Stamp duty on property

Stamp duty is tax you pay when you transfer property. It is charged on the written documents that transfer ownership of land and buildings.

Stamp duty applies to:

• Residential property such as houses, duplexes and apartments
• Sites that come with an agreement to build on them
• Non-residential property, such as, land or housing sites without residential buildings

There are different stamp duty rates for residential property and non-residential property.

In general, the only factor affecting the amount of residential stamp duty is the value of the property. However, a higher residential stamp duty rate applies if you buy 10 or more residential houses or duplexes at a time, or in a year. This measure was introduced to discourage investment funds from buying up housing estates.

Budget 2025: Changes to stamp duty

In Budget 2025, the Government announced 2 changes to stamp duty on property:

• A new 6% stamp duty rate for residential properties valued at more than €1.5 million. This 6% rate applies to the amount you pay above €1.5 million. The lower rates of 1% and 2% apply to the amount below €1.5 million.
• Stamp duty for people who buy 10 or more residential houses in a year went up from 10% to 15%.

These stamp duty changes came into effect on 2 October 2024. However, there are transitional arrangements if you had a contract in place before 2 October 2024.

You pay stamp duty when you transfer property. It applies to residential property like your house and non-residential property like land.

You pay stamp duty when you purchase residential property, such as a:

• House
• Duplex
• Apartment
• Any site that is bought with a connected agreement to build residential property on it

Stamp duty on a site

• If you buy a site with an arrangement to build a house or apartment on it, then you must pay stamp duty at the residential property rate on the total of the site cost and the building cost
• If you buy a site with no connected arrangement to build a house or apartment on it, then you must pay stamp duty at the non-residential property rate

There is information (pdf) on revenue.ie on how large gardens, car parking spaces and marina berths are treated for stamp duty purposes. You can also read more on revenue.ie about stamp duty on property in general.

In general the stamp duty rate is based on property value.

Residential stamp duty rate including purchases of less than 10 houses or duplexes in a year:

The 6% rate was introduced in Budget 2025. It does not apply if you are buying 3 or more apartments in the same apartment block. In this situation, you are charged 1% on the first million and 2% on the balance.

Stamp duty and VAT on your home

If you have to pay VAT when you buy your house, you only have to pay stamp duty on the base price of the house. This is the price before the VAT was added. So, for example, if you paid €454,000 (including VAT) for your new house, this is made up of the base price of €400,000 plus 13.5% VAT (€54,000). You only pay stamp duty on the base price of €400,000. Read more in our document on Value Added Tax.

Stamp duty rate if you are buying your local authority home

If you are buying your local authority home with the local authority tenant purchase scheme, you will be charge a maximum stamp duty amount of €100.

In Budget 2025, the 10% rate of stamp duty was increased to 15% when buying 10 or more houses or duplexes in a year.

Residential stamp duty rate when buying 10 or more houses or duplexes in a year:

This change took effect on 2 October 2024. However, there are transitional arrangements if you had a contract in place before 2 October 2024. See revenue.ie for more about these transitional arrangements.

This increased rate does not apply if you are buying apartments and does not affect local authorities and approved housing bodies.

Refund if you lease properties for social housing

You can claim a refund if you pay the increased rate of stamp duty, but then decide to lease the properties to a local authority or approved housing body for social housing. The refund is the difference between the standard rate and the increased rate. To qualify for this refund you must:

• Lease the properties to the local authority or approved housing body within two years of buying them
• Lease the properties for at least ten years

In general, the following transactions are exempt from stamp duty:

• All transfers or leases of property between spouses and civil partners (unless the transfer is a subsale – a sale carried out within the process of a larger sale)
• Property transferred between former spouses or civil partners under a court order, following a divorce or the dissolution of a civil partnership
• Property transferred by a cohabitant to their cohabitant, on or after 1 January 2011, under a Property Adjustment Order

Read more in our document on family and shared homes.

