Foreign property

Acquiring a foreign property

Buying a foreign property

You may buy:

• foreign land and buildings
• foreign shares, stocks or marketable securities.

If so, you normally do not pay Irish Stamp Duty on an instrument (written document) transferring the property to you.

You must pay Irish Stamp Duty on an instrument transferring land and buildings to you if it relates to:

• Irish land and buildings
• or
• Irish shares, stocks or marketable securities unless the company concerned is a specified Irish investment undertaking.

You must pay Irish Stamp Duty on an instrument transferring foreign shares, stocks or marketable securities to you if it relates to:

• Irish land and buildings
• or
• Irish shares, stocks or marketable securities unless the company concerned is a specified Irish investment undertaking or Irish securitisation company. 

You might open a bank account in the country that you have bought the property. If you do, use Revenue Online Service (ROS) to complete a Form 11.

You must fully declare all money used to buy a foreign property to Revenue for tax purposes. If you got a loan to buy a foreign property, you must declare the money you use to repay the loan.

Value-Added Tax (VAT)

If VAT was included in the price of the foreign property, you cannot claim a refund of that VAT in Ireland.

You should contact the tax authority in the country the property is in to find out if you are due a refund.

Mortgage Interest Relief

Mortgage Interest Relief is tax relief on the interest you pay on a qualifying mortgage on your main home.

The property must be in a European Economic Area (EEA) state to qualify. If you use the loan to buy a holiday home or investment property, you cannot claim this relief. See Mortgage Interest Relief for more information.

Receiving a gift or an inheritance of foreign property

If you receive a gift or an inheritance of foreign property, you may have to pay Irish Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT). This will be the case if you, or the person that you receive the property from, are resident, or ordinarily resident, in Ireland.

A certain amount of your gift or inheritance may be tax-free. The tax-free amount depends on your relationship to the person you receive the property from.

In calculating your taxable benefit, include any previous gifts of inheritances (within the same group threshold) received since 5th December 1991.

You may also have paid tax on your gift or inheritance in the country where the property is situated. You may be able to reduce the amount of Irish CAT payable. You can do this by claiming a Double Taxation Credit when filing your CAT return.

You may receive a gift of:

• foreign land and buildings
• or
• foreign shares, stocks or marketable securities.

If so, you normally do not pay Irish Stamp Duty on an instrument (written document) transferring the property to you.

Next: Taxes paid on a foreign property