Who pays and for what
Real estate tax (NĪN) is paid on land, buildings, including registered buildings not yet commissioned, and engineering structures. It is paid by the owner registered in the Land Register, or by the legal possessor, for example an heir who has accepted an inheritance but not yet registered it. Where property is co-owned, each co-owner pays for their own share.
Apartment
one tax notice covers the apartment property together with its share of the land.
House
the tax is worked out separately for the house and for the land under it.
Not taxed
outbuildings of a residential house up to 25 m² (garages excepted) and engineering structures owned by private persons and not used for business.
Divided property
where the land under the building belongs to someone else, the land owner pays the tax on the land, and the apartment owners pay that owner a land-use fee, which is not a tax.
How the tax is worked out
The tax base is the cadastral value registered in the cadastre on 1 January of the tax year. Since 2025 taxes use the fiscal cadastral value, which reflects the 2012–2013 market level; under the Cadastre Law a new value base will be used no earlier than 2029. If cadastre data change during the year, the new value counts for the tax from the next year.
The municipality sets the rate in binding rules that must be published by 1 November of the year before: from 0.2% to 1.5%, and up to 3% only for property that is not kept up, buildings that degrade the environment or are dangerous, and construction past its permitted deadline. Where a municipality has set no rates of its own, the law’s rates apply:
- Homes: 0.2% of the value up to €56,915, 0.4% of the part up to €106,715 and 0.6% of the part above.
- Land, including land under a house, and non-residential buildings: 1.5%.
- The minimum tax is €7 per taxpayer per municipality, also after reliefs.
Example: a flat in Rīga with a fiscal cadastral value of €40,000 and a declared resident pays 40,000 × 0.2% = €80 a year. With nobody declared, the same flat pays 40,000 × 1.5% = €600.
The law’s rates for homes
- up to €56,9150.2%
- €56,915–106,7150.4%
- above €106,7150.6%
- Nobody declared1.5%
Each rate applies only to the part of the value within its step.
Rates in Rīga and other municipalities
Almost all large municipalities use stepped rates of 0.2–0.6%, but only for a home where at least one person had their declared residence at 00:00 on 1 January of the tax year; otherwise the rate is 1.5%. The declared person must be a Latvian citizen or non-citizen, an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or hold a permanent residence permit.
Home rates in nine municipalities, 2026
| Municipality | Someone declared on 1 January | Nobody declared | Automatic for a declared owner | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rīga | 0.2–0.6% (steps at €57,000 / €107,000) | 1.5% | — | Nr. 148, Nr. 109 |
| Jūrmala | 0.2–0.6% (the law’s steps) | also 0.2–0.6% | 90% off the tax up to €56,915 and off the land tax | Nr. 29, Nr. 33 |
| Mārupes novads | 0.2–0.6% (the law’s steps) | 1.5% | 50% on the home, up to €300 | Nr. 15/2021, Nr. 27/2023 |
| Ķekavas novads | 0.2–0.6% (the law’s steps) | 1.5% | — | Nr. 25/2021 |
| Ādažu novads | 0.2–0.6% (the law’s steps)if someone other than the owner is declared: 0.4% | 1.5% | 50% on a house | Nr. 15/2021, Nr. 37/2021 |
| Daugavpils | 0.2–0.6% (the law’s steps) | 1.5% | — | Nr. 18, Nr. 25 |
| Liepāja | 0.2–0.6% (the law’s steps) | 1.5% | — | Nr. 17 (2017), Nr. 17 (2026) |
| Jelgava | 0.2–0.6% (steps at €57,000 / €107,000) | 1.5% | — | Nr. 16-19, Nr. 24-16 |
| Ogres novads | 0.2–0.6% (the law’s steps) | 1.5% | — | Nr. 21/2021, Nr. 36/2021 |
Land, including land under a house, is taxed at 1.5% in these municipalities (1.3% in Ādaži where the owner is declared). All may charge 3% on property not kept up and on construction past its deadline.
