Revenue 'revising' guidance around €70,000 young farmer relief

Revenue is currently revising its guidance manual on stamp duty relief for young trained farmers.

The Revenue Commission will allow consanguinity relief to be applied before the Young Trained Farmer relief – it is understood that this move will significantly reduce the relief needed, according to a spokesperson for the authority.

The €70,000 ceiling on state aid relief in relation to certain agriculture tax schemes is imposed by an EU Regulation Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014.

This regulation has an automatic direct effect on member states and so is not capable of review or amendment by member states, the Revenue spokesperson said.

“However, although this ceiling on state aid remains effective, Revenue is currently revising its published guidance manual on the stamp duty element of the relief to confirm that, where a young trained farmer receives or buys farmland from certain relatives and is eligible for consanguinity relief, this relief can be applied before the Young Trained Farmer relief on the transfer of the land.

“As consanguinity relief operates by charging a reduced 1% rate of stamp duty, instead of the usual 6% rate on farmland, the amount of relief allowed – i.e. state aid granted – would be significantly reduced for many young trained farmers and ensures that they don’t breach the €70,000 ceiling,” the spokesperson added.

The revised guidance will issue in the coming weeks, tentatively by the end of next week, the representative concluded.

The change comes following the announcement of the €70,000 cumulative lifetime cap on tax relief in the Finance Bill 2018, which was unveiled back in October.