News

The Finance Bill 2017 published on 19 October 2017 clarifies that binding contracts for the sale of non-residential property in place prior to 11 October 2017 will be stamped at 2% and not the new rate of 6% provided the sales close by the end of the year. Details on the stamp duty refund scheme for land purchased for the development of housing are still awaited and are promised at Committee Stage.

The Finance Bill also increases the threshold above which residential leases are chargeable to stamp duty from €30,000 per annum to €40,000 per annum. As rents for residential properties have increased dramatically in Ireland in recent years, residential leases were being brought into the stamp duty net inadvertently if the rents were higher than €2,500 per month. As a result of this change, residential rents will now have to exceed €3,333 per month to give rise to a stamp duty charge on the lease calculated at 1% of the average annual rent.