Inheritance Tax in Ireland 2026: CAT Thresholds, Rates and Exemptions

If you receive an inheritance or a substantial gift in Ireland, the tax that applies is capital acquisitions tax, usually shortened to CAT. There is no separately named 'inheritance tax' in Irish law: CAT covers both gifts and inheritances, and it is the person who receives the benefit, not the estate, who pays it.

CAT is charged at a flat 33%, but only on the amount above a tax-free threshold set by your relationship to the giver. A child can take €400,000 from their parents over a lifetime before any tax arises; an unrelated friend crosses into tax at just €20,000. This guide covers the current thresholds, the group rules, lifetime aggregation, the main exemptions and reliefs, and the filing deadlines.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page is general legal information for the Republic of Ireland, not legal advice.

For a quick answer on your own figures, use our free Ireland inheritance tax calculator. It applies the current thresholds, the 33% rate and the lifetime aggregation rules for you.

What is capital acquisitions tax?

Capital acquisitions tax is the Irish tax on gifts and inheritances. It is administered by Revenue and paid by the beneficiary, the person who receives the benefit, not by the giver or the estate.

The rate is 33% for benefits taken on or after 6 December 2012, and it applies only to the value above your tax-free group threshold. Inherit €420,000 from a parent and you are taxed on the €20,000 above the €400,000 Group A threshold: a bill of €6,600.

CAT applies in the Republic of Ireland only. Estates in Northern Ireland fall under the UK inheritance tax system, which works on entirely different rules.

What are the CAT thresholds in 2026?

There are three group thresholds, and the one that applies depends on your relationship to the disponer, the person who gives you the gift or inheritance.

These figures apply to gifts and inheritances taken on or after 2 October 2024; benefits taken between 9 October 2019 and 1 October 2024 used the previous thresholds of €335,000, €32,500 and €16,250. Budget 2026, announced in October 2025, made no change, so these remain the figures in force as of July 2026.

Who is in each CAT group?

Group A: children (€400,000)

Group A covers a child of the disponer: adult children, adopted children, stepchildren, and in some cases foster children. A child of the disponer's civil partner also qualifies.

Two less obvious rules: a minor child (under 18) of a deceased child can take Group A on a benefit from a grandparent, and a parent who inherits full ownership from their own child takes Group A. A gift from a child to a parent, or an inheritance of only a limited interest, is Group B.

Group B: the wider family (€40,000)

Group B covers brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, grandparents and great-grandparents, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren: lineal ancestors and descendants generally.

Note that the direction of the benefit matters. A niece or nephew taking from an aunt or uncle is Group B, but an aunt or uncle taking from a niece or nephew is Group C.

One targeted relief here: the favourite nephew or niece relief can lift business assets to Group A where the niece or nephew worked in the disponer's business for the 5 years before the benefit, at more than 24 hours a week, or more than 15 hours in a small family-run operation.

Group C: everyone else (€20,000)

Group C is every relationship outside A and B: uncles and aunts, grandnephews and grandnieces, cousins, in-laws, neighbours, friends and unrelated people. Cohabiting partners have no special CAT status and fall into Group C, which can mean severe tax bills between long-term unmarried couples.

One helpful rule: on a benefit from a relation of your deceased spouse or civil partner, you step into the group your late spouse or civil partner would have had in relation to that disponer.

How does lifetime aggregation work?

Your group threshold is a lifetime limit, not a per-gift allowance. Each time you take a benefit, you add up all taxable gifts and inheritances taken within the same group since 5 December 1991, from any source in that group.

A worked example. In 2020 you received a taxable gift of €150,000 from your mother (Group A). In 2026 you inherit €350,000 from your father, also Group A. Your lifetime Group A total is now €500,000, which exceeds the €400,000 threshold by €100,000, so CAT of 33% on €100,000 falls due: €33,000. Nothing was due in 2020 because your running total was still under the threshold.

Aggregation is per group, not per person: a €30,000 inheritance from an aunt and a €15,000 gift from a brother draw down the same €40,000 Group B threshold.

Because the arithmetic depends on your full history since 1991, the inheritance tax calculator is the cleanest way to estimate a bill; it aggregates prior benefits and credits tax already paid on them.

Worked examples at the current thresholds

What is the small gift exemption?

The first €3,000 of gifts you take from any one person in a calendar year is exempt from CAT. It applies per giver, so two parents can hand a child €6,000 a year between them with no tax consequences.

Three points matter: it covers gifts only, never inheritances; no return is needed to claim it; and exempt amounts never count toward your lifetime threshold, which makes regular small gifts one of the simplest legitimate planning tools available.

Are spouses and civil partners exempt?

Yes. Gifts and inheritances between spouses and between civil partners are fully exempt from CAT, whatever the amount, and they use up none of your thresholds.

There is also a targeted exemption for bereaved parents: a parent's inheritance from their child is fully exempt if, in the previous 5 years, the child had taken a non-exempt gift or inheritance from either parent.

Can you inherit the family home tax free?

The dwelling house exemption can make an inherited home entirely exempt from CAT, but every condition must be met. For inheritances taken on or after 25 December 2016, all of the following must apply:

• The house was the disponer's only or main home at the date of death (relaxed where the beneficiary is a dependent relative).
• You lived in the house as your only or main home for the 3 years immediately before the inheritance.
• You own no interest in any other house at the date of the inheritance, and you do not acquire one from the same disponer before the valuation date.
• You continue to occupy the house as your only or main home for 6 years afterwards.

The 6-year condition is waived if you are 65 or over when you inherit, if an employer requires you to live elsewhere, or if you have a certified medical need to move, such as into a nursing home; our Fair Deal scheme guide covers that situation. Breaching the conditions without an excuse triggers a clawback.

For gifts, the exemption is much narrower: since 25 December 2016 a gifted house qualifies only where the recipient is a dependent relative of the giver.

Agricultural relief and business relief

Agricultural relief reduces the taxable value of qualifying agricultural property by 90% for CAT purposes, so tax is calculated on just 10% of the market value. Detailed qualifying conditions and clawback rules apply, so take advice before relying on it.

Business relief works in a similar way, reducing the taxable value of qualifying business property by 90%, again subject to detailed conditions. Claiming either relief always requires a CAT return, even where your benefit sits below the normal filing threshold.

When do you have to file and pay CAT?

You must file a CAT return, Form IT38, once your aggregated benefits within a group pass 80% of the threshold: €320,000 for Group A, €32,000 for Group B and €16,000 for Group C. A return is also always required when claiming agricultural or business relief.

The IT38 is filed online through Revenue's myAccount or ROS. A simplified IT38S is available where you claim no reliefs other than the small gift exemption, the benefit is unconditional and it comes from a single disponer.

The deadline turns on the valuation date. If it falls between 1 January and 31 August, you file and pay by 31 October of that year; between 1 September and 31 December, by 31 October of the following year. Revenue announces an extended ROS pay and file date each year, so check whether it applies to CAT returns for your valuation date before relying on it.

For inheritances, all of this runs alongside the estate administration itself: the personal representative must file Revenue's SA.2 Statement of Affairs and extract a grant before anything is distributed. Our guide to the probate process in Ireland walks through those steps, and the rest of our Ireland legal guides cover related topics.

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information about capital acquisitions tax in the Republic of Ireland and is not legal or tax advice. Thresholds, reliefs and deadlines can change, and the reliefs carry detailed conditions and clawback rules. For your own situation, check the current guidance published by Revenue or consult a solicitor or tax adviser.