Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 1003

Payment of tax by means of donation of heritage items

Section 1003 allows a taxpayer to discharge certain tax liabilities by donating a heritage item to an approved national collection, receiving a non-refundable tax credit equal to 80 per cent of the item's market value.

• A heritage item is a cultural item (or collection) that the selection committee determines to be pre-eminent in its class, whose export would diminish or whose import would enhance Ireland's accumulated cultural heritage, and which is suitable for acquisition by an approved body
• The item must have a market value of at least €150,000, at least one item in a collection must be worth at least €50,000, and total approvals in any calendar year may not exceed €8 million
• On submission of the designated officer's certificate to Revenue, the donor is treated as having made a payment on account of tax equal to 80 per cent of the market value, which is set first against arrears, then current liabilities, then carried forward against future liabilities
• No refund of tax, no interest on any resulting overpayment, and no other tax relief may be claimed in respect of the same donation