Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 section 38

Partitions or divisions

Section 38 provides that stamp duty applies to a partition or division of jointly owned property as if it were a conveyance on sale, with the equality money paid between the parties forming the stampable consideration.

• Where jointly owned property is partitioned and equality money exceeding €130 is paid or agreed to be paid, the principal or only instrument effecting the partition is charged with ad valorem stamp duty as a conveyance on sale.
• The stampable consideration is the amount of the equality money, not the overall value of the property.
• Only conveyance on sale duty applies — no additional charge arises on the partition element itself.
• Where several instruments are needed to complete a party's title, the principal instrument must be identified and the remaining instruments are charged with duty as separate conveyances in the manner provided for by the Act.