Revenue eBrief No. 187/22

17 October 2022

Tax and Duty Manual Stamp duty on certain acquisitions of residential property

Tax and Duty Manual (TDM) - Stamp duty on certain acquisitions of residential property (10% rate of duty) - contains guidance on the application of section 31E of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 (SDCA). This section provides for stamp duty to be charged on certain acquisitions of residential property at a higher rate of 10%.

The TDM has been updated as follows:

• New material has been added to the introduction, which refers to the stamp duty treatment of acquisitions of residential property by local authorities and approved housing bodies and two section 31E-related repayment schemes. 
• Section 3.3 contains additional information on the general stamp duty exemptions provided for in sections 93A and 106B SDCA, which was previously contained in section 3.4.
• Section 4.1 contains information on section 83E SDCA (repayment scheme in respect of social housing leases), which was previously contained in sections 3.3. and 8.5.
• Section 4.2 contains new information on section 83F SDCA (repayment scheme in respect of cost rental dwellings).
• Section 6 has been updated to confirm that the provisions of section 31E which deal with indirect acquisitions of residential units do not apply to apartments.
• Section 9.2 has been updated to clarify that where section 79 relief applies in respect of the acquisition of a residential unit, the acquisition is disregarded for the purpose of determining whether the 10-unit threshold has been met.