How much Capital Gains Tax could you pay when selling an investment in Ireland?
The Finorum Ireland Capital Gains Tax Calculator estimates the tax due when an Irish tax resident sells shares, cryptocurrency, investment property or other taxable assets. Enter the purchase price, sale value, eligible costs and available losses to receive an indicative calculation based on Irish rules.
Ireland generally applies Capital Gains Tax at a flat rate of 33%. However, the final liability may be reduced by the annual personal exemption, allowable expenses, capital losses and specific reliefs. Certain investments—including many Irish and offshore funds—are subject to separate tax regimes that are not covered by an ordinary CGT calculation.
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How Capital Gains Tax Works in Ireland
Capital Gains Tax is charged on the profit arising when you dispose of a chargeable asset. A disposal can include selling an asset, exchanging it, giving it away or receiving compensation for its loss or destruction.
Tax is calculated on the gain rather than the complete sale proceeds:
Capital gain = Disposal value − Acquisition cost − Allowable expenses
After deducting eligible losses and the annual personal exemption, the remaining taxable gain is generally charged at 33%.
The calculation normally begins with the asset’s market value or sale proceeds. You may then deduct its original purchase cost and qualifying incidental expenses. These can include legal fees, brokerage charges, auction fees and other costs directly connected with purchasing or selling the asset.
Capital expenditure that permanently increases the asset’s value may also be deductible, provided the improvement is still reflected in the asset when it is sold.
Routine maintenance, financing costs and personal expenses are not normally treated as part of the CGT acquisition cost.
Ireland Capital Gains Tax Rate
The standard Irish CGT rate for individuals is 33%.
Unlike income tax, standard capital gains are not normally divided between progressive tax bands. Once losses, reliefs and the personal exemption have been applied, the taxable amount is generally multiplied by 33%.
For example, suppose an investor sells shares for €40,000 after purchasing them for €25,000 and incurs €1,000 in eligible buying and selling expenses.
The initial gain would be:
€40,000 − €25,000 − €1,000 = €14,000
Assuming no other gains or losses, the €1,270 annual exemption could reduce the taxable gain to €12,730. At 33%, the estimated CGT would be €4,200.90.
Ireland also provides a reduced 10% rate under Revised Entrepreneur Relief for qualifying disposals of business assets. This is not a general reduced rate for ordinary investment portfolios. For qualifying gains arising from 1 January 2026, the lifetime limit has increased to €1.5 million, subject to ownership, employment and trading conditions. Irish Revenue: Revised Entrepreneur Relief
Annual CGT Exemption in Ireland
Individuals can generally claim an annual CGT personal exemption of €1,270.
This exemption applies to the individual rather than to every asset sold. If several taxable disposals occur during the same year, the exemption is applied against the combined net chargeable gains.
Spouses and civil partners who are both entitled to the exemption may each receive €1,270, but one person’s unused exemption cannot normally be transferred to the other.
Capital losses must be deducted before applying the personal exemption. An unused annual exemption cannot be carried forward to a later year.
The calculator applies the standard individual exemption unless you change the relevant tax details. If you have already used some or all of the exemption against another disposal during the year, enter that transaction under other annual gains or adjust the calculation accordingly.
Capital Gains Tax on Shares in Ireland
Profits from selling ordinary shares are generally subject to the standard 33% CGT rate.
The taxable gain is calculated from the sale proceeds after deducting the allowable acquisition cost and expenses directly connected with buying and selling the shares.
When shares of the same class were purchased on different dates, Ireland generally applies the first-in, first-out rule. This means the earliest shares acquired are usually treated as the first shares sold.
Special matching rules apply to shares acquired or repurchased within four weeks. If shares are sold at a loss and equivalent shares are repurchased within four weeks, that loss is generally restricted and may only be used against a future gain on the repurchased shares. These rules are intended to prevent investors from creating deductible losses while maintaining substantially the same investment position. Irish Revenue: Selling or disposing of shares
Dividends are not capital gains. They are normally taxed as income and should not be entered as disposal proceeds in the CGT calculator.
ETFs and Investment Funds Require Special Care
Not every listed investment is taxed under Ireland’s ordinary 33% CGT regime.
