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Post by Carol on Mar 4, 2014 12:36:03 GMT 1
I am very confused about the situation with tax on holiday houses. On the one hand, I have two sources who tell me that its not happening:- 1. My accountant who says that its been considered but not actioned 2. the media who say that it nearly came to pass but the croatian government backed away from it at the last moment e.g. (was going to link but now i can't find it!) There there is teh Croatian tax administrations pages, which are now in English (thanks EU!) www.porezna-uprava.hr/en/EN_porezni_sustav/Stranice/holiday_houses.aspxTAX ON HOLIDAY HOUSES TAXPAYER The natural person or legal entity that is the owner of a holiday home. SUBJECT OF TAXATION A square metre of useful space in the holiday house. AMOUNT OF TAX From 5 to 15 kuna per square metre of useful area. TAX REGULATIONS The Law Concerning the Financing of Units of Local Government and Regional Self-Government (Official Gazette of RC 'Narodne novine' No. 117/93, 33/00, 73/00, 59/01, 107/01, 117/01 - correction, 150/02, 147/03, 132/06, 73/08, 25/12). Croatian Constitutional Court Decision (Official Gazette of RC 'Narodne novine' No 26/07). A decision of the city or commune concerning city or commune taxes. So, does anyone know anyone who pays this tax? And if you do know of someone, where do they live??
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Post by Ribaric on Mar 4, 2014 20:19:10 GMT 1
Hi Carol.
I know several people who have second homes on the coast, none pay any tax over and above that which we all pay for a first home, not yet anyway. Linic et alia has proposed various forms of taxation specifically aimed at property owners which include both first and second homes. There is (of course) a bewildering set of tarifs for each conceivable circumstance but, as yet, none have been enacted as law. If, when or which taxes will be levied is a matter of complete conjecture.
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Post by fidobsa on Mar 5, 2014 9:21:41 GMT 1
.....none pay any tax over and above that which we all pay for a first home.... I have asked several people about this but I'm still confused. Is there an equivalent to the UK Council Tax? If so, I'm hoping it will be a lot cheaper than UK! In Hungary we pay a small tax to the local municipality plus an additional tax on cars and other vehicles, which also funds the municipality.
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Post by justapixel on Mar 5, 2014 10:37:18 GMT 1
Linić is currently politically too weak to enforce any deep changes to tax system, so I don't expect any fundamentally new property tax changes soon, actually I don't think that a real and sound property tax could be introduced within a decade.
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Post by Ribaric on Mar 5, 2014 13:20:45 GMT 1
I have asked several people about this but I'm still confused. Is there an equivalent to the UK Council Tax? If so, I'm hoping it will be a lot cheaper than UK! In Hungary we pay a small tax to the local municipality plus an additional tax on cars and other vehicles, which also funds the municipality. Let me tell you about my costs in an empty house, rather than just taxes. Electric (HEP) has a small standing charge of 25HRK pcm even if you use nothing. It's cheaper than cutting off and paying 12,000HRK for a re-connection. Gas (Termoplin) has no standing charge but they inspect every six months. If I cut it off then a reconnection would cost about 16,000HRK. Trash (new company) has no standing charge but you must advise if the house is empty.. about ten times so far. Water & Drains (VarKom) has a standing charge of 40HRK pcm and you cannot avoid it. Big interest and bank account blocks result very quickly if you don't pay. Komulnalna (local city) is the nearest thing to UK "rates". It's about 40HRK pcm and is not to be overlooked, they really don't like it if you don't pay it. At that price, why would you? That's it as far as I can recollect.
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Post by felicia on Mar 5, 2014 13:56:28 GMT 1
I have had a holiday house on the coast in Porec for the last 11 years and pay a "porez na kuce za odmor" which is based on the inhabitable square metres of the property. The price per square metre varies - mine is 15.00 kn per square metre and the total I pay per annum is 1,575.00 kn. This amount has been the same throughout and is their original calculation which is the same as the one used for the 'stamp duty' I paid when I bought it. This is taken from the ownership registration office (local court or 'sud''). This is all on their computer which automatically adds on all the interest whether you receive the bill or not!!
I took me many years to work out where this was to be paid and what it was since the Grad Porec kept sending recorded delivery bills and reminders to the house (or even the wrong address) which, of course, I did not receive as I was not there. However, eventually I found the office and found quite a substantial bill waiting with all the interest added on!! Now I have arranged a standing order arrangement for them to get the payment on time.
Hope this helps!
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Post by keepsmiling on Mar 5, 2014 15:00:26 GMT 1
We paid our first one last year - demand sent to us from the local "Opcina".
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Post by ZAD on Mar 5, 2014 20:33:01 GMT 1
The equivalant to the UK council tax is the communal charge, which weighs in at an astronomical £26 per year for my 3-storey property.
Bins = £9 per quarter
Electric = £30 per month (I have no gas)
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Post by fidobsa on Mar 6, 2014 7:59:39 GMT 1
Thanks for the info. Yes, as I had hoped, costs sound much the same as I pay in Hungary. The high council tax was one of the main reasons I wanted to move from UK.
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Post by Ribaric on Mar 6, 2014 11:03:45 GMT 1
Thanks for the info. Yes, as I had hoped, costs sound much the same as I pay in Hungary. The high council tax was one of the main reasons I wanted to move from UK. We've all been "encouraged" to own a house/flat so that, after retirement, we would be free of rent. Then came the rates!
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Post by polly on Mar 8, 2014 14:39:36 GMT 1
We have an apartment for which we pay 2nd home tax which is approximately £100 per year. Is this the tax you were wanting to know about?
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Post by Carol on Mar 8, 2014 16:23:53 GMT 1
I think so, polly. Do you mind me asking which part of Croatia you are in? Is it Istria? The tax should be between 5 & 15 kuna per square metres. So, if it is around 60 sqm then, that would work out at 15kn per metre i.e. £100 per year.
If the tax was 5 kuna per sq m, then you would have a 180 sqm apartment.
Its beginning to sound to me like the tax is inconsistently applied, but where it is the opcina always go for the top rate they can. (Actually, that was fairly predictable and I don't know why I bothered writing it!)
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Post by fidobsa on Mar 9, 2014 7:56:07 GMT 1
Is this tax specifically for people who have 2 or more properties in Croatia or does it apply (for example) to those who reside in UK and have a holiday home in Croatia?
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Post by polly on Mar 9, 2014 14:57:21 GMT 1
We're in Jelsa on the coast road. We live in the UK and this is a holiday home.
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Post by amatesic on Mar 10, 2014 16:57:19 GMT 1
The law says that the "Općina ili grad propisuju visinu poreza na kuće za odmor ovisno o mjestu, starosti, stanju infrastrukture te drugim okolnostima bitnim za korištenje kuće za Odmor" which means that yes, each county and city can determine what the property tax on a holiday home will be. If you are not paying, this means you have not registered it as a holiday house and later when taxes on property do come in, and they will, it took Greece 5 years to introduce after joining the EU, so expect it to be similar here, then the city and county will know from when you were an owner and may back tax you for the holiday house tax.
Note this applies to your Holiday home .... not a house you live in if this is your main residency, meaning you are a resident of Croatia.
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