Capital gains tax in Ireland: Rates, exemptions, and what business owners need to know

Published Wednesday 16 September 2026

Table of contents

• What is capital gains tax?
• Who pays CGT in Ireland?
• Current CGT rates in Ireland
• How to calculate your capital gains tax
• CGT exemptions you should know about
• Reliefs for business owners
• CGT payment deadlines and filing
• Record-keeping for CGT
• Simplify your tax record-keeping with Xero
• FAQs on capital gains tax in Ireland

Key takeaways

• The standard CGT rate in Ireland is 33%, applied to the profit you make when you sell or dispose of a capital asset.
• Every individual gets an annual tax-free exemption of €1,270 on capital gains.
• Business owners may qualify for Entrepreneur Relief, which reduces the CGT rate to 10% on qualifying gains up to a lifetime limit.
• CGT is paid in two periods: Gains from January to November are due by 15 December, and December gains are due by 31 January the following year.

What is capital gains tax?

Capital gains tax (CGT) is a tax on the profit you make when you sell or dispose of an asset. It's not charged on the full sale price; it only applies to the gain, which is the difference between what you paid for the asset and what you received when you disposed of it.

A "disposal" doesn't just mean selling something. It also covers gifting an asset, exchanging it for something else, or receiving compensation when an asset is lost or destroyed. If you've transferred ownership of a chargeable asset in any of these ways, CGT may apply.

The types of assets that are chargeable to CGT include:

• property: land, commercial buildings, and investment properties
• shares: listed or private company shares
• business assets: equipment, machinery, and goodwill
• cryptocurrency: digital assets and tokens
• some personal assets: antiques, art, and jewellery worth over a certain threshold

Your main home is generally exempt from CGT under Principal Private Residence Relief, which is covered later in this guide.

Who pays CGT in Ireland?

If you're a tax or ordinary Irish resident, you're liable for CGT on gains arising anywhere in the world. That includes profits from selling property abroad, disposing of shares in foreign companies, or receiving proceeds from overseas investments. But you may be able to offset your tax liability with foreign tax credits if you paid tax on the disposition in another country, and if you're not domiciled in Ireland, you may only face tax on assets you bring into the country.

Non-residents have a narrower obligation. They're only liable for CGT on gains from assets situated in Ireland, such as Irish land, buildings, mineral rights, or shares that derive their value from these assets. However, Revenue has special rules for ex-pats, and you may be subject to CGT on certain dispositions for the first five years you're out of the country.

Companies don't pay CGT. When a company disposes of an asset, the gain is subject to corporation tax instead. CGT applies to individuals, partnerships, and trustees.

CGT in Ireland is a self-assessed tax. That means you're responsible for calculating your own liability, filing the correct return, and paying the tax by the relevant deadline.

Current CGT rates in Ireland

The standard CGT rate in Ireland is 33%. This applies to most chargeable gains made by individuals, including profits from selling property, shares, and business assets.

There are two other rates that apply in specific circumstances:

• 40%: gains from foreign life policies and foreign investment products
• 15%: gains from venture capital funds, for individuals and partnerships
• 12.5%: gains from venture capital funds for companies

Entrepreneur Relief rate

If you're a business owner selling qualifying business assets, you could benefit from a reduced CGT rate of just 10% under Entrepreneur Relief. The lifetime limit on gains that qualify for this relief increased from €1 million to €1.5 million for disposals made on or after 1 January 2026, as announced in Budget 2026. But you only count gains made after 1 January 2016 when calculating your lifetime total.

To qualify, you'll need to meet certain conditions, including holding at least 5% of ordinary share capital in a qualifying company for a continuous period of three years. More detail on this relief is in the business reliefs section below.

How to calculate your capital gains tax

Working out your CGT liability follows a straightforward formula.

1. Start with your sale proceeds (the amount you received for the asset).
2. Subtract the original cost of acquiring the asset, including purchase costs like solicitor or auctioneer fees.
3. Subtract any allowable enhancement expenditure (money spent improving the asset).
4. Subtract any disposal costs (legal fees, valuation fees).
5. Deduct the annual personal exemption of €1,270.
6. Apply CGT at the relevant rate to whatever remains.

The types of costs you can deduct include:

• acquisition costs: the purchase price, stamp duty, and legal fees when you bought the asset
• enhancement expenditure: improvements that added value to the asset (not routine maintenance)
• disposal costs: legal fees, valuation fees, and auctioneer fees incurred when selling

If you acquired the asset before 1 January 2003, you may be able to apply indexation relief. This adjusts the acquisition cost for inflation using multipliers published by Revenue, reducing your taxable gain.

