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The below only applies to trades over €1,000.00. If your trades are not above that value, or are not in a series of similar trades that are higher than that value then this does not apply to you and you do not need to pay the tax or obtain an Irish TRN.

If you have any additional questions after reading through this, please do contact customer support, however note that we cannot give any legal or tax related advice.

What is Stamp Duty in Ireland?

Stamp Duty is a tax payable on certain written documents that transfer or agree to transfer ownership of property from one party to another, including in particular transfers of the beneficial ownership of shares in Irish-incorporated companies.

Who is obliged to pay Stamp Duty and under what circumstances?

Stamp Duty is payable by the Buyer of the investment should the value be higher than €1,000.00.

A stamp duty return must be filed and any stamp duty liability paid within 44 days of the transfer of shares occurring. Interest and penalties may arise where a return is filed after this deadline.

Why do I need an Irish Tax Reference Number?

In order to complete the stamp duty return, the Irish tax number of each party must be included. It is not possible to complete the stamp duty return without this information.

How do I get an Irish Tax Reference Number? (for both companies and individuals)

For Companies:

1. If a company is registered or operating a business in Ireland, they should already have an Irish Tax Reference Number. If the company is incorporated in Ireland but does not yet have an Irish Tax Reference Number (TRN), they should register by completing a Form TR2 and returning it to the appropriate Registration Unit as listed at the back of the form.
2. If a non-Irish incorporated company is trading in Ireland but is not registered for tax, they should register by completing a Form TR2 (FT) and returning it to the appropriate Registration Unit as listed at the back of the form.
3. If a foreign company is not trading in Ireland and has no other tax liability in Ireland, it can apply to the National Stamp Duty Office for a TRN for the sole purpose of being able to file a Stamp Duty return.
   • This application should ideally be made before execution of the written document, and is to StampDuty@revenue.ie.
   • The company will need to provide evidence of the company’s name, its registered address and when it was incorporated. The company’s certificate of incorporation, constitution or extract from the companies’ registrar in their jurisdiction of incorporation such suffice for this purpose.
   • The company will also need to confirm that it is not already registered for tax in Ireland and that, at the date of application, it has no taxable income, and is not trading in Ireland.

For Individuals

1. A person who is, or was previously, resident in Ireland or ever worked in Ireland should already have a Personal Public Service Number (a “PPSN”). You may also already have an Irish PPSN if you previously had to file an Irish stamp duty return (e.g. on a previous acquisition or sale of Irish shares). If you no longer have a record of this number, you should contact the Department of Social Protection.
2. A person who does not already have an Irish PPSN will need to make an application for such number to the Department of Social Protection. Details of how to make such application can be found here.

Once the PPSN has been received, the applicant must email the Revenue’s Stamp Duty office (stampduty@revenue.ie) in order to activate the PPSN on Revenue’s systems, which will enable the stamp duty return to be filed.

I owe Stamp Duty. How can I pay it to the Irish Revenue?

It is advisable to employ a tax advisor (solicitor, accountant) to file and pay a Stamp Duty on your behalf. This is because the most common method of paying the Stamp Duty to Revenue is through the Revenue Online Service (ROS), for which a ROS Digital Certificate is required to use. It is necessary to have a business tax registration to register for ROS.

Alternatively, a person can pay the Stamp Duty to Revenue by way of an Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) or by sending a cheque/bank draft to the National Stamp Duty Office.

Please note that a late payment could result in a late filing surcharge and interest on the unpaid amount.

More information on filing a stamp duty return and paying stamp duty can be found on the Revenue’s website.

Can’t I just divide up a large transaction into smaller transactions?

It is necessary to show that:

(a) the order does not exceed €1,000, AND

(b) the order is not part of a larger transaction or series of transactions where the aggregate amount exceeds €1,000.

Therefore, if a transaction worth €1,500 was divided into two transactions worth €750 each, the applicant would be required to file a stamp duty return for each transaction and pay stamp duty on each. This fee is directly connected to larger payments or a series of identical or similar smaller trades in short period that equal the higher value. The overall wallet value does not play a role and should there be unique trades that over a longer period do go above €1,000.00, these are not considered as a series and therefore may not be considered as liable for Stamp Duty.