- You keep
- €7,119
- Tax
- €2,881
How it works
Capital gains tax (CGT) is charged on the gain when you sell or give away an asset, such as shares, property other than your home, or crypto. The rate is 33%, and the first €1,270 of gains each year is tax-free. Each person has their own exemption, and it can’t be carried forward to another year.
Giving something away counts too: it’s taxed as if you’d sold it for what it’s worth. Gifts to your spouse or civil partner are the exception, and pass free of CGT. What you leave when you die isn’t taxed as a gain, though the person who inherits it may pay Capital Acquisitions Tax: see our inheritance tax calculator.
Working out the gain
Your gain is what you sold the asset for, less what it cost, less the costs of buying and selling it, such as dealing or legal fees. For a property, the cost of improvements counts too.
Example: you bought shares for €8,000 and sold them for €13,000, paying €20 in dealing fees each time.
- Gain: €13,000 − €8,000 − €40 = €4,960
- Less the exemption: €4,960 − €1,270 = €3,690
- Tax at 33%: about €1,218
If you bought the same shares at different times, the first ones you bought are treated as the first ones you sold.
When to pay
| Gain made | Pay by |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 30 November | 15 December the same year |
| December | 31 January the next year |
You also report the gain on your tax return (Form 11, or Form CG1 if you don’t file one) by 31 October the next year. Paying the tax doesn’t replace the return.
Losses
Losses are set against gains in the same year first, and anything left over carries forward to later years. They can’t be carried back. If you sell shares at a loss and buy the same shares back within 4 weeks, that loss can only be used against a later gain on those shares.
Your home
Principal private residence relief usually makes the gain on your main home tax-free. If you rented it out, or lived somewhere else for part of the time you owned it, part of the gain can be taxable.
Crypto
Revenue taxes crypto gains under CGT. Selling crypto for euro, spending it, or swapping one coin for another all count as disposals, so keep a record of what you paid for each one.
Funds and ETFs
Irish and EU-domiciled funds and ETFs are taxed under exit tax instead: 38% in 2026, with a cut to 35% from 1 January 2027 announced in Budget 2027. It’s charged every 8 years even if you don’t sell, there’s no yearly exemption, and losses can’t be used. See where to invest, or work it out with our exit tax calculator.
Business owners
Revised Entrepreneur Relief cuts the rate to 10% on gains from selling a qualifying business, up to a lifetime limit.