Transferring a Site to Your Child in Ireland (2026 Guide)

General legal information for Ireland. Last updated 25 September 2026.

Giving your son or daughter a site to build a home is one of the most useful things a family with land can do, especially with house prices where they are. Done right, the transfer can be almost tax-free for you. Done wrong, it can leave your child with a large tax bill years later. This guide explains how a transfer of a site to a child works in Ireland in 2026: the tax reliefs, the conditions, the legal steps and the mistakes to avoid.

How the site-to-child relief works

Normally, when you give away land, Revenue treats you as if you had sold it at market value. That means you may owe Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at 33% on the increase in value since you acquired it, even though no money changes hands.

Section 603A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 creates an exception. A parent pays no CGT on transferring a site to a child if the child uses it to build a house that will be their only or main residence.

Who counts as a “child”?

For this relief, Revenue says a child includes your:

• son or daughter
• stepchild
• civil partner’s child
• foster child you maintained for at least five years before they turned 18 (this must be supported by more than one witness)

The transfer can come from one parent, or jointly from you and your spouse or civil partner. It can go to your child alone, or to your child and their spouse or civil partner.

The size and value limits

To qualify, the site must be:

• one acre (0.4047 hectares) or less, and
• worth €500,000 or less at the date of transfer

If either limit is exceeded, the relief does not apply at all. You would then pay CGT on the full gain, less the €1,270 annual exemption. Get a proper valuation before the deed is signed, and have the site properly mapped so the acreage is clear.

The three-year rule and clawback

This is where families get caught. The relief is clawed back if your child disposes of the site and either:

• did not build a house on it, or
• did not live in the house they built as their only or main residence for at least three years

When that happens, the CGT you avoided becomes your child’s problem. They must pay the tax you would have paid on the original transfer, as well as CGT on any increase in value while they owned it. A transfer from your child to their own spouse or civil partner does not trigger the clawback.

So before you transfer, talk openly with your child about their plans. If there is a real chance they will emigrate, sell or never build, the relief may do more harm than good. Leaving the land to them in your will may suit better, because CGT does not arise on death.

Stamp duty on a gifted site

The stamp duty exemption for sites transferred to children was abolished in December 2010. Today a site is non-residential property for stamp duty, so your child generally pays 7.5% of market value, even though it is a gift. On a site worth €80,000, that is €6,000.

There is some relief. Under the Residential Development Stamp Duty Refund Scheme (section 83D of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999), your child can reclaim up to eleven-fifteenths of the duty paid at 7.5%. This brings the effective rate down to around 2%. For a one-off house, the key conditions are:

• the full duty is paid and a stamp certificate issued first
• a valid Commencement Notice issues, and building work starts, within 30 months of the transfer
• building work is finished within 30 months of the Commencement Notice being acknowledged
• the claim covers the house and up to one acre of curtilage

The scheme was extended to 31 December 2030 by Finance Act 2025. The refund is clawed back if the house is not finished in time.

Consanguinity relief (the 1% stamp duty rate between relatives) does not usually help here. It now applies only to farmland that the recipient will farm, or lease for farming, for at least six years.

Capital Acquisitions Tax for your child

A gifted site is also a gift for Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT). Your child can receive up to €400,000 in total from their parents, over their lifetime, before CAT at 33% applies. This is the Group A threshold for gifts and inheritances received on or after 2 October 2024. Most sites fall well under this, but the value uses up part of the threshold, which may matter when your child later inherits the family home or farm.

Your child must file a gift tax return (Form IT38) if the site’s value, plus previous Group A gifts, exceeds 80% of the threshold. Where CGT is paid on the transfer (for example on a site over one acre), your child may be able to offset it against their CAT under the same-event credit, provided they keep the site for at least two years.

Our guide to transferring property to a family member covers these taxes in more detail.

The legal steps to transfer a site

1. Planning and suitability first

Before transferring, check with the local authority that planning permission is likely. Many rural councils attach local-needs or occupancy conditions, which a child from the area often meets. Confirm access, a water supply, and wastewater or percolation test results.

2. Title, mapping and rights of way

Your solicitor checks the title to the parent’s land and prepares a map of the site that meets Tailte Éireann (Land Registry) requirements. If the site is reached across the family land, the deed should grant a right of way and wayleaves for water, electricity, broadband and drainage. Without them, lenders and future buyers can have problems.

3. Consents and existing loans

If the land is mortgaged, the lender must release the site from its charge. If any part of the site falls within the family home, the transferor’s spouse or civil partner may need to consent under the Family Home Protection Act 1976 or the Civil Partnership Act 2010. Lenders to your child will also want clean title, full rights of access and services, and a site in your child’s name before they release building finance.

4. Independent advice

Parent and child should have separate solicitors. This protects the transfer against later claims of undue influence and makes sure both sides understand the tax consequences. The parent’s solicitor handles the deed and CGT return. The child’s solicitor handles title, stamp duty, CAT and registration.

5. Deed, stamping and registration

Once the deed of transfer is signed, the child’s solicitor files the stamp duty return, pays the duty and registers the site in your child’s name with Tailte Éireann. The parent includes the disposal and the section 603A claim in their CGT return, even though no tax is due.

A solicitor you instruct can handle the whole process for the person receiving the site through our set-price Voluntary Transfer of a Site service. Browse our other farm, rural land and site services.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Transferring more than one acre, which loses the CGT relief entirely
• Selling or transferring the site without building, which triggers the clawback
• Missing the 30-month commencement deadline, which loses the stamp duty refund
• Forgetting rights of way and wayleaves, which blocks mortgage approval
• Assuming a gift means no paperwork: the parent still files a CGT return, and the child may need to file an IT38

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay tax when I give my child a site in Ireland?

Usually not, if the site-to-child relief applies. Parents are exempt from Capital Gains Tax where the site is one acre or less, worth €500,000 or less, and the child builds their only or main home on it. Your child may still face stamp duty, and Capital Acquisitions Tax if the value takes them over their €400,000 Group A threshold.

How big can a site be for the site-to-child exemption?

The site must be one acre (0.4047 hectares) or less, and worth €500,000 or less. If it is larger or more valuable, the relief does not apply and the parent may pay CGT at 33% on any gain.

What happens if my child sells the site without building?

The CGT relief is clawed back. If your child sells the site without building a house on it, or without living in the house as their main home for at least three years, they pay the CGT the parent would have paid on the original transfer, plus CGT on any gain of their own. A transfer to their spouse or civil partner does not trigger the clawback.

Does my child pay stamp duty on a gifted site?

Yes, usually. Revenue treats a site as non-residential property, so stamp duty of 7.5% of market value applies, even on a gift. Your child may be able to claim back up to eleven-fifteenths of that duty under the Residential Development Stamp Duty Refund Scheme once building work starts within the time limits.

Can I transfer a site to my child and their spouse?

Yes. The CGT relief covers a transfer to your child and their spouse or civil partner, and a joint transfer from both parents. Joint ownership can also make it easier for the couple to get a mortgage to build.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Tax thresholds can change in the annual Budget. For advice on your family’s situation, read our guide to a consultation with a solicitor of your choice with an Irish solicitor.