Once you've calculated your total gains for the year and subtracted any allowable losses, you can deduct the annual personal exemption of €1,270. CGT at the relevant rate applies to whatever remains.

Here's a practical example. Say you bought a commercial property for €200,000 in 2015, spent €30,000 on improvements, and sold it in 2026 for €350,000. Your legal and disposal costs were €5,000. Your chargeable gain would be €350,000 minus €200,000 minus €30,000 minus €5,000, giving you a gain of €115,000. After deducting the €1,270 annual exemption, you'd pay 33% CGT on €113,730, which comes to approximately €37,531.

CGT exemptions you should know about

Not every disposal triggers a CGT bill. Several exemptions can reduce or eliminate your liability entirely.

Principal Private Residence Relief

Your main home is fully exempt from CGT when you sell it, provided you've lived in it as your principal residence throughout the period of ownership. If you used part of the property for business purposes or rented it out for a period, a proportional amount of the gain may still be chargeable. You typically also get an exemption if you provided a personal residence to a widowed parent or incapacitated relative to live in for free, as their only residence.

Spousal and civil partner transfers

Transfers of assets between spouses or civil partners are exempt from CGT, but generally, you must be living together. There's also an exemption if the transfer is part of a divorce agreement. The receiving spouse takes on the asset at the original acquisition cost, so CGT will apply when they eventually dispose of it to someone else.

The 7-year property exemption

Properties purchased between 7 December 2011 and 31 December 2014 may qualify for a special exemption if they were held for at least four years. Under this relief, any gains attributable to the first seven years of ownership are exempt from CGT. If you held the property for more than seven years, only the gain attributable to the period after the seventh year is chargeable.

Assets passed on death

When someone dies, there's no CGT charge on the assets they leave behind. The person who inherits the asset is treated as having acquired it at its market value on the date of death. However, Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) may apply to the inheritance if it's over the heir's lifetime tax-free threshold.

Small disposals exemption

If you sell moveable property (such as jewellery, art, or furniture) for €2,540 or less, the disposal is fully exempt from CGT. This exemption covers moveable property only; land, buildings, and shares fall outside its scope.

Reliefs for business owners

If you're selling or transferring business assets, several reliefs are designed to reduce the CGT burden.

Entrepreneur Relief

Entrepreneur Relief offers a reduced CGT rate of 10% on gains from the disposal of qualifying business assets. From 1 January 2026, the lifetime limit on qualifying gains increased to €1.5 million, up from the previous limit of €1 million for assets disposed of after 1 January 2016. This change was introduced in Budget 2026 to encourage business investment and entrepreneurship. You only need to include asset disposals after 1 January 2016 in your lifetime total.

To qualify for Entrepreneur Relief, you'll need to meet all of the following conditions:

• Hold: at least 5% of the ordinary share capital in a qualifying company for a minimum of three continuous years in the five years before disposal
• Be: a director or employee of the company who spends at least 50% of their working time in the business in a managerial or technical capacity
• Dispose of: chargeable business assets, including shares in a trading or holding company in a qualifying group or assets owned by a sole trader and used in their trade

The €1.5 million limit is a cumulative lifetime limit for assets disposed of in 2016 or later. Once your total qualifying gains reach this threshold, any further gains are taxed at the standard 33% rate.

Retirement Relief

If you're aged 55 or older and disposing of qualifying business or farming assets, Retirement Relief could eliminate your CGT bill entirely. You don't have to retire to get the relief, but you must meet the requirements and be aware of the limits, which depend on who you're transferring the assets to:

• Transfers to a child: full relief on disposals up to €750,000 in market value (€500,000 if you're 70 or older)
• Transfers to a non-child: full relief on disposals up to €10 million in market value (€3 million if you're 70 or older)

For Retirement Relief, Revenue defines your child as your son, daughter, stepchild, child of a civil partners, adopted child, child of a deceased child, niece or nephew who worked for the farm for at least five years before the disposal, or a foster child who you supported for at least five years before they were 18.

If you're over the €10 million threshold on a disposal to a child, you can defer the capital gains tax on the amount over that threshold. But you must claim the deferral on a capital gains return filed for the year of disposal, and if your child disposes of the farm within 12 years, they'll owe the deferred tax. Additionally, if your child disposes of the farm within six years, they'll have to pay the capital gains tax on your original disposal as well as the tax they incur on their disposal.

