Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 1030

Separated spouses: transfers of assets

Section 1030 provides that where an asset is transferred between spouses in the context of a judicial separation, divorce, or formal separation arrangement, the transfer is treated as giving rise to no chargeable gain and no allowable loss for capital gains tax purposes.

• An asset disposed of by one spouse to the other under a court order, deed of separation, or recognised foreign equivalent is treated as transferred at a consideration producing neither a gain nor a loss.
• The no gain/no loss treatment does not apply where the asset forms part of the trading stock of either spouse, or where the receiving spouse could not be charged to Irish tax on a subsequent disposal of the asset in the year of acquisition.
• Where the no gain/no loss rule has applied and the receiving spouse later disposes of the asset to a third party, that spouse is treated as having acquired the asset at the time and cost at which the transferring spouse originally acquired it.
• For the purposes of this section, "spouse" is construed in accordance with section 2(2)(c) of the Family Law Act 1995, reflecting the particular definition applicable in the context of judicial separation and divorce proceedings.