Capital Acquisitions Tax is paid by the person receiving a gift or inheritance, at 33% on the value above a lifetime tax-free threshold that depends on your relationship to whoever is giving it. This calculator applies the 2026 group thresholds, the small gift exemption, and agricultural or business relief where they apply, and flags when you need to file a return even if no tax is due.
Every benefit within the same group — Group A (child from a parent, €400,000), Group B (sibling, niece/nephew, grandchild, €40,000), or Group C (everyone else, €20,000) — counts cumulatively toward one lifetime threshold, going back to 5 December 1991. Once your aggregate benefits from a group exceed that threshold, everything above it is taxed at a flat 33%. Gifts (not inheritances) also get a €3,000 per year, per donor small gift exemption that sits entirely outside the threshold. Agricultural relief and business relief both reduce the taxable value of qualifying assets by 90% before the threshold is applied, and a qualifying inherited home can be fully exempt under the dwelling house exemption.
The person receiving the gift or inheritance pays CAT, not the estate. Each beneficiary is assessed individually against their own lifetime threshold for their relationship to the person who gave it.
Every gift and inheritance you've received from within the same group since 5 December 1991, at its taxable value after any relief was applied at the time — not the raw amount, and not reduced by tax already paid on it.
Yes, once your aggregate benefits from a group reach 80% of that group's threshold, you must file Form IT38 by 31 October of the year after the valuation date — even if the resulting tax due is zero.
It can fully exempt an inherited home from CAT if you lived there for the 3 years immediately before the inheritance, own no other property, and continue living there for 6 years afterward. It only applies to inheritances, not gifts, with narrow exceptions.
A 90% reduction in the taxable value of qualifying agricultural property, provided at least 80% of your assets after the gift/inheritance are agricultural and you meet the active farmer test. It turns, for example, a €1,000,000 farm into a €100,000 taxable value — often bringing it entirely under the threshold.
Figures are estimates for informational purposes only, based on the assumptions you enter, and are not tax advice. Consult a tax advisor or Revenue.ie before making financial decisions.