When the Irish government introduced Section 604A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, it gave anyone who bought a property or certain shares between December 2011 and December 2014 a real incentive to hold on. Hold for seven years and the gain arising during that period was fully exempt from CGT. The scheme closed to new purchases in December 2014, but it has not expired for the people who bought within that window. A significant number of Irish property and asset owners are still sitting on qualifying assets, and many who have already sold never claimed the relief they were entitled to.
What Is the 7-Year CGT Exemption?
Section 604A of the TCA 1997 provides CGT relief on the proportion of a gain attributable to a 7-year holding period, for assets acquired between 7 December 2011 and 31 December 2014. The relief does not zero out the entire gain in every case. It applies to the fraction of the gain that arose during the qualifying 7-year period. If you held the asset for exactly 7 years before selling, the full gain is exempt. If you held it longer, 7 years worth of gain is exempt and the remaining years are chargeable at 33%.
What Assets Does It Cover?
Both land and buildings qualify under Section 604A. Shares in unquoted companies also qualify, which made the scheme broader than most similar reliefs. Quoted shares on a recognised stock exchange do not qualify. Investment properties, residential properties, commercial premises, and development land all fall within the scheme provided they were acquired in the qualifying window and the 7-year holding was met. Anyone unsure whether a specific asset qualifies should check the full list of CGT exemptions before making a disposal decision.
How the Exemption Is Calculated
The calculation multiplies the total gain by 7 divided by the total number of years held. A property bought for €200,000 in January 2012 and sold for €450,000 in January 2026 has a total gain of €250,000 over 14 years. The exempt fraction is 7 divided by 14, which is 50%. The exempt amount is €125,000 and the chargeable amount is €125,000. At the standard capital gains tax rate of 33%, that comes to approximately €41,250 before the annual exemption of €1,270. Without Section 604A, the full €250,000 gain would attract approximately €82,500 in tax. The relief saves over €41,000 on that one disposal alone.
Who Is Still Eligible in 2026?
Anyone who bought a qualifying asset in the December 2011 to December 2014 window and has since sold it is entitled to the exemption on the 7-year fraction of the gain, even if the sale happened years after the 7-year anniversary. The exemption does not disappear once 7 years passes. It applies proportionally to however long the asset was held. If you bought in 2012 and sold in 2025, you get 7 exempt years out of 13. Anyone who bought in that window and still holds the asset has a qualifying disposal waiting whenever they eventually sell.
If You Sold During the Original 7-Year Window
If you bought in January 2013 and sold in January 2020, you held for exactly 7 years and the full gain on that disposal was exempt from CGT under Section 604A, provided the asset and acquisition date conditions were met. The critical point is that this relief must be actively claimed on the CGT return. Revenue does not apply it automatically. If you disposed of the asset during the qualifying window and did not claim the relief on your return at the time, Revenue has not applied it for you and you may have overpaid CGT that can still be recovered.
If You Sold After the 7-Year Window Closed
A sale after the 7-year anniversary still qualifies for partial relief. The calculation changes but the eligibility does not end. For a property bought in 2013 and sold in 2026, the exempt fraction is 7 out of 13 years. Setting this out correctly on the income tax return requires the acquisition date, disposal date, total gain, qualifying fraction, and exempt amount to be clearly stated. Good bookkeeping records of the original purchase date and cost are what make the calculation fast to reconstruct accurately.
How to Claim It on Your Return
Section 604A relief is claimed on the CGT section of the annual return for self-assessed individuals, or on Form CG1 for PAYE workers. The CGT payment dates still apply in the normal way regardless of whether the gain is partially exempt. The Section 604A fraction calculation goes directly into the tax returns filing alongside the standard CGT computation, so it does not require a separate form or a separate submission.
Can You Claim Relief on a Past Disposal?
If a qualifying disposal happened in 2022, 2023, or 2024 and Section 604A relief was not claimed at the time, an amended return can be submitted to Revenue. The four-year window for claiming missed relief means that disposals as far back as 2022 are still within reach. For a disposal in 2022 where the full gain was taxed at 33% without the Section 604A fraction being applied, an amended return with the correct calculation can result in a meaningful refund. The window closes progressively each year, so reviewing past returns for qualifying disposals is worth doing sooner rather than later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the relief apply to rental properties held during the 7 years?
Yes. Section 604A applies to land and buildings without requiring the asset to be owner-occupied. Residential rental properties acquired in the qualifying window and held for the 7-year period qualify in full.
Can Section 604A be combined with PPR relief on the same property?
Yes. If the property was also your principal private residence for part of the period, PPR relief applies to the occupation portion and Section 604A applies to the qualifying 7-year fraction. Both can reduce the chargeable gain on the same disposal.
Does the relief apply to assets held inside a company?
The land and buildings relief under Section 604A is for individuals, not companies. Shares in qualifying unquoted companies held by individuals is a separate category under the same section.
What if the property was in joint names?
Each owner is assessed on their own share of the gain individually. Each can claim the Section 604A exemption on their own share provided the conditions are met.
We Review Qualifying Disposals and Past Returns
A missed Section 604A exemption is one of the more expensive errors on an Irish CGT return because the amounts involved on property disposals tend to be large. At Fuchsia Bell we review the acquisition history for clients selling assets from the 2011-2014 period, calculate the correct exempt fraction, and make sure the relief is fully claimed on the return. We also review past returns where qualifying disposals occurred without the relief being applied. Where a disposal also involves a business asset, tax advisory from GEroConnor covers the business side alongside us.
Talk to Us Before You Sell or Before the Window Closes
If you are planning a disposal of land, buildings, or unquoted company shares acquired between December 2011 and December 2014, the Section 604A calculation should be part of the conversation before contracts are signed. If a qualifying disposal happened in 2022 or 2023 without the relief being claimed, the window to amend that return is still open but closing. Anyone working through a property sale with a complex CGT history should read the CGT guides on GEroConnor’s site before proceeding, alongside the full range of relief options on the Fuchsia Bell capital gains pages.
