Contrary to a widespread belief, revisiting cadastral values in Latvia has not raised property tax on forest. Since 2025 two values are kept apart: the fiscal one, which the tax is calculated from and which stays at its previous level, and the universal one, which tracks the market but does not affect tax. Here is what that means for a forest owner.
What two cadastral values mean for a forest owner
An expectation has hung around cadastral values for years: that reform would multiply the property tax bill. For forest owners it did not happen, and the reason is specific and legislative. On 30 May 2024 the Saeima passed amendments to the State Cadastre of Real Estate Law that, from 2025, separate two cadastral values ā fiscal and universal. Property tax is calculated from the fiscal value, and that value stays at its previous level. The universal value moves towards market value but plays no part in the tax calculation.
Key points
- Since 2025 there are two cadastral values: fiscal and universal
- Property tax is calculated from the fiscal value, which stays at its previous level ā the tax does not rise
- The universal value is used for statutory land-use charges, accounting and financial statements
- Forest land carries a standard rate of 1.5 % of the land's cadastral value
- From 2026 the land service no longer performs an annual mass recalculation
- Standing timber is not subject to property tax ā the tax is levied on the land
What actually changed in 2025
Cadastral values in Latvia had long drifted away from the market, and that created a real problem: outdated figures give an incomplete picture of property value and feed into investment and development decisions. At the same time, raising cadastral values automatically raises the property tax base, and it was precisely that link which stalled the reform repeatedly.
The solution adopted in 2024 was to cut the link. The Ministry of Justice put it plainly: changes in cadastral values will not affect property tax. Rather than postpone the update again, the legislator split the value in two ā one for tax, one for everything else.
So nothing dramatic happened to forest owners in 2025. If you received a notice showing a higher cadastral value, it was most likely the universal value ā a figure that does not build your tax bill.
Fiscal and universal: where each one is used
Both values exist at the same time for the same property, but they serve different purposes and rest on different data.
The fiscal cadastral value is used for property tax payments, duty calculations and setting rent. It stays at its previous level, based on 2012 market data. This is the figure multiplied by the municipal rate to produce the annual bill.
The universal cadastral value gives a truer picture of what a property is worth and is based on 2022 market data. It is used for statutory land-use charges, in accounting and in financial statements. It does not enter the tax calculation.
The practical order is simple. If the question is "how much tax do I owe", look at the fiscal value. If it is "what is my property worth for accounting or a lease", look at the universal one. And if it is "what could I sell it for", neither answers: market price is set by stand parameters, assortment structure and access, not by a cadastral formula.
The rate: 1.5 % and what governs it
The rate is set by the property tax law together with each municipality's binding regulations. A municipality sets its rate or rates within a band of 0.2 % to 3 % of cadastral value. Residential housing carries 0.2ā0.6 %; other objects ā forest land among them ā carry 1.5 %.
One nuance about the upper bound matters: a municipality may set a rate above 1.5 % only where the property is not maintained in the manner prescribed by law. So 1.5 % is not an absolute ceiling, but neither is exceeding it a free choice ā it requires a specific ground tied to how the property is kept.
Standing timber is not normally subject to property tax: the tax is levied on the land, not on the growing forest. Any buildings on the plot are taxed as separate objects at their own rates.
To estimate your annual bill you need two numbers: the fiscal cadastral value and your municipality's current rate. The first is visible on kadastrs.lv or through the state e-services portal; the second is in your municipality's binding regulations.
What this means on the bill
The calculation is a single multiplication: fiscal cadastral value Ć municipal rate. The table below is only that arithmetic at the standard 1.5 % rate ā the value column holds examples, not a claim about what forest land is typically worth in your region. Take your own figure from kadastrs.lv.
| Fiscal cadastral value | Annual tax at 1.5 % |
|---|---|
| ā¬500 | ā¬7.50 |
| ā¬1,500 | ā¬22.50 |
| ā¬4,000 | ā¬60 |
| ā¬12,000 | ā¬180 |
| ā¬40,000 | ā¬600 |
What matters here is not the table but what fails to happen to it. Because the fiscal value stays at its previous level, the left column does not move from year to year ā and neither does the right. A bill can change for two other reasons: the municipality changes its rate, or the property itself changes through subdivision, boundary correction, a change of designated use, or the registration of a building.
That is why a higher cadastral value in a notice is not, in itself, a reason to expect a bigger bill. First establish which value went up.
What changed from 2026
A second change concerns the recalculation procedure itself. From 1 January 2026 the mass recalculation of cadastral values on 1 January each year no longer takes place. The value last calculated in the Cadastre Information System during the previous year is also the cadastral value as at 1 January of the current year.
In practice that means two things. First, the annual January "cadastral value season" is no longer an event to brace for ā the figure simply carries over. Second, if your property's value does change, there will be a specific individual reason for it: a change in the object or in its recorded data. That can be investigated and, where warranted, challenged on the merits.
