The Minister announced a scheme of accelerated capital allowances for farmers for the construction of modern slurry storage facilities and extended several important agricultural reliefs that were due to expire at the end of 2022.
The following reliefs will be extended:
- Extension of Young Trained Farmer Relief from stamp duty
Young Trained Farmer Relief (section 81 Stamp Duty Consolidation Act (“SDCA”) 1999) provides for a complete exemption from stamp duty for young trained farmers on the acquisition (by gift or purchase) of farmland and associated buildings. The scheme will now be extended to 31 December 2025, pending finalisation of issues relating to the EU Agricultural Block Exemption Regulations.
- Extension of Farm Consolidation Relief from stamp duty
Farm Consolidation Relief (section 81B SDCA 1999) provides for a 1 percent rate of stamp duty on instruments which give effect to acquisitions and disposals of agricultural land where the land transactions involved qualify for a “Farm Restructuring Certificate” from Teagasc. The scheme will be extended to 31 December 2025, pending finalisation of issues relating to EU Agricultural Block Exemption Regulations.
- Farm Restructuring Relief from Capital Gains Tax
Farm Structuring Relief (section 604B Taxes Consolidation Act (“TCA”) 1997) provides relief from CGT for land transactions qualifying for “Farm Restructuring Certificate” from Teagasc. The scheme will be extended to 31 December 2025, pending finalisation of issues relating to EU Agricultural Block Exemption Regulations.
- Young Trained Farmer and Registered Farm Partnership Stock Reliefs Young Trained Farmer Stock Relief and Registered Farm Partnership Stock Relief (Part 23 Chapter 2 TCA 1997) are stock relief measures for young trained farmers and for registered farm partnerships respectively. The schemes will be extended to 31 December 2024, however the extension will be contingent on the update of the EU Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation.
Accelerated capital allowances for the construction of slurry storage facilities
The Minister announced a time-limited scheme of accelerated capital allowances for farmers for the construction of modern slurry storage facilities. The scheme will run for three years and will provide for the capital cost of the facilities to be written off over two years rather than seven years. This scheme will in turn assist Irish farmers adopt environmentally positive farming practices.
Flat-rate VAT compensation percentage for farmers reduced to 5 percent
The Minister announced that the flat-rate compensation percentage for VAT for farmers will be reduced to 5 percent (a reduction of 0.5 percent). The flat-rate scheme compensates unregistered farmers on an overall basis for VAT incurred on their farming inputs. The reduction is line with requirements under the EU VAT Directive. This change will be introduced from 1 January 2023.