Farming II

Table of Contents

TAXES CONSOLIDATION ACT

Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 (No. 39)
Other Special Provisions (ss. 654-848AG)
Other Special Provisions (ss. 654-848AG)

Part 23 Farming and Market Gardening (ss. 654-669O)

Chapter 1

Interpretation and general (ss. 654-664A)

654.

Interpretation (Part 23).

In this Part other than in section 664 –

“farming” means farming farm land, that is, land in the State wholly or mainly occupied for the purposes of husbandry, other than market garden land;

“market garden land” means land in the State occupied as a nursery or garden for the sale of the produce (other than land used for the growth of hops), and “market gardening” shall be construed accordingly;

“occupation”, in relation to any land other than market garden land, means having the use of that land or having the right by virtue of any easement (within the meaning of section 96) to graze livestock on that land.

654A.

Trained farmer qualifications

(1)In this section –

‘relevant provisions’ means –

(a)sections 667B and 667C,

(b)section 89 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003, and

(c)sections 81AA and 81D of, and Schedule 1 to, the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999;

‘specified list’ has the meaning given to it by subsection (3);

‘Table’ has the meaning given to it by subsection (2);

‘Teagasc’ means Teagasc – the Agriculture and Food Development Authority;

‘trained farmer qualification’ has the meaning given to it by subsection (2).

(2)For the purposes of the relevant provisions, a reference in those provisions to a ‘trained farmer qualification’ means –

(a)a qualification set out in the Table to this section (in this section referred to as the ‘Table’), or

(b)any other qualification that Teagasc certifies –

(i)as corresponding to a qualification set out in the Table, and

(ii)as being deemed by the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland to be at least at a level equivalent to that of the qualification set out in the Table.

(3)For the purposes of this section, Teagasc shall –

(a)establish and maintain a list of trained farmer qualifications (in this section referred to as the ‘specified list’),

(b)publish the specified list on a website maintained by or on behalf of Teagasc and by such other means as Teagasc considers appropriate,

(c)amend the specified list as necessary and appropriate to ensure it is up to date by –

(i)adding thereto any other qualification certified under subsection (2)(b), and

(ii)where subsection (4) applies, deleting therefrom,

and

(d)publish the specified list as amended under paragraph (c) on a website maintained by or on behalf of Teagasc and by such other means as Teagasc considers appropriate.

(4)This subsection shall apply in relation to a trained farmer qualification certified under paragraph (b) of subsection (2) which ceases to satisfy the requirements set out in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of that paragraph.

TABLE

1.Qualifications awarded by the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland:

(a)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Farming;

(b)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture;

(c)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Dairy Herd Management;

(d)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Drystock Management;

(e)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agricultural Mechanisation;

(f)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Farm Management;

(g)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Machinery and Crop Management;

(h)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture;

(i)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Forestry;

(j)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Stud Management;

(k)Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horsemanship;

(l)Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farm Administration;

(m)Higher Certificate in Agriculture;

(n)Bachelor of Science in Agriculture;

(o)Higher Certificate in Agricultural Science;

(p)Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science;

(q)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Land Management, Agriculture;

(r)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Land Management, Horticulture;

(s)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Land Management, Forestry;

(t)Higher Certificate in Engineering in Agricultural Mechanisation;

(u)Bachelor of Science in Rural Enterprise and Agri-Business;

(v)Bachelor of Business in Rural Enterprise and Agri-Business;

(w)Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Environmental Management;

(x)Bachelor of Science in Horticulture;

(y)Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Horticultural Management;

(z)Bachelor of Science in Forestry;

(aa)Higher Certificate in Business in Equine Studies;

(ab)Bachelor of Science in Equine Studies;

(ac)Bachelor of Business in Equine Studies;

(ad)Higher Certificate in Science Applied Agriculture;

(ae)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sustainable Agriculture;

(af)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Agriculture.

2.Other qualifications:

(a)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Animal Crop Production awarded by University College Dublin;

(b)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Agri-Environmental Science awarded by University College Dublin;

(c)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Animal Science awarded by University College Dublin;

(d)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Animal Science Equine awarded by University College Dublin;

(e)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Dairy Business awarded by University College Dublin;

(f)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Food and Agribusiness Management awarded by University College Dublin;

(g)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Forestry awarded by University College Dublin;

(h)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Horticulture, Landscape and Sportsturf Management awarded by University College Dublin;

(i)Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine awarded by University College Dublin;

(j)Bachelor of Science in Equine Science awarded by the University of Limerick;

(k)Diploma in Equine Science awarded by the University of Limerick;

(l)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Agriculture awarded by the Dundalk Institute of Technology;

(m)Bachelor of Agricultural Science – Agricultural Systems Technology awarded by University College Dublin;

(n)Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science awarded by Munster Technological University;

(o)Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Farm Management and Agribusiness awarded by South East Technological University;

(p)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sustainable Farm Management and Agribusiness awarded by South East Technological University;

(q)Bachelor of Science in Agriculture awarded by Atlantic Technological University;

(r)Higher Certificate in Science in Agriculture awarded by Atlantic Technological University;

(s)Quality and Qualifications Ireland Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming;

(t)Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Agricultural Science awarded by South East Technological University.