Transfer of a business to a company

If you're incorporating your business by transferring it to a company in exchange for shares, CGT can be deferred. The gain is effectively rolled over into the new shares, meaning you won't pay CGT until those shares are eventually sold or otherwise disposed of.

CGT payment deadlines and filing

CGT in Ireland operates on a split-year payment system, which means you may need to pay twice during the tax year. The two payment periods work as follows:

• Initial period (1 January to 30 November): Any CGT arising from disposals during this period must be paid by 15 December of the same year.
• Later period (1 to 31 December): Any CGT arising from disposals in December must be paid by 31 January of the following year.

In addition to paying the tax, you're required to report the gains on your annual income tax return or using Form CG1 if you don't file an income tax return. This is due by 31 October of the year following the tax year in which the disposal took place. For example, if you sold an asset in 2026, your Form CG1 is due by 31 October 2027 – alternatively, if you file an income tax return, you must report that sale on your income tax return due on that date. Sole traders who file online using Form 11 may have until mid-November to file.

You can file your return and make payments through Revenue's online service if you're self-employed or reporting capital gains for a trust. If you're a PAYE taxpayer or someone who doesn't normally file a tax return, you can file through the mail using Form CG! Or the Form 12 paper version. Revenue has more guidance on how to file and which form to use based on the situation.

Late filing or payment can result in penalties and interest charges. Interest on overdue CGT is currently charged at 0.0219% per day (approximately 8% per year). The penalty is 5% of the tax if you're under 60 days late or 10% for over 60 days.

Record-keeping for CGT

Keeping accurate records is essential for correctly calculating your CGT liability and for proving you're entitled to any exemptions or reliefs you've claimed.

You should retain all records relating to asset purchases, improvements, and disposals for at least six years from the end of the tax year in which the disposal took place. The types of records you'll need include:

• purchase records: contracts, receipts, and proof of payment
• improvement receipts: documentation for any enhancement expenditure you plan to deduct
• disposal records: sale contracts, solicitor correspondence, and proof of proceeds
• valuation reports: required if the asset was inherited, gifted, or transferred at market value
• tax filings: copies of Form CG1 and any supporting calculations

Using accounting software can make this significantly easier. Cloud-based tools let you track costs, store receipts digitally, and maintain an organised financial record that's ready when you need to calculate a gain or respond to a Revenue query.

Simplify your tax record-keeping with Xero

Staying on top of your financial records doesn't have to be a burden. Xero's cloud accounting software is built for Irish small businesses, giving you real-time visibility of your finances so you can track costs, store digital records, and keep everything organised for tax time.

With automated bank feeds, smart categorisation, and easy-to-use reporting, you'll spend less time on admin and more time running your business. And when it comes to working with your accountant on CGT calculations, having clean, up-to-date records makes the whole process smoother.

Get one month free and see how Xero can help you take control of your finances.

FAQs on capital gains tax in Ireland

Here are answers to some of the most common questions about CGT in Ireland.

What is the CGT rate in Ireland in 2026?

The standard rate is 33%, but this can vary depending on the asset type and any reliefs you qualify for. Speaking with a tax advisor before a disposal can help you identify the most tax-efficient approach.

Do you pay CGT on your home in Ireland?

Your principal private residence is exempt, but partial business use or periods of rental can create a proportional liability. If you're planning to sell a home you've used partly for business, get a valuation of the business-use portion early.

What is the annual CGT exemption in Ireland?

The €1,270 annual exemption applies per individual, per tax year. Married couples each get their own €1,270 allowance, but the exemption can't be transferred between spouses.

What is Entrepreneur Relief and do you qualify?

It's a reduced 10% CGT rate for qualifying business asset disposals. You can apply for it through your Form 11 for sole traders and partners, CT1 for companies, or the paper CGT return (Form CG1) for non-registered or non-trading individuals. It's worth consulting an accountant to confirm your business structure meets the qualifying conditions.

When do you need to pay CGT?

Payment follows a split-year system, so you may need to pay twice in one tax year. If you miss a deadline, interest accrues at 0.0219% per day, so setting calendar reminders for 15 December and 31 January is a practical safeguard.

Can you offset capital losses against capital gains?

Yes, allowable losses can be offset against gains in the same year, and unused losses carry forward indefinitely. Keeping a running record of losses across tax years ensures you claim every available offset.