Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2023
185. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of taxpayers liable to stamp duty on leases for a term of less than 35 years in each of the years 2011 to 2023, disaggregated by leases executed before and on/after 25 December 2017, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51136/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Stamp Duties Consolidation Act (SDCA) 1999 provides for a charge to stamp duty on certain written documents, referred to as “instruments”, that are listed in schedule 1 to the SDCA 1999. The Lease head of charge is included in this list. Under the lease head of charge, stamp duty is payable on the rent payable on a lease. The rate payable depends on the period of the lease:
• A term not exceeding 35 years or of indefinite duration is charged at 1% of the average annual rent. This generally includes annual leases which roll over.
• A term exceeding 35 years but not exceeding 100 years is charged at 2% of the average annual rent.
• A term exceeding 100 years is charged at 12% of the average annual rent.
Where a lease of less than one year is entered into, the stamp duty will be based on the total rent payable and where a lease is for greater than one year, stamp duty is payable on the average annual rent.
The lessee is liable to pay the stamp duty on the lease by filing a stamp duty return through ROS or MyAccount.
As stamp duty applies to written documents, an oral agreement to reside in a property would not be liable to stamp duty. However, it is noted that a contract for a lease or tenancy must be evidenced in writing in order for it to be enforceable in court (section 51 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009).
An exemption applies in respect of leases of houses and apartments where the term of the lease is for less than 35 years or is for an indefinite term and the annual rent is less than €40,000. The current €40,000 limit was put in place by Finance Act 2017, having previously been €30,000. The exemption is designed to ensure only high rents are liable, so it is set at a level to ensure only those rents at the top end of the market are subject to the stamp duty on residential leases. Reflecting this, section 67 of Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023, proposes to increase the current threshold to €50,000 per annum to take account of increases in rents since the €40,000 limit was introduced, so maintaining the position of the stamp duty applying to only the highest cohort of annual rents.
I am informed by Revenue that the available information is as shown in the table below. Statistics for 2023 are not yet available.
Number of Stamp Duty returns by year for leases under 35 years
|
Executed prior to 25th December 2017 |
Executed on/post 25th December 2017 |
|
|
2011 |
6,494 |
0 |
|
2012 |
6,701 |
0 |
|
2013 |
6,062 |
0 |
|
2014 |
6,488 |
0 |
|
2015 |
9,204 |
0 |
|
2016 |
9,487 |
0 |
|
2017 |
9,672 |
0 |
|
2018 |
1,402 |
8,214 |
|
2019 |
462 |
9,070 |
|
2020 |
226 |
8,168 |
|
2021 |
133 |
10,044 |
|
2022 |
70 |
10,422 |
