When you buy a home in Ireland you’ll have to pay a tax called stamp duty. Here’s how stamp duty works and how much it’ll cost you.
It’s a tax you have to pay when you transfer ownership of a property and other assets in Ireland.
Stamp duty is due when a Deed of Transfer or Deed of Conveyance is required to transfer ownership. Some examples of where stamp duty might be owed include:
You can enter the purchase price of your property in our stamp duty calculator below to find out how much you’ll have to pay.
When you’re buying a home, stamp duty rates depend on the value of the property. The current rates for residential homes in Ireland are:
For example, if you bought a home for €500,000, the stamp duty due would be €5,000.
From 20 May 2021 you’ll pay a rate of 10% stamp duty if you buy 10 or more houses over a 12 month period.
Any houses bought before this date will count towards your total but you’ll only have to pay the 10% on those purchased after 20 May 2021.
Apartments, and bulk purchases made by local authorities or housing bodies are exempt from this higher rate tax.
If you’re buying a new build property then the Stamp Duty is calculated differently, and is normally a little lower.
While the stamp duty rate for new homes is the same, it is only applied to the price of the property minus VAT, which is currently 13.5%.
For example, if you bought a new build home for €500,000 the stamp duty due would be €4,405.
It depends on the transaction taking place.
In each transaction there is an accountable person who is responsible for paying any stamp duty owed.
For example, when you’re transferring the ownership of a property, it is usually the purchaser or transferee (the person buying the property) that has to pay the stamp duty.
When more than one person is classed as the accountable person, they’re jointly and severally liable.
Your exact stamp duty bill is usually calculated by your solicitor and requested before the sale is closed.
Your solicitor will then transfer the funds to the Revenue Commissioners who stamp the property deeds so they can then be registered in your name.
There are some circumstances when transactions are exempt from stamp duty altogether. These include:
There are also some reductions available when family members transfer ownership of farm land, you can find out more on the Revenue.ie website.
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It may be possible, but it will depend on your lender.
Adding your stamp duty to your mortgage will also make your mortgage more expensive and mean you’ll pay more in interest over the mortgage term.
Yes, but there are several forms of relief available from the government to reduce the amount of stamp duty farmers have to pay on certain transactions. These reliefs include:
You can find out more about these different types of relief for farmers on the Revenue.ie website.
Yes, first time buyers do have to pay stamp duty when they are classified as the accountable person. This is usually the case when buying a property.
No, you don’t normally have to pay Stamp Duty on a property you inherit from a will or under intestacy rules.
Yes, you have to pay stamp duty when you buy stocks, shares and other marketable securities traded on the Irish Stock exchange.
You don’t have to pay stamp duty on the issue of new shares.
You can find out more on the Revenue.ie website.
A residential property is any dwelling that is being used to live in. They also including buildings and parts of buildings that:
It is a stamp duty relief available to Irish farmers who are selling and then buying farmland to consolidate their holdings.
You can find out more about Farm Consolidation relief on the Revenue.ie website.