655.

Farming and market gardening profits to be charged to tax under Schedule D.

(1)For the purposes of the Tax Acts, farming shall be treated as the carrying on of a trade or, as the case may be, of part of a trade, and the profits or gains of farming shall be charged to tax under Case I of Schedule D.

(2)Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Part 43, farming carried on by any person, whether solely or in partnership, shall be treated as the carrying on of a single trade; but this subsection shall not prejudice or restrict the operation of Chapter 3 of Part 4 where a partnership trade of farming is set up and commenced or is permanently discontinued.

(3)Market gardening shall, for the purposes of the Tax Acts in relation to the person by whom it is carried on, be treated as a trade, and the profits or gains of market gardening shall be charged to tax under Case I of Schedule D.

656.

Farming: trading stock of discontinued trade.

(1)In this section, “specified return date for the chargeable period” has the same meaning as in section 959A.

(2)Where trading stock of a trade of farming is transferred by a farmer (in this subsection referred to as “the transferor”) to another farmer (in this subsection referred to as “the transferee”), the transferor and the transferee may jointly elect that –

(a)section 89(2)(b) shall not apply, and

(b)in computing their respective profits or gains from farming, the transferor and the transferee shall include such stock at the value at which the stock is included in the accounts of the transferor at the date of discontinuance,

and such election shall be made in writing on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period in which the stock is transferred.

657.

Averaging of farm profits.

(1)In this section –

“deferred tax” means the amount of income tax determined by the formula –

A – B

where –

A is the amount of income tax which would, apart from subsection (6A), be charged on an individual by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) in respect of a year of assessment, and

B is the amount of income tax which would, apart from this section, be chargeable in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 4 in respect of a year of assessment;

“specified return date for the chargeable period” has the same meaning as in section 959A.

(2)[deleted]

(3)[deleted]

(4)

(a)Subject to paragraph (b), where an assessment in respect of profits or gains from farming is made for any year of assessment on an individual, the individual may on giving notice in writing to that effect to the inspector within 30 days after the date of the notice of assessment elect to be charged to income tax for that year in respect of those profits or gains in accordance with subsection (5), and the assessment shall be amended as necessary so as to give effect to the election so made by the individual.

(i)[deleted]

(ii)[deleted]

(b)This subsection shall not apply as respects any year of assessment where for any of the 4 immediately preceding years of assessment the individual was not charged to tax in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with section 65(1).

(4A)Where an individual was first charged to tax in accordance with subsection (5) for the year of assessment 2014, then the individual shall be charged to tax for the year of assessment 2015 in accordance with that subsection as if a reference in that subsection to 5 years was a reference to 4 years.

(5)

(a)An individual who is to be charged to income tax for a year of assessment in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with this subsection shall be so charged under Case I of Schedule D on the full amount of those profits or gains determined on a fair and just average of the profits or gains from farming of the individual in each of the 5 years ending on the date in the year of assessment to which it has been customary to make up accounts or, where it has not been customary to make up accounts, on 31 December in the year of assessment.

(aa)As respects the year of assessment 2001, this subsection shall apply as if in paragraph (a) ’74 per cent of the full amount of those profits or gains’ were substituted for ‘the full amount of those profits or gains’.

(ab)For the purposes of paragraph (a), where an individual makes up annual accounts to a date in the period from 1 January 2002 to 5 April 2002, those accounts shall, in addition to being accounts made up to a date in the year of assessment 2002, be treated as accounts made up to a date in the year of assessment 2001.

(b)Any profits or gains arising to, and any loss sustained by, the individual in the 5 years referred to in paragraph (a) in the carrying on of farming shall be aggregated for the purposes of this subsection.

(6)

(a)Subject to paragraph (b) and subsection (7), where as respects a year of assessment an individual duly elects in accordance with subsection (4), the individual shall be charged to income tax for that year and for each subsequent year of assessment in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with subsection (5).

(b)This subsection shall not apply for any year of assessment in which the individual is not chargeable to tax on profits or gains from farming.

