Exemption on retirement benefits

If you receive retirement benefits, redundancy payments or pension payments from your employer, you do not need to pay Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) on these payments.

Revenue may not allow this exemption if the payments are too high and:

• you are related to your employer
• your employer is a private company in which you have control.

If you receive a benefit from the pension scheme of another person, you must pay CAT on this benefit because it is not received from your employer.

Exemption on inheritance of retirement benefits

If, following the death of a parent, you inherit part of a retirement fund, you will pay:

• CAT, but not Income Tax (IT) (if you are under 21)
• IT, but not CAT (if you are 21 or older).

This CAT exemption also applies if you receive an inheritance from a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA).