Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 section 81C

Further farm consolidation relief

Section 81C provides a farmer with relief from stamp duty, at a reduced rate of 1 per cent, where land is both sold and purchased within 24 months of each other in order to consolidate a farm holding, provided Teagasc has issued a consolidation certificate.

• A farmer who sells and buys qualifying land within 24 months to consolidate a holding pays stamp duty at 1 per cent, and only on the amount by which the value of the land purchased exceeds the value of the land sold.
• The relief depends on Teagasc issuing a consolidation certificate confirming that the sale and purchase meet the conditions of consolidation set out in ministerial guidelines.
• The relief applies to instruments executed between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2029, and is not available where any of the purchasers is a company.
• The purchaser must retain the land and use it for farming, or for conservation in the case of non-commercial woodland, for at least five years, otherwise a clawback with interest arises.