Many Irish-domiciled funds, European funds, offshore funds and exchange-traded funds may fall within the investment undertaking or offshore-fund rules. Depending on the product and the investor’s circumstances, returns may be subject to an exit-tax regime instead of standard CGT.
These regimes can also include an eight-year deemed-disposal rule, under which tax may become payable even though the investor has not sold the fund.
The precise classification depends on factors such as:
- The legal structure of the investment
- Where the fund is established
- Whether it is regulated
- The jurisdiction’s tax relationship with Ireland
- Whether the investment is materially equivalent to an Irish regulated fund
Because an ETF is traded on a stock exchange does not automatically mean that ordinary share CGT rules apply. Irish Revenue explicitly distinguishes domestic and foreign fund taxation from standard investment treatment. Irish Revenue: Collective investment vehicles and funds
The standard Finorum CGT route should therefore not be used as a definitive calculation for ETFs, investment funds or foreign life policies. Select the appropriate fund route where available and obtain specialist advice if the product’s classification is uncertain.
Cryptocurrency Capital Gains Tax in Ireland
An individual who holds cryptocurrency as a private investment will generally be subject to CGT when making a taxable disposal.
A disposal can occur when cryptocurrency is:
- Sold for euros or another traditional currency
- Exchanged for a different cryptocurrency
- Used to purchase goods or services
- Transferred as a gift, subject to applicable exemptions
Exchanging Bitcoin for Ether, for example, can create a taxable disposal even though no euros are received. The euro market value of the assets at the time of the exchange is required to calculate the gain or loss.
Allowable costs may include the original acquisition price and transaction fees directly related to buying or disposing of the crypto asset. Investors should retain detailed records of transaction dates, quantities, euro values, wallet transfers and exchange fees.
Where crypto activity amounts to a trade—because of its organisation, frequency, commercial character and surrounding circumstances—the profits may instead be subject to income tax. Mining, staking rewards and other crypto receipts can also require separate income-tax analysis before a later CGT disposal.
Irish Revenue provides dedicated guidance on the direct-tax treatment, valuation and record-keeping requirements for crypto assets. Irish Revenue: Taxation of crypto-assets
From 2026, Ireland’s implementation of DAC8 and the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework introduces additional reporting requirements for relevant crypto-asset service providers. These rules increase tax transparency but do not replace the investor’s responsibility to calculate and report taxable disposals. Irish Revenue: CARF and DAC8
Capital Gains Tax on Property in Ireland
A gain from selling Irish investment or rental property is generally taxable at 33%.
The calculation normally deducts:
- The property’s acquisition price
- Solicitor and professional fees related to the purchase
- Stamp duty paid on acquisition
- Qualifying enhancement expenditure
- Estate-agent and legal costs associated with the sale
Mortgage repayments are not part of the CGT acquisition cost. Interest and expenses previously deducted against rental income must also be considered carefully to prevent the same expense from receiving relief twice.
Additional procedures may apply when a non-resident sells Irish land or buildings. Depending on the transaction, a CGT clearance certificate may be required, and the purchaser may otherwise have to retain part of the consideration. Non-resident property transactions should therefore be reviewed by an Irish solicitor or tax adviser before completion.
Principal Private Residence Relief
A complete exemption may be available when the property was owned and occupied as the seller’s only or main residence throughout the ownership period.
Principal Private Residence Relief can also cover land of up to one acre surrounding the home, excluding the site occupied by the house itself.
If the property was not used as the main residence for the complete ownership period, the exemption may be apportioned. The final 12 months of ownership are normally treated as a period of occupation, provided the property qualified as the person’s principal private residence at some point.
Relief may be restricted where:
- Only part of the property was used as a home
- Part was used exclusively for business purposes
- The property was rented for part of the ownership period
- The sale price includes development value
- The land exceeds the permitted area
Rent-a-Room Relief does not, by itself, prevent a taxpayer from receiving full Principal Private Residence Relief.
The Finorum calculator provides an indicative result based on the information entered, but partial occupation and development-value cases require a more detailed apportionment. Irish Revenue: Principal Private Residence Relief
Capital Losses
Allowable capital losses can generally be deducted from chargeable gains arising in the same tax year.
