This letter was sent by a reader to our Money Mentor, Margaret Nolan.
Dear Money Mentor,
I own a holiday home near my family farm in Waterford which I bought in the year 2003 for €100,000.
Many years ago this was part of my family’s property but was sold. I have made some renovations to it over the years, costing about €50,000. I wish to sell the holiday home now and would like to know if I will have a capital gains tax liability if I do. It is currently valued at €220,000.
Regards, Mary
Hi Mary,
This holiday home is classified as an investment property so, as such you will be liable to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on any gain. I am assuming you live elsewhere. The revenue allows enhancement expenditure to be off-set against capital gains, once the enhancement is still in place when you sell. Therefore, the gain is €120,000 if you sell the property for €220,000. If all the €50,000 renovation cost is allowable as ‘enhancement’ the capital gain can be reduced to €70,000. You can deduct a personal capital gains tax exemption of €1,270 from any gain, and the balance of €68,730 is taxable at 33%. You should avail of professional tax advice before selling.
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Lad in the bank was saying he had crypto, turns out he wasn't talking about calf scour but some kind of new currency.
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The number of years of marriage Mairead Lavery will be celebrating with her husband Sean next week.
From Karen Brosnan, on corporate governance:
The best boards are those that are inclusive, comprising people from all backgrounds and walks of life and representing a wide variety of views and skills. Good boards are also strongly representative of their ‘consumers’ - the people they serve