Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 Section 94

Minimum period of ownership

Section 94 sets out the minimum ownership periods that must be satisfied before property can qualify as relevant business property for business relief purposes.

• To qualify for business relief, the disponer (or their spouse/civil partner) must have continuously owned the property for a minimum period before the gift or inheritance.
• Where an inheritance is taken on the death of the disponer, the minimum ownership period is 2 years immediately before the date of the inheritance.
• In all other cases — including lifetime gifts and inheritances from trusts — the minimum ownership period is 5 years immediately before the date of the gift or inheritance.
• Periods of continuous ownership by the disponer and their spouse or civil partner are combined and treated as a single period of ownership for the purposes of meeting these requirements.