Ireland CAT Calculator (Capital Acquisitions Tax, 2026)

Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) is Ireland's tax on gifts and inheritances -- what many people simply call "inheritance tax," even though it applies equally to lifetime gifts. It is charged at a flat 33% rate, but only on the amount you receive above a tax-free threshold that depends entirely on your relationship to the person giving or leaving you the money or property (the "disponer"). There is no CAT on your first euro received; there is CAT at a flat 33% on every euro above your threshold.

The three thresholds -- Group A, B, and C -- are not per-gift limits. They are lifetime, cumulative allowances that track every gift and inheritance you have received from anyone in that same group since 5 December 1991. Someone who received a large gift from a parent a decade ago has already used up part of their Group A threshold, even if they've forgotten about it, and a new inheritance from another parent (or grandparent transferring assets down a generation, treated as Group A in limited circumstances) is measured against what remains of that same lifetime allowance, not a fresh one.

This calculator applies the current 2026 CAT rate and group thresholds, correctly handles lifetime aggregation against prior benefits you've already received, and applies the separate €3,000-per-year Small Gift Exemption where it's relevant (gifts only, never inheritances).

1. Determine your group and threshold. Your relationship to the disponer sets which lifetime threshold applies: - Group A -- €400,000: broadly, a child receiving from a parent (and, in limited circumstances, a parent receiving from a child). - Group B -- €40,000: broadly, a sibling, niece, nephew, grandchild, or other lineal relative outside Group A. - Group C -- €20,000: everyone else -- including more distant relatives, in-laws, and unrelated individuals.

2. Apply the Small Gift Exemption, if relevant. For gifts (never inheritances), the first €3,000 per donor per recipient per calendar year is exempt and does not count toward the lifetime group threshold at all.

$$\text{Taxable Current Benefit} = \text{Gift/Inheritance Value} - \text{Small Gift Exemption (gifts only, max €3,000)}$$

3. Aggregate against prior benefits from the same group. Add this benefit's taxable value to any prior taxable gifts/inheritances received from the same group since 5 December 1991, then compare the running total to the group threshold. Only the newly-taxable slice -- the amount that pushes the cumulative total further above the threshold than it already was -- is taxed now, so any tax already assessed on prior benefits is not charged again.

$$\text{Taxable Now} = \max(0,\ \text{Prior Aggregate} + \text{Taxable Current} - \text{Threshold}) - \max(0,\ \text{Prior Aggregate} - \text{Threshold})$$

4. Apply the flat 33% rate.

$$\text{CAT Due} = \text{Taxable Now} \times 33\%$$

Example 1 -- Group A inheritance, €500,000, no prior benefits (default): - Threshold: €400,000. Taxable current benefit: €500,000 (no small gift exemption -- this is an inheritance, not a gift). - Taxable now: €500,000 − €400,000 = €100,000. - CAT due: €100,000 × 33% = €33,000.00. Net inheritance received: €467,000.00.

Example 2 -- Group B inheritance from an uncle, €60,000, no prior benefits: - Threshold: €40,000. Taxable now: €60,000 − €40,000 = €20,000. - CAT due: €20,000 × 33% = €6,600.00. Net: €53,400.00.

Example 3 -- Group A gift of €10,000, small gift exemption applied, €395,000 already received from Group A: - Taxable current benefit: €10,000 − €3,000 (small gift exemption) = €7,000. - Prior aggregate €395,000 was still under the €400,000 threshold, so nothing was taxable yet from it. - New running total: €395,000 + €7,000 = €402,000. Taxable now: €402,000 − €400,000 = €2,000. - CAT due: €2,000 × 33% = €660.00. Without the small gift exemption, the full €10,000 would have pushed the running total to €405,000, taxing €5,000 instead of €2,000 -- the exemption saves €990.00 in this scenario.

• Business Relief and Agricultural Relief. Qualifying business assets and agricultural property can reduce the taxable value of a gift or inheritance by up to 90% before CAT is even calculated. These are substantial, commonly-used reliefs not modeled here -- if farmland or a trading business is involved, the real CAT liability could be dramatically lower.
• Dwelling House Exemption. A qualifying inheritance of a family home can be fully exempt from CAT if strict conditions are met (the recipient lived there for a set period before and continues to live there after, and owns no other residential property). This calculator does not apply this exemption.
• CAT reporting and payment deadlines (pay & file). CAT for gifts/inheritances with a valuation date in the year to 31 August must generally be paid and returned by 31 October the same year; a valuation date after 31 August shifts the deadline to the following 31 October. This calculator estimates liability only -- it does not model filing deadlines or late-payment interest.
• Spousal and charitable exemptions. Gifts and inheritances between spouses or civil partners are entirely exempt from CAT, as are gifts and bequests to registered charities. This calculator assumes the recipient is a non-exempt individual in one of the three CAT groups.
• Multiple disponers within the same year. If you receive gifts or inheritances from several different people within the same CAT group in the same year, each must be aggregated against the same lifetime threshold; this calculator handles one current benefit against one prior aggregate figure at a time, so combine your figures accordingly for a fully accurate multi-source estimate.

• Treating the group thresholds as per-gift limits instead of lifetime totals. The €400,000 Group A threshold is not "up to €400,000 tax-free every time" -- it is a single lifetime allowance shared across every gift and inheritance ever received from anyone in that group since 5 December 1991.
• Applying the Small Gift Exemption to an inheritance. The €3,000 annual exemption applies only to gifts made during the disponer's lifetime -- it has no application to an inheritance received on death.
• Forgetting that a gift and an inheritance from the same person share one aggregate. If a parent gives an adult child a large gift years before their death, that gift already used part of the child's Group A threshold -- the later inheritance from the same parent is measured against whatever remains, not a fresh €400,000.
• Confusing Group B and Group C relationships. Nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and siblings fall into the more generous Group B (€40,000); more distant relationships -- cousins, in-laws, unrelated friends -- fall into Group C (€20,000), a much lower threshold that catches people by surprise.
• Assuming CAT is charged on the full amount received, not just the excess. CAT never applies to the portion of a gift or inheritance within your remaining threshold -- only euro received above that threshold is taxed at 33%.

• Revenue Commissioners: "Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) thresholds, rates and aggregation rules" and "CAT rates" -- confirming the current 33% CAT rate (revenue.ie/en/gains-gifts-and-inheritance/cat-thresholds-rates-and-aggregation-rules/cat-rates.aspx).
• Revenue Commissioners: "CAT group thresholds" -- Group A/B/C thresholds effective 2 October 2024, unchanged by Budget 2026 (revenue.ie/en/gains-gifts-and-inheritance/cat-thresholds-rates-and-aggregation-rules/cat-thresholds.aspx).
• Revenue Commissioners: "Small Gift Exemption" (revenue.ie/en/gains-gifts-and-inheritance/cat-exemptions/small-gift-exemption/index.aspx).