When does a charge to Stamp Duty arise? | The stamp duties chargeable in Ireland fall into two main categories. 1. The first comprises the duties payable on a wide range of legal and commercial documents, including (but not limited to) conveyances of property, leases of property, share transfer forms and certain agreements. The duties in this category are denoted by means of stamps affixed to or impressed on the document affected and, depending on the nature of the document, may be either ad valorem or of fixed amount. 2. The second category comprises duties and levies payable by reference to statements. These duties and levies mainly affect banks and insurance companies and include a duty in respect of financial cards (e.g. Credit, ATM, Laser and Charge cards) and levies on certain insurance premiums and certain statements of interest. Guidance Notes in relation to financial cards. |
| Certificates to be included in deeds | This guide can be used to direct you quickly to the correct certificates that need to be included in your client's instruments. It covers the most common residential and non-residential property transfers. Certificates to be included in Deeds |
| Companies Capital Duty | Transactions involving capital companies effected on or after the 7 December 2005 are no longer liable for the 0.5% Companies Capital Duty which was abolished in Budget 2005. For transactions effected on or after 7 December 2005 the relevant Form B5 should be filed directly with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) together with the CRO fee of €15 (increased from €12 in respect of forms filed on or after 1 December 2005). For transactions effected before 7 December 2005 the relevant Form B5 should be submitted to the Revenue Commissioners (see address below) together with the appropriate duty and interest and the CRO filing fee of €15 (increased from €12 in respect of forms filed on or after 1 December 2005). |
| Residential Property | The most common charge to stamp duty which affects individuals is the stamp duty on the purchase of residential property; i.e. houses and apartments. The amount of stamp duty payable depends on:
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| First Time Buyer | A first time buyer is a person who has not previously purchased or built a house or apartment anywhere in the world and who is purchasing a house or apartment for use as their principal place of residence. Where there is more than one buyer, each of the buyers must be a first time buyer to obtain the stamp duty exemptionfor first time buyers. The benefit obtained where the first time buyer exemption applies is subject to clawback provisions. First Time Buyer FAQ |
| Owner Occupier | An owner occupier is a person who purchases a new apartment or house for use as their principal place of residence (PPR) and no rent, other than rent obtained under the rent-a-room scheme, is derived from the property for a period of five years from the date of the current purchase. This relief is subject to clawback provisions. |
| Rates of Duty for Residential Property | The rates of duty applicable for residential property (whether new or second-hand) are as follows: Table 1 |
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| Former Rates of Stamp Duty N.B. The Rates above apply to the entire consideration or value of the property, e.g. :(a) Where the consideration for a property is €350,000 (and the purchaser is not a first-time buyer) the stamp duty would be €21,000 (€350,000 @ 6%) (b) Where the consideration for a property is €850,000 (and the purchaser is not a first time buyer) the stamp duty liability would be €76,500 (€850,000 @ 9%) (c) Where the consideration for a property is €550,000 and the purchaser is a first time buyer the stamp duty exemption for FTB would apply and no stamp duty would be due. | |
| New Houses and Apartments | Under Floor Area of 125 sq. m New houses or apartments which are purchased by an owner occupier (including a first-time buyer) where there exists a valid floor area compliance certificate issued by the Department of Environment and Local Government stating that the total floor area of the house/apartment does not exceed 125 square metres are exempt, subject to clawback. Purchasers of houses/apartments under 125 sq. m which do not have a valid Floor Area Compliance Certificate will not be eligible for relief from stamp duty. Over Floor Area of 125 sq. m New houses or apartments which are purchased by an owner occupier where the total floor area exceeds 125 square metres are charged with duty, at the appropriate residential property rate as per the table above, on the site value (excluding VAT) or one quarter of the total value of the house including the site (excluding VAT), whichever is the greater, subject to clawback. The size of the floor area must be certified by a qualified architect, engineer or surveyor. A charge to stamp duty will not arise for first time buyers who are owner-occupiers of such houses. |
| Clawback | A clawback arises if rent is obtained from the letting of the house or apartment within a period of 5 years from the date of the conveyance or transfer, other than under the rent-a-room scheme. The clawback amounts to the difference between the higher stamp duty rates and the duty paid and it becomes payable on the date that rent is first received from the property. A clawback will not arise where the property is sold to an unrelated third party during the 5-year period. The following form should be completed to notify the Revenue Commisssioners of the receipt of rent Stamp Duty Clawback (PDF - 65KB) Stamp Duty Clawback (MS Word - 31KB) |
| Rent-a- room-scheme | Under this scheme there is no clawback of the first time buyer or owner occupier reliefs where rent is received by the person in occupation of the house or apartment, on or after 6 April 2001, for the letting of furnished accommodation in part of the house or apartment. Provided that the purchaser continues to occupy the house as his or her PPR for the relevant period, a clawback of stamp duty will not arise even where the rent received is in excess of the annual threshold (€7,620) which applies for income tax purposes. |
| Investors | New houses or apartments (whether under or over a floor area of 125 sq. m) which are purchased by investors are charged to duty on the entire price paid (exclusive of VAT) for the house or apartment. |
| VAT & Stamp Duty | Stamp duty is assessed on the VAT exclusive consideration, Sections 48 and 56 of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 provide that the chargeable consideration for stamp duty purposes is to exclude any VAT chargeable under Section 2 of the VAT Act 1972 on the sale or lease. Where VAT is included in the consideration, it should be deducted before calculating the charge or rate of stamp duty. |
| Sites | 1.Where an individual purchases a site in connection with, or as part of, an arrangement to build a house or apartment on that site then stamp duty will be charged, subject to the reliefs referred to above, based on the aggregate amount of the site cost and the building cost at the appropriate residential property rate. 2.Where an individual purchases a site with no connected agreement to build a house or apartment, the transfer of the site is chargeable at the non-residential rates in the table below. 3.The transfer of a site from a parent to child is exempt from stamp duty where the site transfer is for the purpose of constructing a house which will be the child’s main residence. The value of the site must not exceed €254,000 and the area must be less than .4047 hectare (1 acre) exclusive of the area occupied by the house itself. |
Stamp Duty on Non-Residential Property | Non-Residential Property is basically any property other than residential property, stocks or marketable securities or policies of insurance. It includes (but is not limited to) sites, offices, factories, other business premises, shops, public houses, land and goodwill attaching to a business.The following rates are applicable to non-residential property: Table 2 |
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Leases | A lease is chargeable to stamp duty on both the premium (or fine) and the rent payable under the lease.The duty chargeable on the premium is at the rate for residential or non-residential property as appropriate (as per tables above).The duty on the rent is as follows: Table 3 |
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| A lease of a house or apartment for a term not exceeding 35 years or for any indefinite term and where the rent does not exceed €19,050 per annum is exempt from stamp duty. | ||||||
| Share Transfer Forms | A transfer of stock or marketable securities of any company incorporated in the State is liable to stamp duty at 1% of the consideration paid. Where the transfer takes place electronically through the CREST system a 1% charge also arises. | |||||
| Other Exemptions and reliefs |
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Other Items Liable to Stamp Duty |
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