Buying/Renting a House/Apartment in Ireland

• Tax Relief at Source (House Loan Interest)
• Stamp Duty
• Renting
• Personal Property:
  • Transferring Residence
  • Importing a Car

Buying a House in Ireland

When you move to Ireland you may decide to buy your own home or apartment. If you do, some of these points will be of interest to you. If you take out a loan to buy your house you may qualify for tax relief.

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Tax Relief at Source (Home Loan Interest Relief)

Tax relief is available on interest paid on a loan used to purchase your principal place of residence. The tax relief is granted at source. This means that the tax relief element on the mortgage interest will be "built into" your monthly mortgage repayment. Therefore, it will not be necessary to claim relief in the annual tax return or to contact Revenue.

The overall annual limits are:

The higher limits for first-time buyers apply for the tax year in which the mortgage is taken out plus the six subsequent tax years.

If you are making mortgage repayments and are not receiving Tax Relief at Source (TRS), you should contact TRS Section, Collector-General's Division at LoCall 1890 46 36 26 who will arrange for the relief to come into effect or apply online for mortgage interest relief (TRS)

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Stamp Duty

If you buy a house when you move to Ireland you may have to pay Stamp Duty which is a tax based on the value of the property. For further information contact Stamp Duty Section at LoCall 1890 482 582.

See our list of Residential and Non Residential Property Rates of Stamp Duty.

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Renting Property

If you decide to rent a property from a landlord, you may qualify for tax relief on the rent paid. Relief is due at the standard rate of tax (20%) for 2008 subject to the following maximum limits:

Relief can be claimed by completing Form Rent 1 (PDF, 244KB)

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Rent a Room

Where an individual lets a room (or rooms) in his or her sole or main residence as residential accommodation, the income may be exempt from income tax where the aggregate of the gross rents and any sums for meals or other services supplied in connection with the letting is below a certain threshold, (€10,000 for the tax year 2010 & 2011). This relief is subject to a number of conditions. Please refer to IT 70 A Revenue Guide to Rental Income for further information.

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Personal Property - Transferring residence from outside the European Union (EU) to Ireland.

In what circumstances may I obtain relief from import charges in respect of personal property?

To obtain relief from import charges (viz. customs duty and VAT) in such cases:

• the person transferring residence must have had his/her place of normal residence outside the EU for a continuous period of at least 12 months,
• personal property must have been in the possession of and used by the person transferring residence for a minimum period of 6 months, prior to the transfer of residence and must be imported within 12 months from the date of transfer of residence,
• goods imported free of import charges under transfer of residence provisions must not be hired out, lent, sold or otherwise disposed of by the person transferring the residence for 12 months after their importation.

The above details outline the circumstances in which a person coming from abroad to take up residence in Ireland may obtain relief from tax in respect of a motor vehicle brought from abroad as his/her personal property. Tax means Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT). It also covers import charges (i.e. Customs duty and VAT) in the case of a transfer from outside the European Union.

In order to qualify for relief certain requirements must be met in regard to:

• residency, both here and abroad, and
• the motor vehicle in respect of which relief is claimed.

What are the requirements relating to the motor vehicle?

The following requirements apply to the vehicle:

• it must be your personal property,
• it must have been acquired with all the appropriate local taxes paid and these must not have been exempted, or refunded in any way. (There are certain exceptions in the case of diplomats and members of international organisations recognised by the Department of Foreign Affairs),
• you must have had possession of and have actually used the vehicle outside the State for at least 6 months before your transfer to Ireland. In the case of relief from import charges, you must have used the vehicle at your former normal place of residence. Any possession and use in the State, even during times when you were living abroad, does not count,
• you must bring the vehicle into the State within 12 months of the date of your transfer of residence.

For further details see Leaflet VRT3

(Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF )

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