The easy way to save on your property tax payment

Property tax, that contribution that is paid every year to the municipality for the simple fact of owning real estate; whether it is a house, apartment, building or even a vacant lot.

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Surely every year we hear that property taxes increased, that for not paying on time, surcharges were generated, or even that payment requirements are notified under threat of an embargo. Well, this is true, every year this tax increases, and if it is not paid on time -the first fifteen days of each bimester-, it will generate surcharges and updates; and not only that, if we take a long time to pay it, we can be fined and yes, even seized.

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But hey, how can we save a little when paying property tax? There are several ways; such as paying for the year in advance, taking advantage of the discounts sometimes offered by the municipality, and the one that can provide the most benefit, to challenge it.

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This challenge may have many implications, but what I want to focus on today is the challenge to the surcharge paid by vacant lots. In case you didn't know, in practically all municipalities in Jalisco, you pay more for property taxes when it comes to vacant land.

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Take, for example, the municipality of Zapopan, which in the Revenue Act for 2023 provided for the following verbatim: “In the case of unbuilt properties that do not meet the characteristics indicated in articles 99 and 100 of the Municipal Treasury Law of the State of Jalisco; and Article 5 section IV of the Municipal Cadastre Law of the State of Jalisco, on the determined value, a surcharge of 100% is applied to them for extrafiscal reasons with respect to the corresponding amount when applying the provisions of this article.”

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Then, a 100% surcharge will have to be paid when the property is not built; beware, this does not mean that you pay twice as much as if it were built, but that when calculating the tax, the rate is higher, which causes you to have to pay an even greater amount.

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However, this is totally unconstitutional, since it contravenes the constitutional principles of tax equity and proportionality, since there is no objective and reasonable reason to justify this differentiation, so through an amparo judgment we can defend ourselves against this arbitrariness.

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How does it work? In a very brief way and as for the common way of carrying it, we must first pay the tax, even if it is excessive, so that through this amparo judgment we obtain a refund of the excess paid. It's actually very simple and believe it or not, quite common.

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So, if your property isn't built, you're paying more than you should; but don't worry, you know how to defend yourself and who to turn to (we) wink wink 😉.