(6A)

(a)Where for a year of assessment an individual is by virtue of subsection (6) chargeable to income tax in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with subsection (5), that individual may, on including a claim in that behalf with the return required under Chapter 3 of Part 41A for the year of assessment, elect to defer payment of the deferred tax for that year of assessment.

(b)Where an individual duly elects in accordance with paragraph (a) in respect of a year of assessment, the deferred tax in respect of the year of assessment shall be payable in 4 equal instalments.

(c)The first instalment of the 4 instalments referred to in paragraph (b) shall be due and payable on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period of the year of assessment following the year of assessment in which the election, referred to in paragraph (a), is made and the remaining 3 instalments shall be due and payable respectively on or before each of the following 3 anniversaries of the date on which the first instalment was due and payable.

(d)An individual shall only be entitled to make an election in accordance with this subsection in a year of assessment provided an election in accordance with this subsection or subsection (6B) has not been made in any of the 4 years of assessment immediately preceding such year of assessment.

(6B)

(a)In this subsection –

‘Covid-19 period’ means the period beginning on 1 January 2020 and ending on 31 December 2020;

‘Covid-19 deferred tax’ means the amount of income tax determined by the formula –

A – B

where –

A is the amount of income tax which would, apart from this subsection, be charged on an individual by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) in respect of a year of assessment, and

B is the amount of income tax which would, apart from this subsection, be chargeable in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 4 in respect of the year of assessment 2020.

(b)This subsection applies to an individual who –

(i)has made a claim under subsection (6A) in respect of the year of assessment 2019 or one of the 3 immediately preceding years of assessment, and

(ii)sustains a loss in the Covid-19 period.

(c)Where an individual to whom this subsection applies is, by virtue of subsection (6), chargeable to income tax in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with subsection (5), that individual may, on including a claim in that behalf with the return required under Chapter 3 of Part 41A for the year of assessment, elect to defer payment of the Covid-19 deferred tax.

(d)Where an individual duly elects in accordance with paragraph (c) in respect of a year of assessment, the Covid-19 deferred tax in respect of that year of assessment shall be payable in 4 equal instalments.

(e)The first instalment of the 4 instalments referred to in paragraph (d) shall be due and payable on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period of the year of assessment following the year of assessment in which the election, referred to in paragraph (c), is made and the remaining 3 instalments shall be due and payable respectively on or before each of the following 3 anniversaries of the date on which the first instalment was due and payable.

(7)Subject to subsection (7A), where for a year of assessment an individual is by virtue of subsection (6) chargeable to income tax in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with subsection (5) and the individual was so chargeable for each of the 5 years of assessment immediately preceding the year of assessment, he or she may, on including a claim in that behalf with the return required under Chapter 3 of Part 41A for the year of assessment, elect to be charged to tax for that year of assessment in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 4 subsection (6) does not apply for any year of assessment by reason of paragraph (b)(i) of that subsection, the individual shall be deemed to be entitled to elect and to have duly elected, as respects that year of assessment, in accordance with this subsection.

(7A)

(a)Where as respects the year of assessment 2015 an individual duly elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7) that subsection shall be construed as if a reference to 5 years in that subsection was a reference to 3 years, and

(b)where as respects the year of assessment 2016 an individual duly elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7) that subsection shall be construed as if a reference to 5 years in that subsection was a reference to 4 years.

(8)Where as respects a year of assessment an individual duly elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7) –

(a)the individual shall be charged to income tax for that year and for each subsequent year of assessment in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 4, and

(b)there shall be made such assessment or assessments, if any, as may be necessary to secure that the amount of profits or gains from farming on which the individual who, in respect of the year of assessment 2015 duly elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7) is charged for each of the years of assessment 2012 and 2013, shall be not less than the amount on which the individual was charged by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) for the year of assessment 2014,

(c)notwithstanding section 959AA, there shall be made such assessment or assessments, if any, as may be necessary to secure that the amount of profits or gains from farming on which the individual, in the case of an individual referred to in subsection (4A), is charged to tax for each of the 3 years immediately preceding the year preceding the year of assessment as respects which the individual elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7), shall be not less than the amount on which the individual is charged by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) for the preceding year of assessment,

(d)in any other case, notwithstanding section 959AA, there shall be made such assessment or assessments, if any, as may be necessary to secure that the amount of profits or gains from farming on which the individual is charged to tax for each of the 4 years immediately preceding the year preceding the year of assessment as respects which the individual elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7), shall be not less than the amount on which the individual is charged by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) for the preceding year of assessment, and

(e)notwithstanding section 959AA, there shall be made such assessment or assessments, if any, as may be necessary to secure the payment of any deferred tax or Covid-19 deferred tax which remains due and payable.

