Retirement Relief is a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief in Ireland that allows individuals aged 55 or older to reduce or eliminate tax when selling or transferring business or farming assets. Despite the name, you do not actually have to retire to qualify.

Significant changes to age limits and value thresholds came into effect on 1 January 2025.

Qualifying Conditions
To be eligible for the relief, you must meet several criteria:
• Age: You must be 55 or older (exceptions exist for ill-health retirement).
• Ownership: You must have owned the qualifying assets for at least 10 continuous years before the disposal.
• Active Involvement: You must have been a working director for 10 years, with at least 5 years in a full-time capacity.
• Qualifying Assets: These include assets used for trade (land, buildings, plant, machinery) and shares in a family trading company.

Interaction with Entrepreneur Relief
You can often claim both Retirement Relief and Entrepreneur Relief (which offers a 10% CGT rate) on the same disposal.
• Stacking: Generally, Retirement Relief is applied first to exempt the gain up to the threshold, and Entrepreneur Relief applies to the remainder.
• Note: From 1 January 2026, the lifetime limit for Entrepreneur Relief increases from €1 million to €1.5 million.

If you need help with your Retirement Relief calculations, get in touch!