Revenue eBrief No. 252/25

30 December 2025

Stamp Duty Manual updated

The following documents in the Stamp Duty Manual have been updated to reflect certain amendments to the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act (SDCA) 1999 by Finance Act 2025:

• Part 5: Provisions applicable to particular instruments: Sections 31A, 31B and 50A SDCA were amended to provide that the chargeable instrument referred to in those sections, i.e. the contract or agreement for sale (section 31A), licence agreement (section 31B) or agreement for a lease (section 50A), will be deemed to be executed on the date on which the instrument becomes chargeable with Stamp Duty under those sections, i.e. the date on which the 25% payment threshold is reached.
• Part 5: Section 31E: Stamp duty on certain acquisitions of residential property: Section 31E SDCA provides for a higher rate of duty to apply where a person acquires 10 or more individual residential units during any 12-month period. Section 31E(2) was amended to clarify that where a contract or agreement for sale referred to in section 31A or an agreement for a lease referred to in section 50A comes within scope of section 31E, the date of acquisition of the residential property concerned will be the date on which the chargeable instrument is deemed to be executed in accordance with section 31A or 50A, as the case may be.
• Part 7: Exemptions and reliefs from stamp duty: has been updated to reflect Finance Act 2025 changes and to include additional guidance on the application of section 83B SDCA “Certain family farm transfers”.
• Part 9: Levies: has been updated to reflect Finance Act 2025 changes to section 125C and 126AB. It has also been updated to reflect that guidance on sections 123B, 123D and 124 SDCA is now contained in Stamp Duty Manual Part 9: Sections 123B, 124 and 123D – Levies on financial cards and bills of exchange.
• Part 9 - Section125A - Levy on authorised insurers: Section 125A SDCA provides for Stamp Duty to be levied on certain health insurance contracts entered into between health insurers and their customers. The guidance document has been updated to include the changes to the specified rates as introduced by the Health Insurance (Amendment) Act 2025 and to note that more detailed guidance on Finance Act 2025 changes to section 125A, which are to come into operation on 1 April 2027, will issue at a later date.
• Section 126AB: Further levy on certain financial institutions: Section 126AB SDCA provides for a Stamp Duty to be levied on certain financial institutions. The guidance document has been updated to reflect the Finance Act 2025 extension of the levy to the year 2026. For the year 2026, the levy will be applied at the rate of 0.1025% on the value of deposits held by each bank on 31 December 2024, to the extent that such deposits are “eligible deposits” within the meaning of the European Union (Deposit Guarantee Schemes) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 516 of 2015).