Belarus has changed its approach to calculating property taxes on property jointly owned by spouses. The changes were outlined on Monday by Dzianis Tsierashkou, deputy head of the Main Department for Taxation of Individuals and head of the Department for Taxation of Property and Business Activities of Individuals at the Ministry of Taxes and Duties.
“Until this year, tax on jointly owned property was calculated for one person (either the husband or the wife) on the basis of a written notification. Since last year, this has become much more widespread, and to optimize the calculation process, changes were introduced concerning the calculation of taxes for 2025 and subsequent years.
Now, if joint ownership is registered simultaneously in the names of two owners, that is, the husband and wife, the tax will be calculated for each owner, but with a reduction coefficient of 0.5. For example, if the tax on an apartment is 70 rubles, each owner will have to pay 35 rubles. In other words, each person pays tax on the apartment, but at half the amount”, he said.
According to him, changes were also made to the Code of Administrative Offenses. Late payment or non-payment of property taxes is no longer considered an administrative offense.
“Previously, this was subject to administrative liability of 15% of the unpaid amount if it was unintentional, and up to 40% if the non-payment was intentional. Starting this year, this administrative liability for individuals has been replaced by another provision.
If a citizen does not settle their tax obligations by the end of the current year, and the unpaid amount exceeds one basic unit, then in the following year, when taxes are calculated, an additional 15% of the amount they underpaid in the current year will be added to the amount assessed”, he said.
