Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 232

Profits from occupation of certain woodlands

Section 232 exempts profits and gains from the commercial occupation of woodlands in the State from income tax and corporation tax, while requiring that such income, gains and losses are still reported in annual tax returns.

• Profits or gains from occupying woodlands in the State on a commercial basis, with a view to realising profits, are exempt from income tax and corporation tax.
• Despite the exemption, all profits, gains and losses from woodlands must be included in the annual return of income, and normal record-keeping obligations apply as if the income were taxable.
• The occupation of woodlands is generally not regarded as a trade, so profits are assessed under Case IV on a receipts basis in the year the income is actually received.
• Qualifying activities include felling and selling timber, selling standing timber, selling thinnings, and growing Christmas trees, but do not include selling the land itself, trading in established woodlands, or growing decorative trees or shrubs.