Tax residence and domicile in Ireland (2024)

Introduction

Your liability for tax in Ireland can be affected by whether you are resident in the country and whether Ireland is your permanent home. There is a specific definition of residence for tax purposes depending on how many days you spend in the country. If you are not resident in a particular year, Ireland can still be your ‘ordinary residence’ since this term refers to the country where you are usually resident over a number of years. The country that is your permanent home is known as your domicile.

Residence for tax purposes

Your residence for tax purposes depends on the number of days that you are present in Ireland during a tax year. A tax year runs from 1 January to 31 December.

You are resident for tax purposes for a year if:

• You spend 183 days or more in Ireland in that year or,
• If you spend 280 days or more in Ireland over a period of 2 consecutive tax years, you will be regarded as resident for the second tax year. For example, if you spend 140 days here in Year 1 and 150 days here in Year 2, you will be resident in Ireland for Year 2. You must be in Ireland for a minimum of 31 days each year.

You are treated as being present in Ireland for a day if you are present at any time during that day.

Choosing to be resident for tax purposes

If you arrive in Ireland in a particular year but do not have the required number of days for tax purposes, you can still choose to be resident for that year if you will be resident in the following year.

You must inform Revenue in writing if you choose to be tax resident in Ireland in a tax year. Contact Revenue for details.

Ordinary residence

Your pattern of residence over a number of years is taken into account to decide your ‘ordinary residence’.

If you have been resident for the previous 3 tax years, then you become ordinarily resident from the start of the fourth year. If you leave the country, you will continue to be ordinarily resident until you have been non-resident for 3 continuous tax years. See revenue.ie for more information on ordinary residence.

Residence and married couples or civil partners

For a married couple or civil partners, the residence status of each spouse is assessed independently of the other. It is possible for one spouse or civil partner to be resident and the other to be non-resident. . If you are resident and your spouse is not, you are treated as single for tax purposes.

However, if you are resident and employed in Ireland but your spouse or civil partner is not resident in Ireland and has no income - so that your earnings are the only source of income - then it may be possible to claim the Married or Civil Partner's Tax Credit and the increased tax rate band. You can do this after the end of the tax year when you file a return of income which includes a declaration about your spouse or civil partner's income.

What is domicile in Ireland?

Your domicile is the country where you live with the intention of remaining there permanently. It may be different to your residence or nationality.

When you are born, you have a domicile of origin. This domicile can be changed to a domicile of choice, if you move to a different country with the intention of living there permanently.

Irish domicile levy

You may have to pay a domicile levy if:

• You are Irish domiciled
• Your worldwide income in the year exceeds €1m
• You have Irish property with a value greater than €5m, and
• Your Irish income tax for the year is less than €200,000

The amount of the levy is €200,000 per year. Any Irish income tax paid by you in a tax year is allowed as a credit when calculating the amount of domicile levy due for that year.

The levy is payable each year on or before 31 October in the year following the valuation date (on a self-assessment basis). The valuation date is 31 December each year. For example, the levy for the year 2023 is due and payable on or before 31 October 2024. You can get more information about the domicile levy from Revenue.

Tax implications

Residence and domicile are taken into account for a number of taxes including income tax, Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT), gift tax, inheritance tax and Capital Gains Tax.

Contact

Telephone numbers and contact details for Revenue tax sections are available on the revenue.ie website contact page.