No stamp duty for first time buyers in Ireland

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by Kay Murchie

Due to a new legislation in Ireland, stamp duty will be a thing of the past for first time buyers who bought a property on or after March 31st 2007.

Brian Cowen, the Irish Finance Minister, has made first time buyers exempt from stamp duty on property purchases. First-time buyers have already benefited in Ireland from stamp duty concessions, with the tax kicking in at a higher threshold for them than for previous homeowners.

Previously, first time buyers paid 3% stamp duty on properties priced €317,500-€381,000. This increased to 6% for properties up to €635,000. For properties over €635,000, 9% was paid.

Stamp duty will be zero, given that the new or second-hand property is the sole or primary residence of the purchaser and the floor area does not exceed 125 square meters.