While the transactions above are exempt from stamp duty, the exemption does not apply if any other person is part of the transfer.

There are a number of stamp duty reliefs available for farmers, which reduce the amount of stamp duty you pay if you are transferring, consolidating or leasing a farm.

Consanguinity Relief

A consanguinity relief is available when transferring farmland between certain family members. This reduces stamp duty to 1% on family farm transfers. To qualify you must be related to the person transferring the land and do one of the following:

• Farm the land yourself for at least 6 years
• Lease the land to someone else for a minimum of 6 years, so they can farm it

The person farming the land must also do one of the following:

• Have a relevant agricultural qualification, or get one within 4 years of getting the land
• Spend at least 50% of their time farming land (including this land transfer)

To qualify, you must transfer the land to a family member. Family members include your parents, grandparents, step-parents, children, brothers, sisters, half-brothers, half-sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. The full list of related persons who qualify for the relief is in Schedule 1 of the Stamp Duty Tax and Duty Manual (pdf).

This relief is available until 31 December 2028. Further detailed requirements about qualifying for this relief are on revenue.ie.

Young Trained Farmers Relief

The Young Trained Farmer Relief means you pay no stamp duty when agricultural land is transferred to you, if you meet certain criteria.

To qualify, you must:

• Be under 35
• Have a relevant agricultural qualification, or get one within 3 years of getting the land
• Have submitted a business plan to Teagasc
• Be registered for income tax
• Be the head of the farm holding

You must also intend to:

• Spend at least 50% of your normal working time farming the transferred land for at least 5 years
• Keep ownership of the land for at least 5 years

There is a limit on the amount of relief that can be claimed. Read more information about the Young Trained Farmer Relief on revenue.ie (pdf).

Farm Consolidation Relief

This relief is for farmers who buy and sell agricultural land to consolidate their holdings and improve the viability of their farms. It provides for a stamp duty rate of 1% on these transactions. This relief is due to end on 31 December 2025.

Further information about Farm Consolidation Relief (pdf) is available on revenue.ie.

Relief for leasing farmland

This stamp duty relief is available on certain farmland leases. The lease must be for at least 6 years and must not be more than 35 years.

To qualify, you must either:

• Have a relevant agricultural qualification or get one within 4 years of the date you lease the land
• Spend at least 50% of your time farming land (including this land transfer)

There is a limit on the amount of relief that can be claimed. Read more information about the Relief for leases of farmland on revenue.ie (pdf).

Clawback of stamp duty reliefs

There are clawbacks for certain stamp duty reliefs. A clawback is where you have to repay money or benefits you have received because you have not met certain criteria or contractual obligations.

For some stamp duty reliefs you have to meet certain qualifying criteria for a number of years or the relief will be ‘clawed back’. This can be 2 or 5 years for stamp duty reliefs. If you fail to meet the criteria for the entire period, you must pay back the stamp duty and any interest. There is more information about stamp duty clawbacks on revenue.ie.

A single rate of 7.5% applies to the transfer of ownership of all non-residential property.

Stamp duty (paid by the lessee) charged on the premium component of a lease of non-residential property is also 7.5%.

Stamp Duty Residential Development Refund Scheme

The Stamp Duty Residential Development Refund Scheme allows for a refund on a portion of the stamp duty you paid for non-residential land, if you then develop the land for residential use. The Scheme is due to end on 31 December 2025.

The refund you can claim depends on what rate of stamp duty you paid. To get the refund you must:

• Start the building work by 31 December 2025 and within 30 months of when the land was transferred to you
• Complete the building work within 2 years
• Develop the required percentage of your land for residential purposes if you are building a multi-unit development

There is more information about the Stamp Duty Residential Development Refund Scheme on revenue.ie.

Your solicitor will calculate how much stamp duty is due and ask you for this amount before the sale is closed.

The amount is paid to Revenue, who place a stamp on the property deeds. Without this stamp, the deeds cannot be registered.