(8A)Where as respects the year of assessment 2002 an individual duly elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7), subsection (8) shall apply as if the following were substituted for paragraph (b) of that subsection:

‘(b) there shall be made such assessment or assessments, if any, as may be necessary to secure that the amount of the profits or gains from farming on which the individual is charged for each of the years of assessment 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 shall be not less than 135 per cent of the amount on which the individual is charged by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) for the year of assessment 2001.’.

(8B)Where as respects the year of assessment 2003 an individual duly elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7), subsection (8) shall apply as if the following were substituted for paragraph (b) of that subsection:

(i)in the case of the year of assessment 2000-2001, not less than, and

(ii)in the case of the year of assessment 2001, not less than 74 per cent of,

the amount on which the individual is charged by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) for the year of assessment 2002.’.

(8C)Where as respects the year of assessment 2004 an individual duly elects or is deemed to have elected in accordance with subsection (7), subsection (8) shall apply as if the following were substituted for paragraph (b) of that subsection:

(i)in the case of the year of assessment 2001, not less than 74 per cent of, and

(ii)in the case of the year of assessment 2002, not less than,

the amount on which the individual is charged by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) for the year of assessment 2003.’.

(9)In determining for any year of assessment what capital allowances, balancing allowances or balancing charges are to be made to or on an individual in taxing a trade of farming in accordance with subsection (5), the individual shall be deemed to be chargeable for that year of assessment in respect of the profits or gains of the trade in accordance with section 65(1).

(10)Nothing in this section shall prejudice or restrict the operation of section 67 in any case where a trade of farming is permanently discontinued.

(10A)Where the commencement of a partnership to which section 667C applies, would otherwise result in the permanent discontinuation of another trade of farming then, notwithstanding subsection (10) and solely for the purposes of the application of this section, the partnership trade shall be treated as a continuation of that other trade.

(11)Where for any year of assessment a loss is aggregated with profits or gains in accordance with subsection (5)(b) and the amount of the loss is in excess of the profits or gains –

(a)in the case of an individual referred to in subsection (4A), one- quarter of the amount of such excess shall be deemed for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 12 to be a loss sustained in the trade of farming in the final year of the 4 years, and

(b)in any other case, one-fifth of the amount of such excess shall be deemed for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 12 to be a loss sustained in the trade of farming in the final year of the 5 years,

on the average of the profits or gains of which the individual is to be charged to tax for that year of assessment, and any loss so aggregated shall not be eligible for relief under any provision of the Income Tax Acts apart from this subsection.

(11A)As respects the year of assessment 2001, subsection (11) shall apply as if in that subsection ’74 per cent of one-third of the amount of such excess’ were substituted for ‘one-third of the amount of such excess’ and, where this subsection applies, the individual may claim that 26 per cent of one-third of the amount of the excess referred to in subsection (11) shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in that subsection, be carried forward under section 382 for deduction from or set-off against the profits or gains of the individual from farming for any subsequent year of assessment.

(12)The profits or gains from farming on which an individual is to be charged to tax for any year of assessment by virtue of subsection (6) in accordance with subsection (5) shall be deemed to be the profits or gains from farming of that individual in determining his or her total income for that year for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts apart from this section, and any provision of those Acts relating to the delivery of any return, account (including balance sheet), statement, declaration, book, list or other document or the furnishing of any particulars shall apply as if this section had not been enacted.

657A.

Taxation of certain farm payments.

(1)In this section –

‘relevant individual’ means an individual who is in receipt of –

(a)a relevant payment or relevant payments, and

(b)a payment under the EU Single Payment Scheme operated by the Department of Agriculture and Food under Council Regulation No. 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 ,

in respect of both of which the individual would be, apart from this section, chargeable to income tax on the profits or gains from farming for the same year of assessment, but does not include an individual who in that year of assessment is chargeable to income tax in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with subsection (5) of section 657;

‘relevant payment’ means a payment made at any time in the calendar year 2005 to an individual under any of the EU schemes specified in the Table to this section.

(2)A relevant individual may elect to have the aggregate of all relevant payments made to the individual treated in accordance with subsections (3) to (6), and each such election shall be made in such form and contain such information as the Revenue Commissioners may require.

(3)Notwithstanding any other provision of the Income Tax Acts apart from subsection (4), where an individual elects in accordance with subsection (2), then the relevant payment or relevant payments shall –

(a)be disregarded as respects the ‘same year of assessment’ referred to in the definition of ‘relevant individual’ in subsection (1), and

(b)instead be treated for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts as arising in equal instalments in the year of assessment that is such same year of assessment and in the 2 immediately succeeding years of assessment.