- Rīga and Jelgava: their own steps at €57,000 and €107,000; with nobody declared, 1.5% for the whole year, even if someone registers later.
- Mārupe: if someone registers during the year, the tax is recalculated at the lower rate from the next month.
- Ķekava, Daugavpils, Liepāja and Ogre: the law’s steps at €56,915 and €106,715, 1.5% with nobody declared.
- Jūrmala: no 1.5% rate for an empty home, every home pays 0.2–0.6%; owners declared in Jūrmala also get an automatic relief.
- Ādaži: 0.2–0.6% only if the owner is declared in Ādaži; if only someone else is, such as a tenant, 0.4% of the whole value; if nobody is, 1.5%. Land under a home where the owner is declared: 1.3%.
For other municipalities, find the rates in their binding rules on likumi.lv or on the municipality’s website. Companies usually get the stepped rates only if the home is let for living and the lease is entered in the Land Register.
Work out your tax
Choose the municipality and enter the fiscal cadastral value from kadastrs.lv.
Tax a year
€80
€20 in each of the four instalments
- Home: 0.2% of €40,000€80
A rough estimate under the municipality’s binding rules and the law (November 2026). Only one relief is given, the most favourable; the conditions (how long you have been declared, income, no tax debt) differ. The exact amount is on the municipality’s tax notice.
Reliefs
Reliefs set by the law, in every municipality
- Persons with poor (trūcīga) status 90%, low-income (maznodrošināta) persons up to 90% (the municipality sets the exact figure), on the home and its land while the status lasts.
- Families with three or more children under 18 (or under 24 if studying), at least three of them declared at the home with the owner: 50%, but no more than €500 a year.
- Politically repressed persons: 50% on land and a home not used for business.
Municipalities may add their own reliefs of 25%, 50%, 70% or 90%. In Rīga, families get 50% for one child, 70% for two and 90% for three or more, up to €1,000 a year, automatically for children under 19. Jūrmala automatically takes 90% off the tax on the first €56,915 of a home’s value, and 90% off the land tax, for owners declared in Jūrmala. In Mārupe every owner declared there automatically gets 50% off the tax on the home, up to €300 a year.
Usually only one relief is given, the one most favourable to you, and none if you owe tax. Some reliefs are granted automatically from state registers; for others you apply by the municipality’s date, such as 15 December in Rīga, 15 November in Ķekava and 1 November in Jūrmala. A municipality may also defer the tax on the home of a socially vulnerable person until the property passes to someone else.
Municipal reliefs on a home
The larger of the municipal and the law’s relief; an amount in € is the yearly maximum. Conditions (how long you have been declared, income, age) differ: check the binding rules.
| Municipality | Rīga | Jūrmala | Mārupes | Ķekavas | Ādažu | Daugavpils | Liepāja | Jelgava | Ogres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 child | 50%≤ €1,000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 children | 70%≤ €1,000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 children | 90%≤ €1,000 | 90% | 90% | 70%≤ €500 | 50%≤ €500 | 50%≤ €500 | 50%≤ €500 | 50% | 70%≤ €500 |
| 4+ children | 90%≤ €1,000 | 90% | 90% | 70%≤ €500 | 50%≤ €500 | 50%≤ €500 | 50%≤ €500 | 50% | 90% |
| Pensioner living alone | 90% | — | 90% | 90% | 70% | 90% | — | 70% | 90% |
| Disability | 70% | — | 90% | 70% | 70% | 90% | — | 70% | 90% |
| Low-income | 70% | 90% | 90% | 50% | 70% | 70% | 70% | 90% | 50% |
| Poor status | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 90% |
| Politically repressed | 50% | 90% | 90% | 70% | 50% | 70% | 50% | 70% | 50% |
| Apply by | 15.12 | 01.11 | 15.12 | 15.11 | 31.03 | 01.08 | — | 30.12 | 15.12 |
The tax notice and payment dates
The municipality sends the payment notice by 15 February to your e-address, e-mail or declared address. The notice is an administrative act and valid without a signature. If it has not arrived by 15 February, tell the municipality in writing within a month.
