Legal: ‘as a trained farmer, how do I claim for stamp relief’?

Question: “I am a young trained farmer having completed the Green Cert course and I received my certificate in August 2022. I purchased some land with my husband in early 2020 and this was registered jointly in both of our names.

I am aware that a young trained farmer is exempt from paying stamp duty in certain situations. While we paid the stamp duty at the time of purchase, my intention when carrying out the Green Cert was that I would be entitled to the Stamp Duty to be reimbursed on completion of the course (as the purchase was within four years prior to the course being completed).

Can you advise me on what my position is on this matter and how do I go about reclaiming any of the stamp duty back from the purchase?

I look forward to hearing from you.”

Answer: Firstly, it is worth highlighting that there has been a recent change to the legislation whereby the time limit to obtain the qualification has been reduced from four years to three.

This applies to transfers executed on or after 15 May 2023.

However, as you purchased the land in early 2020, you continued to have four years to achieve your qualification, which you have met.

A claim for a refund must be made within four years of the date on which the deed of transfer was stamped or within four years of the date on which the qualification was achieved. As the qualification was achieved in August 2022, you should ensure that the refund claim is lodged no later than August 2026.

Revenue is statutorily prohibited from making a refund where a claim is made outside of this four-year period. The return must be amended on ROS (Revenue Online Service) and Young Trained Farmer Relief claimed.

The return will generally have been made by the solicitor who stamped the deed as part of the purchase and thus should be able to make the amendment on your behalf.

Amending a Stamp Duty Return on ROS

Before you claim a refund, you must amend a filed return. This will probably have to be done by the solicitor who originally filed the return as the stamp certificate is linked to the agent’s Revenue certificate.

Once the return has been amended, the solicitor would normally write to the National Stamp Duty Office to claim the refund and quote the Document ID. The claim must set out the basis for the refund, include a certified copy of the deed of transfer, a copy of the birth certificate, agricultural qualification, Teagasc Certificate (My Farm My Plan) and a declaration that the purchaser intends to spend at least 50% of his or her normal working time farming the transferred land and retain ownership of that land for a period of at least five years from the date of the claim.

Refund claims should be sent to:-

Customer Service Team

National Stamp Duty Office

14/15 Upper O’Connell Street

Dublin 1

D01 YT32

Conditions to avail of the Relief

Generally, to avail of the Young Trained Farmer 0% Stamp Duty Relief, the purchaser needs to have the Green Cert or its equivalent. As mentioned, a person must obtain the qualification within four years from the date the land was purchased or three years where the purchase was on or after 15 May 2023.

However, there are also other conditions that must be met. These are as follows:

Disclaimer: The information in this article is intended as a general guide only. While every care is taken to ensure accuracy of information contained in this article, Aisling Meehan, Agricultural Solicitors does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions howsoever arising. E-mail aisling@agrisolicitors.ie