TODAY IS D-DAY for the household charge.
Ireland’s 1.6 million households have had from the first day of January to pay the €100 charge introduced in December’s budget. The deadline for payment is midnight tonight after which financial penalties will kick in.
A large campaign to encourage people not to pay has been running since January and if you’re not planning to pay, here’s some other options you might want to look at.
But if you are, here are your options for paying.
1. Online
The most straightforward way to pay is via the website at householdcharge.ie. You’ll need to have your PPS number, the property address, and the details of the credit or debit card you’ll be using for payment.
You’ll be asked to give your email address and set up an account with your details before you are able to pay the charge, which should take less than ten minutes.
Bear in mind that the government has been warning of a last minute rush which would seem to be borne out by the large increase in the numbers paying over the past few days. There’s always a chance that the website could stumble with large numbers of people trying to pay at once today.
You will still be able to pay on the website after midnight tonight, but you will incur penalties. You’ll have to pay an extra €10 if you pay it at any stage in the next six months (i.e. between 1 April and 30 September) plus an additional €1 per month – so if you pay it in April you’ll have to pay €111, in May it will be €112, etc.
2. Local Authority offices
A total of 95 local authority offices around the country will be open today if you want to pay it in person. You can check to see if your local office will be open on this list here (warning: it’s a pdf).
You can either print out a registration form from the website or else pick one up in the office itself, where you will be able to pay by cash, cheque or postal order.
3. Post
You can collect a registration form from your local post office, your nearest local authority office, libraries, citizens information centres or from the website, and post it along with a cheque or postal order made payable to ‘Household Charge’. The address to post it to is: Household Charge, PO Box 12168, Dublin.
The Local Government Management Agency which is looking after the administration of the household charge has said that no-one will be penalised if their letter arrives early next week, as long as it can be assumed that the letter was posted on 31 March.
Exemptions
Not all houses have to pay the charge. Anyone who owns a house in certain ghost estates or who is entitled to mortgage interest supplement can apply for a waiver while people living in social housing are among the types of properties which are exempt from the payment.
Need help?
The household charge bureau will be open to take calls from 9am until 8.30pm today. LoCall on 1890 357 357 if you have any questions.
Planning to NOT pay the household charge today? Here’s what to do >
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