Reliefs that actually work
Reliefs come from both the law and the municipality, and they are almost always applied on request rather than automatically. That is exactly why some owners pay the full rate while qualifying for a reduction.
Statutory reliefs attach to defined categories of people ā low-income households, large families, people with disabilities, the politically repressed among them. On top of that, a municipality may set its own reliefs and their size in its binding regulations; these differ between municipalities, which is why a neighbour's experience in a different one is an unreliable guide.
Forest owners should separately check how their municipality treats land under nature protection restrictions. There is no single nationwide rate for such plots, and the question is settled locally. The right order is: find your municipality's binding regulations, check whether your situation falls within them, then file the application.
When an appeal is genuinely worth filing
An appeal makes sense when you have a specific argument about an error in the data, not a general objection to the number. A cadastral value is the output of a calculation, and that calculation rests on the registered data about your object: area, designated use, land composition, buildings.
The real grounds for approaching the land service are exactly those: the area does not match reality, the designated use is recorded wrongly, a building is registered that no longer exists, or an encumbrance entered in the Land Register has not been taken into account. In those cases the issue is not disputing a valuation but correcting data ā and once corrected, the value is recalculated.
What an appeal will not do is deliver a lower tax because the bill feels large. If the data are right and the rate is the one the municipality set, there is no basis for recalculation. Before preparing an application it is worth comparing the data registered on kadastrs.lv against the Land Register entry and the VMD inventory ā a mismatch between those three sources is usually the thing that can actually be fixed.
FAQ
I received a notice with a new, higher cadastral value. Will my tax go up?
First establish which value the notice shows. Property tax is calculated from the fiscal cadastral value, which stays at its previous level. The universal value is higher because it tracks the market, but it is not used in the tax calculation. Compare the bill with last year's, and if it has genuinely risen, look for the cause in the municipal rate or in a change to the property itself.
I am a co-owner of a shared property. Who pays the tax?
Each co-owner pays for their notional share. In practice municipalities often issue separate payment notices, but where your share is registered in the Land Register the obligation is personal. An arrangement between co-owners that one of them pays does not bind the municipality.
Can my municipality raise the rate above 1.5 %?
Only in a specific case. A municipality sets a rate above 1.5 % where the property is not maintained in the manner prescribed by law. In the general case forest land carries 1.5 %, and the current rate can always be checked in the municipality's binding regulations.
Where can I see my cadastral value and my municipal rate?
The cadastral value on kadastrs.lv or through the state e-services portal, which also shows which value is which. The rate and reliefs in your municipality's binding regulations, published on its website. Both are worth checking once a year when the payment notice arrives.
What happens if I do not pay?
Late payment accrues interest, and the debt stays attached to the property. Accumulated arrears complicate transactions: a buyer sees them, and they become either a bargaining point or an obstacle. If a bill looks unjustified, the right move is to establish why with the municipality or the land service ā not to leave it unpaid.
Sources
- Ministry of Justice, 22.10.2024 ā "KadastrÄlo vÄrtÄ«bu izmaiÅas neietekmÄs nekustamÄ Ä«paÅ”uma nodokli" ā the split into fiscal and universal values from 2025, with the fiscal value based on 2012 market data.
- State Land Service via iFinanses ā "KadastrÄlÄs vÄrtÄ«bas katru gadu 1. janvÄrÄ« vairs nepÄrrÄÄ·ina" ā the end of mass recalculation from 1 January 2026.
- LV portÄls ā "NekustamÄ Ä«paÅ”uma nodokļa likmes un atbrÄ«vojumus nosaka likums un paÅ”valdÄ«ba" ā rates of 0.2ā3 %, 1.5 % for other objects, and the condition for exceeding 1.5 %.
- Law "Par nekustamÄ Ä«paÅ”uma nodokli" (likumi.lv).
- State Cadastre of Real Estate Law (likumi.lv) ā the amendments of 30 May 2024 introducing two cadastral values.
- kadastrs.lv ā the cadastral value and registered data for a specific object.
Disclaimer
Correction, 11.08.2026. An earlier version of this article claimed that Latvia was carrying out a phased cadastral revaluation across 2025ā2028 that would raise forest owners' property tax by 2.5ā4 times, and it carried a scenario table showing those increases. That does not match the facts: in 2025 the fiscal and universal cadastral values were separated precisely so that property tax would not rise, and the tax base stays at its previous level. The article also wrongly stated that 1.5 % was an absolute rate ceiling. It has been rewritten from the Ministry of Justice, State Land Service and LV portÄls publications.
This text is not tax advice. Rates, reliefs and procedures can change, and municipal binding regulations differ. Check your own cadastral value on kadastrs.lv, and your rate and reliefs in your municipality's binding regulations.