(4)Where a trade of farming is permanently discontinued, tax shall be charged under Case IV of Schedule D for the year of assessment in which such discontinuation takes place in respect of the amount of any relevant payment which would, but for such discontinuance, be treated by virtue of subsection (3) as arising in a year of assessment or years of assessment ending after such discontinuance.

(5)An election under subsection (2) by a person to whom this section applies, shall be made by notice in writing on or before 31 October in the year following the ‘same year of assessment’ referred to in the definition of ‘relevant individual’ in subsection (1), and shall be included in the annual statement required to be delivered on or before that date under the Income Tax Acts of the profits or gains from farming for the year of assessment that is such same year of assessment.

(6)Subject to subsection (4) an election made under subsection (2) cannot be altered or varied during the period to which it refers.

TABLE

1. Special Beef Premium Schemes.

2. Suckles Cow Premium Scheme.

3. Ewe Premium Schemes.

4. Extensification Payments Schemes.

5. Slaughter Premium Scheme.

6. Arable Aid Schemes.

7. National Envelope Top-Ups.

657B.

Restructuring and diversification aid for sugar beet growers.

(1)In this section –

‘specified individual’ means an individual who carries on in the year of assessment 2007 or in any subsequent year of assessment the trade of farming in respect of which the individual is within the charge to tax under Case I of Schedule D;

‘specified payment’ means a payment to a specified individual under the EU temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry in the Community, operated by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under any of Articles 3(6) first indent, 6 and 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 320/2006 of 20 February 2006 (as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1261/2007 of 9 October 2007) in respect of which the specified individual would, apart from this section, be chargeable to income tax on the profits or gains from farming for the year of assessment 2007 or for any subsequent year of assessment.

(2)A specified individual may elect to have the aggregate of all specified payments made to the individual which would, apart from this section, be chargeable to income tax for a year of assessment treated in accordance with subsections (3) to (6), and each such election shall be made in such form and contain such information as the Revenue Commissioners may require.

(3)Notwithstanding any other provision of the Income Tax Acts apart from subsection (4), where a specified individual elects in accordance with subsection (2), the specified payment or specified payments shall be disregarded as respects the year of assessment referred to in subsection (2) and shall instead be treated for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts as chargeable in equal instalments for the year of assessment so referred to in subsection (2) and for the 5 succeeding years of assessment.

(4)Where a trade of farming is permanently discontinued, tax shall be charged under Case IV of Schedule D for the year of assessment in which such discontinuation takes place in respect of the amount of any specified payment which would, but for such discontinuance, be treated by virtue of subsection (3) as chargeable for a year of assessment or years of assessment ending after such discontinuance.

(5)An election under subsection (2) by an individual to whom this section applies, shall be made by notice in writing on or before 31 October in the year of assessment following the year of assessment referred to in subsection (2).

(6)Subject to subsection (4), an election made under subsection (2) shall not be altered or varied during the period to which it relates.

658.

Farming: allowances for capital expenditure on construction of buildings and other works.

(1)This section shall apply to any person carrying on farming, the profits or gains of which are chargeable to tax in accordance with section 655.

(2)

(a)Where a person to whom this section applies incurs, for the purpose of a trade of farming land occupied by such person, any capital expenditure on the construction of farm buildings (excluding a building or part of a building used as a dwelling), fences, roadways, holding yards, drains or land reclamation or other works, there shall be made to such person during a writing-down period of 7 years beginning with the chargeable period related to that expenditure, writing-down allowances (in this section referred to as “farm buildings allowances”) in respect of that expenditure and such allowances shall be made in taxing the trade.

(b)As respects each of the first 6 years of the writing-down period, the farm buildings allowance to be made under this subsection shall be 15 per cent of the capital expenditure referred to in paragraph (a) and, as respects the last year of the writing-down period, the farm buildings allowance to be made under this subsection shall be 10 per cent of that expenditure.

(c)Where the capital expenditure referred to in paragraph (a) was incurred before the 27th day of January, 1994, this section shall apply subject to paragraph 23 of Schedule 32.

(3)For the purposes of the application to this section of section 321, “basis period” has the meaning assigned to it by section 306.

(4)Where for any year of assessment an individual is not chargeable to income tax in respect of profits or gains from farming in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 4, and that year is a year of assessment in respect of which, if the individual had been so chargeable, he or she could have claimed a farm buildings allowance under this section, that allowance shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to have been made for that year of assessment and shall not be carried forward and set off against profits or gains chargeable for any subsequent year of assessment.

(5)Any capital expenditure incurred by a person about to carry on farming but before commencing farming shall for the purposes of this section be treated as if it had been incurred on the first day on which the person commences farming.