- The tax is paid in four equal parts by 31 March, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November, or for the whole year at once.
- A due date on a weekend or public holiday moves to the next working day.
- Late payment interest is 0.05% a day; none is charged if the payment reaches the municipality within five working days of the due date.
- The tax goes to the municipality where the property is, separately for each property, using the details on the notice or the latvija.gov.lv e-service.
The municipality can collect arrears without going to court.
- 1/4
31 March
one quarter
- 2/4
15 May
one quarter
- 3/4
15 August
one quarter
- 4/4
15 November
one quarter
Late interest of 0.05% a day if the payment arrives more than 5 working days after the due date.
Where to find your cadastral value
You can see a property’s fiscal and universal cadastral values free and without logging in on kadastrs.lv, searching by address or cadastre number. Logged in to the State Land Service (VZD) e-service “Mani dati kadastrā” (My data in the cadastre), you see all your properties and their data, and the service “Informācija par kadastrālās vērtības aprēķinu” shows how the value was calculated.
How the fiscal value differs from the universal one, and why neither is the market value, is explained in the guide to valuing your home.
Values are no longer recalculated across the board every year; a value changes when the cadastre data change. The Ministry of Finance has proposed letting municipalities limit tax growth from 2029, when the new value base comes in, but that is not law yet.
- 01kadastrs.lv ↗Fiscal and universal value by address or cadastre number, free and without logging in.
- 02Mani dati kadastrā ↗All your properties and their cadastre data, logging in with an eID or online bank.
- 03How the value is calculated ↗A VZD e-service that shows which data the value was calculated from, and how.
You can also quickly work out the tax in Rīga in the guide to valuing your home, which explains how the fiscal value differs from the universal and the market value.
If you disagree with the value or the tax
The value: correct the data at VZD
The cadastral value is calculated from cadastre data, so you change it by correcting the data, not by negotiating the figure. Check the floor area, the use purpose, the wear of the building, and whether long-demolished structures are still registered.
- The State Land Service (VZD) corrects errors in cadastre data free of charge and recalculates the value for the current year and up to three years back.
- VZD updates a building’s wear after an on-site survey; this is a paid service.
- A demolished building is removed from the cadastre once its demolition is registered in the Construction Information System (BIS).
- A VZD decision can be contested with the VZD Director General within one month and then appealed in court.
The tax amount: at the municipality
- 1A written request to the municipal tax administrator to check the calculation
- 2Contest with the council chair within one month
- 3Appeal to the Administrative District Court within one month
The tax amount (the rate, a relief, the taxpayer or the share) is reviewed by the municipality. First ask the municipal tax administrator in writing to check the calculation; a request through latvija.gov.lv is valid without a signature. If you disagree with the answer, you can contest the tax notice with the council chair within one month of it taking effect, and then appeal to the Administrative District Court within a month. A notice sent to an e-address or e-mail counts as received on the second working day, by post on the eighth day. Contesting does not suspend the duty to pay.
Tax when buying, selling and letting
The buyer starts paying from 1 January of the year after their ownership is entered in the Land Register, while the seller is liable for the whole year of the sale. The Land Register enters the buyer only once that year’s tax has been paid in full, so the seller usually pays the whole year and the parties agree in the contract how to split it.
The cadastral value is also the floor for the state duty on registering ownership: 1.5% is charged on the higher of the price and the cadastral value. You will find all the buyer’s costs in the first-time buyer’s guide, and the seller’s costs and income tax in the selling cost calculator.
If you let a flat, the property tax is one of the few costs you can deduct: a private person’s 10% tax on rental income is charged on the rent received less the real estate tax paid on that flat. If the tenant declares their residence at your flat, most municipalities apply the lower rate. More in how to rent out an apartment.
The tax is based on the cadastral value, but the market price is another number: a local real estate agent who knows the deals in the area can pin it down best.
