I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that there are no provisions within our tax code that provide preferential income tax, universal social charge (USC), domicile levy, capital gains tax (CGT) or capital acquisitions tax (CAT) treatment to non-residents. The tax treatment of non-residents in Ireland is in line with the position prevailing in many other jurisdictions. The general treatment under the various taxes can be summarised as follows.
Income Tax and Universal Social Charge
- Individuals who are resident in the State for a tax year are liable to Irish income tax and the USC on their worldwide income for that tax year, and
- Individuals who are not resident here for tax purposes are liable to Irish income tax and the USC on their Irish source income and on income attributable to duties of an employment exercised here.
Capital Gains Tax
- Persons who are either resident and domiciled or ordinarily resident and domiciled in the State for a tax year are liable to Irish CGT on their worldwide chargeable gains.
- Individuals who are resident or ordinarily resident in the State but are not domiciled in the State are liable to Irish income tax and CGT on income or chargeable gains arising outside the State where the income or chargeable gains are received in the State.
- Persons who are neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the State for a tax year are liable to Irish CGT on chargeable gains made on the disposal of certain Irish assets, as follows:
- assets of a business carried on by such a person in the State,
- interests in land, buildings or minerals situated in the State,
- exploration or exploitation of rights in the Continental Shelf, and
- unquoted shares which derive their value, or the greater part of their value, from any of these assets.
Capital Acquisitions Tax
- Beneficiaries who take a gift or inheritance are within the charge to CAT if the assets, the subject of the gift or inheritance, are situated in the State. This charge applies equally to both Irish resident beneficiaries of those assets and also to non-Irish resident beneficiaries of those assets.
- Beneficiaries who take a gift or inheritance are also within the charge to CAT if the assets, the subject of the gift or inheritance, are situated abroad but the individual who provides a gift or inheritance is resident in Ireland, irrespective of whether that beneficiary is Irish resident or non-Irish resident.
Domicile Levy
- The Domicile Levy applies to an individual:
- who is domiciled in the State in a tax year,
- whose world-wide income for the tax year exceeds €1m,
- whose liability to Irish income tax for the tax year is less than €200,000, and
- the market value of whose Irish property on the valuation date (i.e. 31 December) is in excess of €5m.
- The Domicile Levy applies irrespective of whether or not the individual is resident in the State.
In circumstances where double taxation would otherwise arise there are provisions for relief in accordance with the terms of relevant double taxation treaties.