(6)Any claim for a farm buildings allowance to be made to a person under this section shall be included in the annual statement required to be delivered by the person under the Income Tax Acts of the profits or gains from farming, and section 304(4) shall apply in relation to the allowance as it applies in relation to allowances to be made under Part 9.

(7)[deleted]

(8)[deleted]

(9)Subject to subsection (10), where a person who is entitled to a farm buildings allowance under this section in respect of capital expenditure incurred for the purpose of farming farm land transfers such person’s interest in that farm land or any part of that farm land to another person, that other person shall, to the exclusion of the first-mentioned person, be entitled to the allowances under this section for the chargeable periods following the chargeable period in which the transfer of interest took place.

(10)Where the transfer of interest to which subsection (9) refers takes place in relation to part of the farm land, subsection (9) shall apply to so much of the allowance as is properly referable to that part of the land as if it were a separate allowance.

(11)Where expenditure is incurred partly for the purposes of farming and partly for other purposes, subsection (2) shall apply to so much only of that expenditure as on a just apportionment ought fairly to be treated as incurred for the purposes of farming.

(12)No farm buildings allowance shall be made by virtue of this section in respect of any expenditure if for the same or any other chargeable period an allowance is or has been made in respect of that expenditure under Chapter 1 of Part 9.

(13)Expenditure shall not be regarded for the purposes of this section as having been incurred by a person in so far as it has been or is to be met directly or indirectly by the State or by any person other than the first-mentioned person.

658A.

Farming: accelerated allowances for capital expenditure on slurry storage.

(1)In this section –

‘qualifying capital items’ means the items specified in column (1) of the Table in Part 2 of Schedule 35A meeting the description specified in column (2) of that Table opposite the reference to those items in column (1);

‘qualifying expenditure’ means capital expenditure incurred during the relevant period on the provision or construction, as the case may be, of qualifying capital items;

‘relevant period’ means the period commencing on 1 January 2023 and ending on 31 December 2025;

‘relevant regulation’ means Article 7 of the European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 113 of 2022);

‘relevant tax’, in relation to a person, means –

(a)where the person is a company, any corporation tax, and

(b)where the person is not a company, any contributions paid under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, income tax or universal social charge;

‘Rescuing and Restructuring Guidelines’ means the Communication from the Commission on Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty ;

‘undertaking in difficulty’ shall be construed in accordance with section 2.2 of the Rescuing and Restructuring Guidelines.

(2)Where a person incurs qualifying expenditure for the purpose of a trade of farming land occupied by that person, then, where for any chargeable period –

(a)a writing down allowance is to be made under section 658 –

(i)subsection (2) of that section shall apply as if –

(I)the reference in paragraph (a) of that subsection to 7 years were a reference to 2 years, and

(II)the following were substituted for paragraph (b) of that subsection:

‘(b)The farm buildings allowance to be made under this subsection shall be 50 per cent of the capital expenditure referred to in paragraph (a).’,

and

(ii)subsection (12) of that section shall apply as if ‘Chapter 1 or 2 of Part 9’ were substituted for ‘Chapter 1 of Part 9’,

(b)a wear and tear allowance is to be made under section 284, subsection (2) of that section shall apply as if the reference in paragraph (ad) of that subsection to 12.5 per cent were a reference to 50 per cent.

(3)For the purposes only of determining, in relation to a claim for an allowance under section 658 as applied by subsection (2)(a), whether and to what extent capital expenditure incurred on qualifying capital items is incurred in the relevant period, only such an amount of that capital expenditure as is properly attributable to work on the construction of the qualifying capital items concerned actually carried out during that period shall (notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts as to the time when any capital expenditure is or is to be treated as incurred) be treated as having been incurred in that period.

(4)Subsection (2) shall not apply where the person concerned –

(a)is, or is part of, an undertaking in difficulty,

(b)is subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous decision of the Commission of the European Union that declared an aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market, or

(c)is, or is part of, an undertaking that is not a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472 of 14 December 2022 .

(5)The aggregate amount of relief granted to a person under this section shall not exceed €500,000.

(6)This subsection applies to a person in respect of a chargeable period where the aggregate of the amount of the relief granted under this section to the person in that chargeable period and in previous chargeable periods is greater than €10,000.

