The easy way to save on your property tax payment

The easy way to save on your property tax payment

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

Surely every year we hear that the property rose, that for not paying it on time, surcharges were generated, or even that payment requirements are notified under threat of foreclosure. Well, this is true, every year this tax increases, and if it is not paid on time —the first fifteen days of each bimonthly—, 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.

But hey, How can we save a little when paying for the property? 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 bring the greatest benefit: To hold it.

This challenge can have many implications, but what I want to focus on today is the challenge to Surcharge paid by vacant lots. In case you don't know, practically every municipality in Jalisco pays more property tax when it comes to vacant land.

Take as an example the municipality of Zapopan, which in the Revenue Act for 2023 provided for the letter the following: “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, a surcharge of the determined value is applied to the determined value of 100% for non-tax reasons with respect to the amount corresponding to the application of the provisions of this article.”

Then, a 100% surcharge must 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 at the time of calculating the tax, the rate is higher, which causes you to have to pay an even greater amount.

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 distinction, so through a Amparo trial we can defend ourselves against this arbitrariness.

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 in excess, so that through this amparo judgment we obtain the return of the excess paid. It's actually very simple and, believe it or not, quite common.

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 (to us) 😉.