সোমবার, ২৫ জুন, ২০১২

Passing on your farm business to your children ? Conlon O'Sullivan ...

Why you need to plan?

The recession has decimated development land values. However, agricultural property has held it?s value. irish agriculture is performing well but many farmers may consider passing on the business to their children either due to

  • age reasons
  • need for fresh ideas in the business

Also as farming is becoming more profitable, the business may provide a source of employment for a child.

Taxes play a large part in the decision because

  • there are large values of assets transferring
  • thresholds have been reduced

Therefore it it important to structure any transfer so that all available reliefs can be claimed

What taxes are involved?

The main taxes involved are

  • Capital Gains Tax
  • Inheritance Tax or Gift Tax
  • Stamp Duty
  • VAT in certain circumstances

Capital Gains Tax

Transferring the business will be a disposal for CGT.? For family transfers the open market value will be deemed to be the price received. The allowable cost will be

  • purchase price paid if purchased
  • market value at date of inheritance or passing over

CGT Reliefs

If certain conditions are met,transfers to

  • children including foster children
  • nephew or niece who has worked there significantly full time for the preceding five years

are completely exempt from CGT provided the farming business is held for six years by the recipient

The conditions include

  • you must be 55 or over at the date of disposal
  • the land and/or farm assets mu st have been farmed by you or your family company for the previous ten years
  • If the land has been let within the last five years, you must have farmed it for the ten years immediately prior to letting

Gift Tax

The rate of gift tax is 30% on the market value of the business less any loans attached to it. each child has a tax-free threshold of ?250,000 on a transfer from a parent. Foster children and nephews/nieces who have worked in the business for five years also get this.

Gift Tax Reliefs

For farm property there are two very important reliefs

  • Agricultural Property Relief
  • Business Property Relief

Agricultural Property Relief

As the name suggestes this applies to agricultural property which is

  • farm
  • farmhouses
  • machinery
  • livestock
  • trees and underwood

The recipient must have 80% of their assets as agricultural property. This includes the farm being transferred. If they own a residence with a mortgage the value after the mortgage is included in the test.

The recipeint must be resident in Ireland for three years after the transfer

How much is the relief?

The relief reduces the total farm business value by 90% as shown below

Value of Farm 1,000,000




Relief 90% of total value 900,000


Taxable 100,000

Business Property Relief

If the recipient fails the 80% assets test for Agricultural Property Relief they may still get Business Property Relief. This also gives a 90% reduction but only on the debt-free value of the farm. you must have owned the farm for five years, two years in the case of a transfer by will.

This relief will not apply to a farmhouse even if it is an integral part of the farm.

The farm must be operated as a business for 6 years after the transfer. If it is let, the relief might not apply.

Stamp Duty

If the recipient of a farm holds the ?Green Cert? as a young trained farmer the transfer will be exempt from duty. However, the recipient must devote a subsatntial amount of time to the farm business thereafter to avoid cla-back.

The reduction in the rate to 2% has made this liability less significant

Need for advice

We have given a brief outline of the tax issues related to farm transfers. However, it is a complex area and involves important life decisions for you and your family. Therefore professional tax advice is essential. We would be delighted to discuss and advise on your requirements.

For a free initial consultation e-mail us at:? info@conlonosullivan.ie.

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