Garage tax in an apartment block from 2025: renting out a space
From 1 January 2025, a space for storing vehicles located in a residential building is treated as part of its residential section. The result? The tax on a garage in an apartment block will be calculated at the same rate as for flats. This is set out in the act of 19 November 2024, published on 29 November 2024. The provision came into force on 1 January 2025, so if you rent a space to a neighbour, you have every right to ask what it means for you. Below we explain who the new rule covers, what paperwork comes with it and how it relates to renting. We do not give amounts. The rates are set by the municipality.
What exactly changes in the tax on a garage in an apartment block from 1 January 2025?
A garage in a residential building stops being taxed separately, because the act counts it as part of the residential section. That is the heart of it. Technically it works like this: the amendment adds Article 1a(2c) to the Act on Local Taxes and Fees, under which a space intended for storing vehicles in that building is also treated as part of the residential section. It starts on 1 January 2025, as settled by Article 9 of the act amending local taxes. This is in fact only one piece of the wider changes to property tax in 2025. And how much will there be to pay? That is decided by the municipal council, so look up your municipality’s resolution for 2025.
Who the new rule applies to: a separate garage, a share in a garage hall, an appurtenant space
Everyone who has a space for storing vehicles located in a residential building. The form of ownership does not matter. In practice there are three typical arrangements:
- a space appurtenant to the flat, entered in the same land and mortgage register as the unit,
- a share in the co-ownership of a garage hall established as a separate unit,
- a standalone garage with its own land and mortgage register, located within the body of the block.
Until now, the legal form decided how the space was taxed. Hence the absurdity familiar to anyone who knows the subject: neighbours parking side by side could end up paying under different rules. From January there is a single criterion - location in a residential building - so a share in a garage hall and property tax stop being a separate problem. But note: the new rule does not cover detached garages or spaces in an outdoor car park. And what if the nature of the building is in doubt? It is best to ask the municipal office or a tax adviser.
Do you need to file a new property information return?
No, you do not. An individual who has already filed an information return for such a unit does not have to file it again in 2025. The exemption from this obligation is written into Article 5(1) of the amendment published in the Journal of Laws. The tax authority sets the assessment based on the data it already holds, and you simply wait for the decision for the following year. When it arrives, do not put it straight into a drawer. Check whether the parking space has been assessed under the rules for the residential section, and compare the floor area with your own documents. And one caveat: you still need to contact the office when you acquire a garage or a share, when your details change, or when an information return has never been filed.
Renting out a parking space and property tax: what changes for the landlord
The owner remains the taxpayer. Not the tenant. So the amendment affects the cost on the landlord’s side, not the obligations of the neighbour who parks in your space. The agreement itself does not need an annex because of the new rules. There is one exception: the parties have used a separate clause to pass this levy on to the user - in that case, go back to that clause and assess whether it still reflects what you both intended. While you are at it, it is worth reviewing how the whole parking space rental agreement is set up, because it is the wording of the contract that determines who bears which charges. Do you rent out as part of a business activity, or settle the income under the lump-sum tax? Discuss the effects of the change with a tax adviser.
How to factor the change into your rental accounts for 2025
First the tax assessment decision, then the calculations. Only once you have it in hand should you recalculate the annual cost of keeping the space and assess the level of rent. Any earlier adjustments are, in my view, reading tea leaves. A sensible order looks like this:
- Check the municipal council’s resolution with the rates for 2025.
- Wait for the decision and verify how the space has been assessed in it.
- Update your summary of expenses related to the space.
- Talk to the tenant when extending the agreement, if the numbers have changed.
The local levy comes up rarely. And that is exactly why it so easily ends up among the costs left out of the rental report. The calculation of the charge for the space itself can follow a logic similar to the one used to work out how to set rent for a flat: first the fixed costs, then the realities of the local market. In Tenanto you can store the agreement and annexes in document categories, and the system will remind you when the contract is nearing its end.
What to check while it is still December 2024
Not much, really. Before the end of the year it is enough to establish two things: how the space is recorded in the documents and what the agreement with the tenant says. Look at the land and mortgage register or the notarial deed and make sure whether you have an appurtenant space, a share in a garage unit, or a separate unit. Then find the clause in the contract on who bears taxes and charges, and the date it ends (that is a natural moment to talk about the terms).
Leave the property information return you have already filed unchanged and check with the municipality the tax on a garage in an apartment block. An unusual legal situation or doubts about the nature of the building? The safest option is to consult an adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, if it is located in a residential building. What counts is where the space is located, not the form of ownership, so a separate register changes nothing here. On the question of “a parking space in an underground garage and tax”, what matters is therefore the nature of the block in which the garage hall was built.
No. The obligation rests with the owner. At most, the cost can be factored into the rent, as long as the agreement allows it. The office does not address the decision to a person who merely uses the space.
Nobody can honestly tell you that today. The rate is set by a resolution of the municipal council, so the exact amount will only be shown by the tax assessment decision. Until then, all you can do is check the local rates for residential sections and set them against the floor area of the space shown in your documents.
