payment of annual property tax

[Philoz]

I tried paying mine at the village office in Ozankoy last march(when I think the bills are issued)but because I had only purchased the previous September(2011) and not yet received PTP There was no bill there for me to pay.

I will try again to pay next week, but I have still not received my PTP,so does this mean I won't get a bill again?

If this is the case,when I receive my PTP,will I get a backdated bill, and possibly a fine/surcharge for late payment,despite having previously tried to pay on time?
Can anyone clarify this please.

[wanderer]

who ever owned the property before will be billed till your name is on the bill
ask Zoe in the office at Ozankoy she knows how these things work and is British

[Philoz]

It was Zoe I asked in the first place, and she didn't mention that-but I will try again as I know the name of previous owner.
Thanks for advise.

[wanderer]

just remembered
So after being in the property for two years the previous owner contacted us for payment of the property tax i paid him
As soon as the PTP came through I registered the property in our names at the low building by the wednesday market just before the police station
keep the reciepts these bills have to be upto date to get your kojan
zoe should help though she might know who to phone
she was brilliant when the water wast running last year contacting the water man who had done the job before I got back

[ozankoys]

Ozankoy do not seem to issue bills! If you take your contract & register at the office near the Wednesday market you can pay there. When you have received your PTP the receipts have to be shown before you can transfer the property into your name.

[kevnmax]

can't pay mine for another 5 weeks ,will there be a problem?

[snd1966]

Lots of my customers have not got ptp and all i have ever done is go to the office near the wednesday market with kocan and contract and they issue the receipt in my customers name.

fines occur after the 30th april for the first payment

[Philoz]

How can they fine someone who has never received a bill???

[LooseBoots]

They can because my first one I never received as it was in the previous persons name. It was only TL162.50 and the late payment tax was only TL5.00 or something like that. But went to Catalkoy and changed it into my name at the same time. Since then , no trouble.The bill is delivery to our address.

[Keithcaley]

5 TL?

Is your wife making you live in the shed?

It is charged at 1TL per sq. Metre (1.25 if you have pool) - perhaps you're thinking of some other tax...

You could be in for a nasty shock when you get the real bill

[sophie]

Keith, I suspect you are correct and the 5tl is for a totally different tax and maybe not the one referred to on the initial enquiry. I know of someone who has finally been billed for the property tax at 1.25 per sq.meter after 5 years. It's no good thinking they haven't got you on their records, because eventually as the computer systems start to have "joined up writing" more anomalies are being picked up and acted upon. However, it could be that it only affects people who have their Kocan?

[Lor51]

I think Looseboots is saying that the Fine was 5TL not the tax, could be wrong of course.

[LooseBoots]

Yes I was. I have edited my first post. Sorry for the confusion everyone.

At least it woke Keith up

[karmels]

philoz.

Not receiving a bill will not stop them charging the extra tax ( fine ).

It is up to the individual to check at the office to see if you owe money.

The office for Ozankoy is on the road up to the Wednesday market on the left, go in and have a word.

The office in Ozankoy is the Muktars office, you need to go to Girne, with all your papers, PTP, Kocan, ect to get a correct answer.

[Philoz]

Thanks all for advise.
I will go up to the office next week .

[sophie]

The same system works for road traffic fines, just because you don't know about them does mean you haven't got any. Best to go to police station every 6 months than be apprehended at Ercan when you're on the last plane in!!

[Keithcaley]

[quote="LooseBoots"
At least it woke Keith up [/quote]

'Ere you.....!!

[The Dog Walker]

Can you go to the office just before the Police Station if you live in any area? We live in Alsancak and my son was told in the local office that he owes nothing -- presumably because he doesn't yet have PTP.
However, I hold both the original kocan and Power of Attorney for "his" property, since the previous owners have left the country, so can I pay it in Girne?

[crofter]

Does anyone know that if a villa has not yet been parcelised and the Kocan is just for the land that the villa stands on is the Property Tax still to be paid?

OR

Is the Property Tax not due until the villas are all parcelised and the Kocan is put in the individual villa owners names.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[sophie]

We have our Kocan on the land (with our two names on the Kocan) but not the house Kocan on the land, which Alsancak tell us cannot happen until the land is parcelised i.e. there are just plots. We received our first Property Tax within a couple of months after receiving the Kocan. It is divided into two sections e.g. we can pay half in April and half in September. On top of that we, my husband and I receive a bill each i.e. the two names on the original contract and on the Kocan. This is what happens to us in Alsancak, I have no doubt that other Belediye have a different system

[metin]

I have never paid property tax, and hold the kocan, but its not in my name (I have Power Of Attorney though).

