Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 531AAE

Property relief surcharge

Section 531AAE imposes an additional 5% USC charge on individuals with aggregate income of €100,000 or more to the extent that they use specified property reliefs to shelter that income from tax.

• An individual whose aggregate income for USC purposes is €100,000 or more (a specified individual) is liable to a property relief surcharge of 5% on the amount of specified property relief used in the tax year, in addition to any normal USC liability.
• Specified property reliefs include area-based capital allowances (under the various designated area, urban renewal and rural renewal schemes), specified capital allowances (writing down and balancing allowances on industrial buildings), and section 23-type residential lessor relief.
• The surcharge applies only to the amount of relief actually used (i.e. to which full effect has been given) in the tax year, and specified property reliefs which are also specified reliefs for the purposes of the high earner restriction must be treated as used in priority to reliefs which are not specified property reliefs.
• The order in which reliefs are carried forward is determined by applying the rules in section 485C(3) and Schedule 25C, and a specified individual liable to the surcharge for 2012 must pay preliminary tax as if the surcharge had been in operation in 2011.