(7)Notwithstanding section 851A, where subsection (6) applies to a person in respect of a chargeable period, the Revenue Commissioners may disclose the following information in respect of the year in which the chargeable period ends:

(a)the name of the person;

(b)the sector of activity at NACE group level, within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No. 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 , as amended by Regulation (EC) No. 295/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 , Regulation (EU) No. 70/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2012 and Regulation (EU) 2019/1243 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 ;

(c)the territorial unit, within the meaning of the NUTS Level 2 classification specified in Annex 1 to Regulation (EC) No. 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 , as amended by Regulation (EC) No. 1888/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 , Commission Regulation (EC) No. 105/2007 of 1 February 2007 , Regulation (EC) No. 176/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 , Regulation (EC) No. 1137/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 20081 , Commission Regulation (EU) No. 31/2011 of 17 January 2011 , Council Regulation (EU) No. 517/2013 of 13 May 2013 , Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1319/2013 of 9 December 2013 , Commission Regulation (EU) No. 868/2014 of 8 August 2014 , Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2016/2066 of 21 November 2016 , Regulation (EU) 2017/2391 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1755 of 8 August 2019 , in which the person is located;

(d)the year in which the relief is granted.

(8)For the purposes of subsections (5) and (6), the amount of relief granted to a person in a chargeable period shall be the amount determined by the formula –

R = A – B

where –

Ris the amount of the relief granted to the person in the chargeable period,

Ais the amount of relevant tax that would be payable by the person for the chargeable period, but for subsection (2), and

Bis the amount of relevant tax payable by the person for that chargeable period.

659.

Farming: allowances for capital expenditure on the construction of farm buildings, etc. for control of pollution.

(1)This section shall apply to any person –

(a)carrying on farming, the profits or gains of which are chargeable to tax in accordance with section 655,

(b)for whom, in respect of capital expenditure to which paragraph (c) refers and in respect of farm land occupied by him or her, a farm nutrient management plan has been drawn up by an agency or planner approved to draw up such plans by the Department of Agriculture and Food, and drawn up in accordance with –

(i)the guidelines in relation to such plans entitled “Farm Nutrient Management Plan” issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry on the 21st day of March, 1997, or

(ii)a plan drawn up under the scheme known as the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) or the scheme known as the Erne Catchment Nutrient Management Scheme, both being schemes administered by the Department of Agriculture and Food,

and

(c)who incurs capital expenditure on or after the 6th day of April, 1997, and before 1 January 2011 on the construction of those farm buildings (excluding a building or part of a building used as a dwelling) or structures specified in the Table to this section in the course of a trade of farming land occupied by such person where such building or structures are constructed in accordance with that farm nutrient management plan and are certified as being necessary by that agency or planner for the purpose of securing a reduction in or the elimination of any pollution arising from the trade of farming.

(2)

(a)Subject to the provisions of Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2328/91 of 15 July 1991 , on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures, as amended, and subject to subsections (3) and (3A), where a person to whom this section applies –

(i)has delivered to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development a farm nutrient management plan referred to in subsection (1)(b), and

(ii)incurs capital expenditure to which subsection (1) applies,

there shall be made to such person during the writing-down periods, specified in paragraph (b), writing-down allowances (in this section referred to as ‘farm pollution control allowances’) in respect of that expenditure and such allowances shall be made in taxing the trade.

(b)The writing-down periods referred to in paragraph (a) shall be –

(i)8 years beginning with the chargeable period related to the capital expenditure, where that expenditure is incurred before 6 April 2000,

(ii)7 years beginning with the chargeable period related to the capital expenditure, where that expenditure is incurred on or after 6 April 2000 but before 1 January 2005, or

(iii)3 years beginning with the chargeable period related to the capital expenditure, where that expenditure is incurred on or after 1 January 2005.

(3)The farm pollution control allowances to be made in accordance with subsection (2) in respect of capital expenditure incurred in a chargeable period shall be –

(a)as respects the first year of the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(i), where the capital expenditure was incurred –

(i)before 6 April 1998, an amount equal to 50 per cent of that expenditure or €12,700, whichever is the lesser,

(ii)on or after 6 April 1998 and before 6 April 2000, an amount equal to 50 per cent of that expenditure or €19,050, whichever is the lesser,

(b)as respects the next 6 years of that writing-down period, an amount equal to 15 per cent of the balance of that expenditure after deducting the amount of any allowance made by virtue of paragraph (a), and

(c)as respects the last year of that writing-down period, an amount equal to 10 per cent of the balance of that expenditure after deducting the amount of any allowance made by virtue of paragraph (a).

(3A)The farm pollution control allowances to be made in accordance with subsection (2) during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(ii), in respect of capital expenditure incurred in a chargeable period, where that expenditure is incurred on or after 6 April 2000 but before 1 January 2005 shall, subject to subsection (3B), be an amount equal to –

(a)15 per cent of that expenditure incurred for each of the first 6 years of the writing-down period, and

(b)10 per cent of that expenditure for the last year of the writing-down period.

