Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 607

Government and certain other securities

Section 607 exempts from capital gains tax any gains arising on the disposal of Government securities, certain other public securities, and futures contracts based on those securities.

• A wide range of Government and public body securities are classified as non-chargeable assets, meaning any gain on their disposal is exempt from CGT and any loss is not an allowable loss.
• The exempt securities include those issued by the Minister for Finance, local authorities, harbour authorities, semi-State bodies such as the ESB, Bord Gáis Éireann, Irish Water, RTÉ, CIÉ, Bord na Móna and Dublin Airport Authority, the Housing Finance Agency, and An Post.
• Futures contracts based on exempt securities are also non-chargeable assets, provided the contract is unconditional and requires delivery of the underlying security, though exchange-traded contracts may satisfy the delivery requirement through a cash close-out.
• Profits and losses on futures contracts in exempt securities are calculated by reference to the market value of the underlying instrument at the date of acquisition and the date of disposal respectively.