If total allowable losses exceed the year’s gains, the remaining loss may usually be carried forward and used against qualifying gains in later years. Capital losses generally reduce capital gains; they cannot ordinarily be deducted from salary, rental income or other ordinary income.
Losses must be used before the €1,270 annual exemption. This means the personal exemption cannot be preserved by choosing to carry an otherwise usable loss forward.
Restrictions can apply to losses involving connected persons, negligible-value claims, exempt assets and shares repurchased within four weeks.
The calculator’s Compatible losses field is intended for losses that are legally available against the selected gain. Do not enter losses belonging to a different taxpayer or losses arising under a tax regime that does not permit offset against standard CGT.
Other Annual Gains
The Other annual gains field helps the calculator account for taxable gains already realised during the same year.
Ireland’s annual exemption applies to the taxpayer’s combined net gains, not separately to each transaction. Including other annual gains therefore gives a more realistic indication of how much exemption remains available and how losses may be allocated.
For example, if you already realised a €2,000 taxable gain earlier in the year, the annual exemption may have been fully used before the current disposal. Calculating the new transaction in isolation could otherwise understate the total tax liability.
CGT Payment and Filing Deadlines
Ireland separates the payment deadline from the return-filing deadline.
For disposals made between 1 January and 30 November, CGT is generally payable by 15 December of the same year.
For disposals made during December, payment is generally due by 31 January of the following year.
The CGT return is then normally filed by 31 October in the year following the disposal. A taxpayer who is not otherwise required to submit an income-tax return generally uses Form CG1.
Paying the tax does not replace the obligation to file the return. A return may still be required where no CGT is payable because a relief, exemption or allowable loss eliminates the liability. Irish Revenue’s 2026 payment documentation confirms the 15 December deadline for gains realised from January through November. Irish Revenue: 2026 CGTA payment form
What the Ireland CGT Calculator Includes
The calculator provides an indicative breakdown of:
- Sale or disposal value
- Original purchase cost
- Allowable acquisition and disposal expenses
- Initial capital gain
- Other annual gains
- Compatible capital losses
- Annual personal exemption
- Estimated taxable gain
- Applicable CGT rate
- Estimated Capital Gains Tax
- Net proceeds after estimated tax
It can also display an investment projection to illustrate how an investment might grow over time and how an estimated future disposal tax could affect the final value.
The projection is not a forecast. Investment returns are uncertain, and future Irish tax rates, exemptions and reliefs may change.
Calculation Assumptions
Unless a different route is selected, the calculator assumes that:
- You are an individual resident in Ireland
- The disposal is subject to ordinary Irish CGT
- The standard 33% rate applies
- The asset is held as an investment rather than as trading stock
- Entered expenses are allowable for CGT purposes
- Entered losses are available against the gain
- The €1,270 personal exemption has not already been used
- No special business, retirement, restructuring or property relief applies
- The asset is not governed by the separate fund or offshore-fund regime
Tax residence and domicile can materially affect the taxation of foreign assets and remitted gains. Cross-border cases may also involve foreign tax credits, double-tax agreements and reporting duties in more than one jurisdiction.
Important Notice
The Finorum Ireland Capital Gains Tax Calculator provides an estimate for informational purposes only. It does not constitute tax, legal or investment advice.
Irish CGT treatment can depend on the nature of the asset, residence and domicile, acquisition history, connected-party transactions, available losses and eligibility for relief. Funds, ETFs, foreign life policies, business disposals, development land and non-resident property sales can require calculations outside the standard CGT model.
Keep complete records of purchase documents, sale contracts, professional fees, improvement expenditure, share transactions and crypto valuations. For an official calculation or advice tailored to your circumstances, consult an Irish tax adviser or the Revenue Commissioners.
Ireland Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Matias Buće has a formal background in administrative law and more than ten years of experience studying global markets, forex trading, and personal finance. His legal training shapes his approach to investing — with a focus on regulation, structure, and risk management. At Finorum, he writes about a broad range of financial topics, from European ETFs to practical personal finance strategies for everyday investors.