What happens here ?? Who is getting the bill ??

[sophie]

Not sure who is getting it in your case, but to be honest I'd probably ask, rather than have one dumped on me from a great height in a year or two times!!

[ozankoys]

As said above you do not necessarily receive a bill but the yearly charge accumulates with late payment penalty until someone - not necessarily the person named on the Kocan - pays it. It is generally agreed that whoever is living in the property as the 'owner' ie not as a tenant is responsible for paying.

[karmels]

Metin.
If and when you sell the property the advocat or the notar will fill a sales form in, before he will transfare the money all bills have to be payed, you will have to provide the receipts for all bills.
If you do not pay the property tax you will incurre a fine every year which you will have to pay in the end.

[Philoz]

Well-thank you for all replies.
But I have yet to have a definitive answer,Zoe at the local office said to me the bills go there-some disagree.
But is it not surprising that the place is in a mess financially, when little me is trying hard to pay a bill, as I was taught to do in the UK, when it seems to be an option here, and this seems to be a recurrent factor in countries that are in a mess, is there total incompetence in collecting taxes.

Thank you for all your input- but frankly I'm none the wiser as to how to pay my bill.

Maybe I shouldn't give a toss, but I was brought up to pay my dues-silly old me!

[The Dog Walker]

I agree with you Philoz, no definitive answers. I didn't get one either to my posting at No. 18, where I asked if we could pay at the Girne office near the Police Station, since the Alsancak office says nothing is owed. Has anyone in a similar situation, done this?

[cyprusishome]

What a blooming minefield. To start with there seems no consistency in how charges are applied then how are you informed. I will tell you what we did 4/5 years ago.

When we got kocan for land (house will probably never go on it) we registered at Belidye in Lapta. Made the mistake of saying when we first moved into the house so had to pay 3 years back money. Others just say they moved in yesterday or whatever and nothing is questioned. We have never received a bill but just pay at beginning of the year when we pay water bill.

So from our experience, it is your responsibility to register and if you do not pay eventually you will get a big bill and as stated above when you come to sell may be an obstacle to sale.

[snd1966]

Philoz you mention Zoe, she is at Ozankoy Muhtar's office you have to go to the office near the wednesday market as several people have advised you. This is the office which registers your interest. Next year yes you can go to Zoe. Until you are registered as an interested party no bill will be issued in your name or sent to your home unless the previous owner had registered it. Not sure if you have a new build. The law states it is the responsibility of the kocan owner whether it is basic land or a property to pay BUT if you eventually want the property in your name this tax must be cleared therefore adviseable to pay, the fines are about 30%. In the days of old when it was .25krs it was generally settled on sale, my father who purchased in 1987 was shocked when i told him about this tax and had to pay all those years in 2004. I have registered about 10 in the girne area and 4 in catalkoy and 6 in lapta. all required kocan of land or house, copy of passport and contract of my client. All now receive bills

[snd1966]

When in yesiltepe we had to register in Girne by the market

[The Dog Walker]

Thanks snd1966, that's far more explanatory, so we shall go to Girne, with fingers crossed.

[snd1966]

thank you and good luck, I am 99.9% certain you will get it sorted. I learnt when we came to live here and was surprised when i advised customers what i had to do so many were not aware of this tax.

[Philoz]

I agree with Dogwalker- it does make a little more sense the way Snd has explained it.
Zoe was telling me correctly that the bills do go there, but she omitted to tell me about the registration bit.
I don't have Kocan though, but have a contract.
I can only try.
I remember in the UK once when I moved house, I forgot to pay my council tax for about 2 weeks and 2 burly debt collectors appeared on my doorstep!!
You would have thought that when you bought a place the department that deals with property registrations/ownership would let the annual tax office know who has bought what and send you a bill accordingly-it's hardly rocket science is it?

[ozonkoyboy]

I Paid my tax on wednesday at the Local office in Ozankoy, there is a big A4 sign in the window, telling you that no notice will be sent out and it must be paid by the end of APRIL

If the property is is the previous owners name the local office between the police station and the driving school will help you, If you can take 2 or even 3 photo copies of any documents you have as they do not possess a copy machine, I had to pay the driving school to get my paperwork copied they charges me 1TL per copy

Good luck

[snd1966]

You should have a copy of a kocan with your contract, be it land not yet parcelised or existing property. This is so the land registry office can also register interest. Remember the days when stamp duty suddenly had to be registered and paid in 2006/2007