Capital Gains Tax in Ireland

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is the tax you pay on profit when you sell something that went up in value. Shares, ETFs, crypto, a second property. In Ireland the rate is 33%.

The basics

Rate. 33% on the gain (sale price minus what you paid, minus allowable costs like broker fees).

Annual exemption. Your first €1,270 of gains each year is tax-free. It doesn't roll over, so if you don't use it, you lose it.

Filing dates. Gains made from January to November are due by 15 December the same year. December gains are due by 31 January the following year. Two payment windows, one annual return.

A worked example. You bought €5,000 of an ETF, sold it three years later for €8,000, paid €30 in broker fees. Your gain is €2,970. After the €1,270 exemption, you owe 33% on €1,700, which is €561.

How Cisti calculates CGT

Cisti tracks purchase prices and current values for every holding in your investment accounts. The CGT tracker shows your unrealised gain at all times, with the estimated tax bill if you sold today. When you actually sell, Cisti uses the real disposal price and deducts allowable costs to give you the realised number.

The €1,270 exemption is applied automatically once per tax year.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the December split. Selling on 30 November and 1 December creates two different filing deadlines.
• Not tracking cost basis for old holdings. If you bought shares in 2015 and never wrote down the price, Revenue still expects you to know it when you sell.
• Selling everything in one year. If you have unrealised gains larger than €1,270, you usually want to spread disposals across tax years to use the exemption more than once.

Disclaimer: This is an approximate calculation based on publicly available rates and thresholds. Your actual tax liability may differ. Always refer to Revenue.ie for official rates and consult a tax advisor for your specific circumstances.