflect ongoing economic use.
"Updated data from relevant local authorities identified 131 submissions which stated that the land subject to the rezoning request was the subject of ongoing economic use," Minister Harris said.
"A variation process which recommends rezoning is proposed in 49 of these submissions.
"In the context of amount of land involved, in total 3,597ha were declared, with 3,283ha liable for the tax.
"In other words, 314ha were exempt. The latter comprises 8.7% of all declared land."
According to the Tánaiste, Revenue has advised that as of November 14, 2025, the receipts from RZLT were circa €46 million.
