To receive deductions on real estate tax, residents of Riga should provide their e-mail address or register their official electronic address

To continue receiving deductions on real estate tax (RET) in Riga this year, the local government reminds that residents must register their official electronic address or provide consent to electronic communication with the Municipal Revenue Board of the Riga City Council via e-mail.

If it is not done, RET deductions would not be granted, and residents would receive notices on necessity to pay the full amount of RET. However, 2023 will be a transitional period: if an official electronic address will be created or consent for electronic communication with the Board via e-mail will be provided by December 15, deductions will be granted for the whole taxation period of 2023, and the tax to be paid will be recalculated.

Which residents will be released from the requirement to register their e-address or e-mail?

The request to register their electronic communication channel or submit an application on objective reasons preventing registration of an e-communication channel will not be applied to taxpayers who are retired, persons with Group 1 or Group 2 disability, persons who have been recognised as victims of the accident at the nuclear power station of Chernobyl, or who have participated in disaster response in this case, persons to whom Riga Social Service granted the status of a low-income or poor household, and politically repressed persons. These taxpayers should submit to the Board an application on compliance with any of the above-mentioned statuses and documents proving the fact only if this information has not already been provided to the Board before.

Whereas, the other taxpayers – natural persons who are not active in the electronic environment for various reasons but can apply for deductions are obliged to submit to the Board a reasoned application providing objective reasons preventing them from registering the official electronic address or consent to electronic communication with the Board via e-mail.

If RET deductions have not been received before, and the resident meets conditions for being granted a RET deduction, he or she should submit to the Board an application for granting the deductions as well.

As of 2024, the transitional period will no longer be in force, and the electronic communication channel for receipt of RET deductions should be registered by January 1 of the taxation period.

The electronic communication channel should be active throughout the whole taxation year, except the cases if the taxpayer who is a natural person is not active in the electronic environment due to objective reasons. In such cases, a reasoned application should be submitted to the Board by January 1 of each taxation year providing objective reasons preventing the registration of the official electronic address or consent to the electronic communication with the Board via e-mail.

As of 1 January 2023, the use of e-address for companies and other subjects of the law registered in registries is mandatory!

In order to increase the use of electronic documents, save the municipal government’s funds, natural resources, and energy, the existence of a channel to communicate electronically is set as a prerequisite for receiving RET deduction. It takes very little time and effort for a taxpayer who can operate efficiently in an electronic environment to set up an electronic channel of communication for exchanging documents with the municipal government, saving on cost of physical deliveries.

For more information about applicable real estate tax breaks, as well as all the latest information related to real estate tax, please visit the website of the Municipal Revenue Office, at https://pip.riga.lv, or call the free information line 80000850.

Information was prepared by: Mārtiņš Vilemsons, Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council Communication Department, email: martins.vilemsons@riga.lv