If you are moving or living abroad and plan on selling your Irish property as a Non-Resident Seller, are you aware of the need to apply to Revenue for clearance? This applies irrespective of the sale value, and without this clearance your solicitor must withhold your entire sales proceeds!!
There are different rules for Irish Residents and only those selling a house or apartment for €1 million or more must apply for a Revenue clearance certificate, see our blog Capital Gains Tax Clearance Certs for Property Sales for more information on this type of clearance.
A person who is neither Resident nor Ordinary resident in the tax year of which the sale of an Irish property takes place will be required to apply for non-resident clearance from Revenue.
There are particular rules for assessing your tax residence and it is necessary to look at your days in Ireland over a number of years. Sounds a little confusing, that’s because it can be. Essentially if you haven’t been in Ireland for the last year and are selling a property here then this will most likely apply to you.
If you are unsure of your tax status our friendly tax team will be able to talk it through with you. Assuming you are neither resident nor ordinarily resident then read on.
A non-resident clearance application includes the following details/forms…
Capital Gains Tax Calculation
Calculating CGT on the sale of any house is not always straightforward and there are several questions that should be considered to make sure that you are benefiting from reliefs or deductions available to you.
Non – Resident Vendor Declaration
This is a declaration that you would sign confirming that you meet the non-residency requirements and include the details on how the property was used, that any outstanding returns are submitted, and the taxes are paid on any income arising from the property.
So, if you ever rented out your property including short term rentals on an online platform like Airbnb you would need to make sure that all your Income Tax Returns are up to date and tax liabilities paid. If the property is jointly owned, then this needs to be considered for the other party(ies).
Once the application has been made Revenue may raise some queries. They do commit to responding within 35 working days (that’s 7 weeks) and after that the Solicitor can release the funds. However in our experience we’ve obtained clearance for our clients within a week of submission of a full and complete application!
Keep track of your residency days if you are frequently in and out of the country.
We recommend beginning the non-resident clearance application process as early as possible. The application cannot be made until the contract of sale is complete but ensuring that all income tax returns and liabilities arising from the use of the property are up to date means that you can begin the application as soon as possible without delay.
Our experienced tax team can assess your personal circumstances and prepare all the necessary documentation to ensure a successful application including follow up with your solicitor so that the sale proceeds can be released to you.
Would you like to be redirected to our Indian website?