Capital gains
Tax clearance (CG50A): selling property for over €500,000
Last updated 16 October 2026
Sell a home for over €1 million, or other land for over €500,000? The buyer keeps back 15% unless you give them a clearance certificate (CG50A).
A clearance certificate (CG50A) comes from Revenue. It means a buyer can pay you the full price without deducting Capital Gains Tax (CGT). If you don't have one, the law requires the buyer to keep back 15% and pay it to Revenue.
When it's needed
According to Revenue, you need a CG50A if you sell:
- a house or apartment for more than €1 million (from 1 January 2016)
- another asset of the kinds below for more than €500,000
The rule is in section 980 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. It covers land and buildings in Ireland, minerals and mining rights, and unquoted shares that get most of their value from Irish land. It also covers the goodwill of a trade carried on in Ireland. Quoted shares are outside it.
Who can get one
Revenue issues a CG50A if you are resident in Ireland, or if you have paid the CGT due on the sale. A non-resident seller usually has to pay the tax first.
How to apply
Apply online through myAccount or ROS, under Other services, then the Capital Gains Clearance (eCG50) facility. Your solicitor or agent can apply for you, giving your name, address and, if you're resident, your PPS number. Include the contract for sale. Apply early: the buyer's solicitor will ask for it before closing.
If you don't have one at closing
The buyer deducts 15% of the price, pays it to Revenue and gives you a Form CG50B. You then reclaim it against your actual CGT. In this example, someone sells a house they inherited in 2013, when it was worth €600,000, for €1.1 million in November 2026.
| Withheld by the buyer without a CG50A (15%) | €165,000.00 |
| Actual CGT on the sale | €149,956.30 |
| Refund to claim with the CG50B | €15,043.70 |
The difference sits with Revenue until you file. Where the sale qualifies for main-home relief, nothing may be due at all, and the whole 15% would be held back unnecessarily.
Paying the CGT
A CG50A doesn't change the tax. You still pay any CGT by 15 December (or 31 January for a December sale) and file by 31 October of the next year. See CGT on property and CGT deadlines.
Work it out
Sources
- Revenue: How to calculate CGT (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: When and how do you pay and file CGT? (checked 25/10/2026)
General information, not tax advice. HeyPenny is not a tax agent.