Tax Clearance for Non-Residents Selling Irish Property

If you’re non-resident and selling property in Ireland, the “tax clearance” issue that most often causes delays.

Handled early, it’s usually straightforward. Left late, it can hold up the release of your money.

Why Revenue clearance matters for non-resident sellers

Revenue states that gains on Irish “specified assets” (including land/buildings in the State) are within Irish CGT even if the seller is non-resident.

The important practical point is this: a representative in Ireland (commonly your solicitor) can be assessed in their own name where the non-resident seller doesn’t pay the tax due — that’s the “secondary liability” risk sections 1034/1043 are designed to protect against.

So Revenue provides a formal clearance process to allow the representative to distribute the proceeds safely.

The “35 working day” rule (and deemed clearance)

Revenue’s manual is clear:

• Your representative (Tax Agent or Solicitor) submits a complete and accurate clearance request about distributing proceeds.
• Revenue undertakes to respond within 35 working days if it needs more information or plans a compliance intervention.
• If Revenue does not issue either of those within 35 working days, deemed clearance applies - meaning the representative is considered to have met their obligations and secondary liability will not apply.
• If Revenue does contact within the 35 days and the representative distributes anyway, risk may still apply.

How clearance requests are submitted (and who submits them)

This is a common misunderstanding: the taxpayer should not submit the request.

Revenue states the request must be made by the representative (e.g., Tax Agent or Solicitor) via ROS MyEnquiries.

The submission triggers an automated acknowledgement, and Revenue confirms that no further letter is needed if Revenue doesn’t respond within the 35 working days - the automated reply is sufficient.

What you (and your Solicitor/Tax Agent) need to have ready

Revenue lists the documentation that must accompany a valid clearance request. In plain English, expect to provide:

1. Non-Resident Vendor Declaration - signed (includes confirmation of non-residence and how the property was used)
2. A signed Transaction Advisory Notification (mandate) confirming the representative is acting for you
3. Form CG1 for the year of disposal (Revenue notes CG1 is required where PPR relief is claimed)
4. A CGT computation with base cost, enhancement spend, losses, reliefs, etc.
5. Full CGT payment (if due) - or confirmation/details where CGT isn’t payable due to losses/reliefs
6. Contract of sale (evidence of proceeds)
7. Details of property use (especially where rented) and confirmation income tax filings are up to date

Mortgages and “not enough proceeds” after redemption

Revenue specifically deals with situations where there’s a secured charge (e.g., a mortgage) that must be redeemed from the sale proceeds.

If redemption leaves insufficient funds to pay the CGT, Revenue says the representative should still proceed, but instead of full payment they should include confirmation the taxpayer has signed up to a phased payment arrangement to discharge the CGT due.

Don’t miss the CGT payment and filing deadlines

The clearance process sits alongside your normal CGT obligations.

• Disposals 1 Jan – 30 Nov: CGT payment due 15 December (same year)
• Disposals 1 Dec – 31 Dec: CGT payment due 31 January (next year)
• The CGT return (Form CG1) is due 31 October of the following year

Practical tip: get your PPS number sorted early

Revenue states that to sell a specified asset, a non-resident vendor needs a PPS number, and it must then be registered with Revenue as a tax reference (including using TR1(FT) in certain cases).

Bottom line

If you’re a non-resident selling Irish property, plan for Revenue’s representative clearance process early - it’s designed to prevent delays in distributing your proceeds and to protect your solicitor/representative from secondary liability.

Need help? Irish Tax Hub can manage the full non-resident sale process

At Irish Tax Hub, we help non-residents selling Irish property to:

• Confirm what Revenue will expect for a valid clearance submission
• Prepare the CGT computation (including reliefs/losses/PPR where relevant)
• File your documentation via MyEnquiries (ROS)
• Ensure CGT pay & file deadlines are met
• Tidy up rental history/compliance issues that can trigger Revenue queries

Contact us today if you want to avoid delays and last-minute stress. We can review your sale before contracts close and map out exactly what’s needed for a clean clearance outcome.

Source: Citizens Information