Ireland cuts standard capital gains tax rate to 31%

The resolution has provisional statutory effect

The resolution substitutes 31% for 33% in section 28(3) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and applies to disposals from 7 October. It expressly declares that the change has statutory effect under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1927. The Dáil approved the resolution by 95 votes to 64. A Finance Bill is expected to provide the subsequent legislative implementation, but the operative resolution means the 31% rate is not merely a policy proposal awaiting effect.^[1][3]

Scope and exceptions

Revenue’s updated Tax and Duty Manual states that section 28 charges capital gains tax on gains accruing on asset disposals and that, subject to statutory exceptions, the 31% rate applies from 7 October. It records 33% as the former rate through 6 October. Separate rates continue for specified categories, including certain offshore-fund and foreign-life-policy gains, venture-fund-manager gains and exit-tax cases. Development-land gains remain governed separately by section 649A.^[2]

Why the date matters for groups

The change makes the disposal date central for transactions straddling the 7 October boundary. Groups should also separate ordinary asset gains from categories subject to a specific rate and avoid applying the headline reduction to development land without checking section 649A. For cross-border businesses, the affected gain still depends on the territorial and charging rules of the Capital Gains Tax Acts; the resolution changes the standard rate rather than rewriting those scope rules.^[1][2]

Returns and implementation

Revenue announced the manual update in eBrief 142/26 and said its online corporation-tax return calculation would require an update for the new rate. Companies filing before that update may need to revisit the relevant return once the revised calculation is available. Transaction files should retain evidence of the disposal date and the rate category used, particularly where contracts, completion and consideration fall in different periods.^[3]