Real Property Tax (RPT) is imposed on any real property by the Local Government Units (LGUs).
What are examples of real properties?
Article 415 of the Civil Code enumerates what are considered as real property or immovable property:
- Land, buildings, roads and constructions of all kinds adhered to the soil;
- Trees, plants, and growing fruits, while they are attached to the land or form an integral part of an immovable;
- Everything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner, in such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom without breaking the material or deterioration of the object;
- Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or ornamentation, placed in buildings or on lands by the owner of the immovable in such a manner that it reveals the intention to attach them permanently to the tenements;
- Machinery, receptacles, instruments or implements intended by the owner of the tenement for an industry or works which may be carried on in a building or on a piece of land, and which tend directly to meet the needs of the said industry or works;
- Animal houses, pigeon-houses, beehives, fish ponds or breeding places of similar nature, in case their owner has placed them or preserves them with the intention to have them permanently attached to the land, and forming a permanent part of it; the animals in these places are included;
- Fertilizer actually used on a piece of land;
- Mines, quarries, and slag dumps, while the matter thereof forms part of the bed, and waters either running or stagnant;
- Docks and structures which, though floating, are intended by their nature and object to remain at a fixed place on a river, lake, or coast;
- Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real rights over immovable property.
When can I pay the Real Property Tax? Are there discounts offered?
RPT must be paid every year, on January 1st to be exact. Some LGUs provide dates when you can pay the RPT payment without interest. In fact, some LGUs/city halls even give a huge discount to incentivize early payments of the RPT. Depending on the city/municipality, the discount can be as high as 20%, depending on how early you pay the RPT.
What happens when I do not pay my Real Property Tax?
Not paying the RPT will risk the property being marked as delinquent and subject to levy and public auction.
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