Capital Gains Tax

You dispose of an asset when you:

• Sell it
• Give it as a gift
• Exchange it
• Get compensation or insurance for it

If you make a profit or gain when you dispose of an asset, you pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the chargeable gain.

The chargeable gain is usually the difference between the price you paid for the asset and the price you got when you disposed of it. You can deduct allowable expenses such as the cost of acquiring and disposing of the asset.

When you dispose of an asset, you must file a tax return for CGT by 31 October of the following year.

When you dispose of an asset, you must:

• Pay Capital Gains Tax by 15 December of the same year (for a disposal in December the deadline is 31 January)
• File a tax return for CGT by 31 October of the following year

The first €1,270 of taxable gains in a tax year are exempt from CGT. If you are married or in a civil partnership, this exemption is available to each spouse or civil partner but it cannot be transferred between you.

Assets from a spouse

Transfers of assets between spouses and civil partners are exempt from Capital Gains Tax.

Transfers of assets between spouses and civil partners who are separated are exempt from Capital Gains Tax if they are made under a Separation Agreement or a court order. Read more about capital taxes following separation or divorce.

After a death

There is no Capital Gains Tax on assets that are passed on death. The assets are treated as if the person who died got the assets at the same value they have on the date of death.

If a personal representative disposes of the assets, they are responsible for any gains between the date of the person’s death and the date of disposal.

Principal Private Residence Relief

You may be exempt from CGT If you dispose of a property that you lived in as your only or main residence. This includes land around the house of up to 1 acre.

This relief may also apply if you dispose of a property that you provided for free to a widowed parent or incapacitated relative to use as their sole residence.

There are some restrictions to Principal Private Residence Relief, including that you can only claim the relief for:

• The part of the house that you used as your home
• The time you lived in the property, with some exceptions including for the last 12 months of ownership and absences for work or health reasons
• The value of the property as you currently use it, rather than for development potential

Revenue has more information and examples of Principal Private Residence Relief and restrictions.

Site given to a child

The transfer of a site from parent to child is exempt if it is to build the child's principal private residence. The land must be less than one acre and have a value of €500,000 or less.

Farm or business

If you are over 55 and disposing of business or farm assets, you may be able to get CGT relief. This is called Retirement Relief but you do not have to retire from the business or farm.

The exemption limits depend on your age and whether the disposal is to your child or to someone outside your family.

Revenue has more information about Retirement Relief. There is also more detailed information available, including changes that will apply from 1 January 2025, for:

• Retirement Relief (pdf)
• Retirement Relief for disposals to your child (pdf)

Property acquired between 7 December 2011 and 31 December 2014

If you dispose of land or buildings you acquired between 7 December 2011 and 31 December 2014, you can get relief from CGT in certain cases.

If the property is held for more than 7 years, relief will be given for the first 7 years.

If the property was held for less than 7 years but more than 4 years, and was disposed of after 1 January 2018, it is exempt from CGT.

For example, if the property was bought in January 2012 and sold in January 2022, the property would have been held for 10 years, so 7/10 of any gain will be relieved from CGT and 3/10 is taxable.

Other exemptions

Other exemptions from Capital Gains Tax include gains from:

• Betting, lotteries, sweepstakes and prize bonds
• Bonuses payable under the National Instalments Savings Schemes
• Government stocks
• Certain life assurance policies
• Moveable property, if the gain is €2,540 or less
• Animals
• Private motor cars

Revenue has further information on reliefs from Capital Gain Tax.

The standard rate of Capital Gains Tax is 33% of the chargeable gain you make.

A rate of 40% can apply to the disposal of certain foreign life assurance policies and units in offshore funds.

For certain windfall gains the windfall gains rate of tax (pdf) is 80%.

Deductions

You can deduct allowable expenses from the chargeable gain, including:

• Money you spent that adds value to the asset
• Costs to acquire and dispose of the asset (for example solicitor fees)

You may also be able to deduct an allowable loss you made in the same tax year.

Capital Gains Tax can be more complex than the examples above. For this reason, you should get advice from Revenue.

Revenue provides further information on Capital Gains Tax.

For disposals between:

• 1 January and 30 November, you must pay CGT by 15 December in the same tax year
• 1 December to 31 December, you must pay CGT by 31 January in the following tax year

Online

You must register for CGT and then pay online using Revenue Online Service (ROS) or myAccount.

To register for CGT:

• If you have a tax registration number, send a request through MyEnquiries
• If you have never been registered for tax, complete Form TR1 (pdf) (if you are non-resident, use Form TR1 FT (pdf) instead)

If you are not able to pay online

If you have an exemption from the requirement to file online, you can either:

• Email the Payment Accounting section of the Collector-General’s Division or
• Send your payment with CGT Payslip A (pdf) (if the disposal was in December, use CGT Payslip B (pdf) instead)

You must file a tax return for all disposals.

When you dispose of an asset, you must file a return by 31 October of the following year.

For example, if you dispose of an asset between 1 January and 30 November, payment is due by 15 December. Your return will be due by 31 October of the next year.

You can use ROS to file your Income Tax Return (Form 11) or Form 1.

You can post the Form CG1 or paper Income Tax Return (Form 12) to your Revenue office.

For further information, see revenue.ie on Capital Gains Tax or contact Revenue.