(3AA)The farm pollution control allowances to be made in accordance with subsection (2) during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(iii) in respect of capital expenditure incurred in a chargeable period, shall where that expenditure is incurred on or after 1 January 2005, and subject to subsection (3BA), be an amount equal to 331/3 per cent of that expenditure incurred for each of the 3 years of the writing-down period.

(3B)

(a)In this subsection and subsection (3BA) –

‘residual amount’, in relation to capital expenditure incurred in a chargeable period, means an amount equal to 50 per cent of that expenditure or –

(i)€31,750, where incurred in a chargeable period ending before 1 January 2006, and

(ii)€50,000, in any other case,

whichever is the lesser;

‘specified amount’, in relation to capital expenditure incurred in a chargeable period, means the balance of that expenditure after deducting the residual amount.

(b)Notwithstanding subsection (3A), where farm pollution control allowances are to be made to a person in accordance with that subsection during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(ii), such person may elect to have those allowances made in accordance with this subsection and, where such person so elects, the allowances shall be made in accordance with this subsection only.

(c)Where paragraph (b) applies to a person, the farm pollution control allowances to be made to such person during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(ii) shall be an amount equal to –

(i)15 per cent of the specified amount for each of the first 6 years of the writing-down period, and

(ii)10 per cent of the specified amount for the last year of the writing-down period, and

(iii)subject to paragraph (d), the whole or any part of the residual amount, as is specified by the person to whom the allowances are to be made, in any year of the writing-down period.

(d)The allowances to be made in accordance with subparagraphs (i) and (iii) of paragraph (c) or subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of that paragraph, as the case may be, for any year of the writing-down period, shall not in the aggregate exceed the residual amount.

(3BA)

(a)Notwithstanding subsection (3AA), where farm pollution control allowances are to be made to a person in accordance with that subsection during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(iii), such person may elect to have those allowances made in accordance with this subsection and, where such person so elects, the allowances shall be made in accordance with this subsection only.

(b)Where paragraph (a) applies to a person, the farm pollution control allowance to be made to such person during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2)(b)(iii) shall be an amount equal to –

(i)331/3 per cent of the specified amount for each of the 3 years of the writing-down period, and

(ii)subject to paragraph (c), the whole or any Part of the residual amount, as is specified by the person to whom the allowances are to be made, in any year of the writing-down period.

(c)The allowances to be made in accordance with paragraph (b) for any year of the writing-down period, shall not in the aggregate exceed the residual amount.

(3C)

(a)An election by a person to whom this section applies in relation to the farm pollution control allowances claimed in subsection (3B) or (3BA), as the case may be, shall be made in writing on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period (within the meaning of section 950) in which the expenditure is incurred and shall be included in the annual statement required to be delivered under the Income Tax Acts of the profits or gains from farming as set out in subsection (5).

(b)An election made under the provisions of paragraph (a) cannot be altered or varied during the writing-down period to which it refers.

(4)For the purposes of the application to this section of section 321, “basis period” has the meaning assigned to it by section 306.

(5)Any claim by a person for a farm pollution control allowance to be made to such person shall be included in the annual statement required to be delivered under the Income Tax Acts of the profits or gains from farming, and section 304(4) shall apply in relation to the allowance as it applies in relation to allowances to be made under Part 9.

(6)[deleted]

(7)[deleted]

(8)Subject to subsection (9), where a person who is entitled to farm pollution control allowances in respect of farm land occupied by the person transfers his or her interest in that farm land or any part of that farm land to another person, that other person shall, to the exclusion of the first-mentioned person, be entitled to the allowances under this section for the chargeable periods following the chargeable period in which the transfer of interest took place.

(9)Where the transfer of interest to which subsection (8) refers took place in relation to part of the farm land, subsection (8) shall apply to so much of the farm pollution control allowance as is properly referable to that part of the land as if it were a separate allowance.

(10)Where expenditure is incurred partly for a purpose for which a farm pollution control allowance is to be made and partly for another purpose, subsection (2) shall apply to so much only of that expenditure as on a just apportionment ought fairly to be treated as incurred for the first-mentioned purpose.

(11)No farm pollution control allowance shall be made in respect of any expenditure if for the same or any other chargeable period an allowance is or has been made in respect of that expenditure under Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 of Part 9 or section 658.

(12)Expenditure shall not be regarded for the purposes of this section as having been incurred by a person in so far as it has been or is to be met directly or indirectly by the State or by any person other than the first-mentioned person.

(13)For the purposes only of determining, in relation to a claim for a farm pollution control allowance, whether and to what extent capital expenditure incurred on the construction of a building or structure to which this section applies is incurred or not incurred in the period specified in subsection (1)(c), only such an amount of that capital expenditure as is properly attributable to work on the construction of the building or structure actually carried out during that period shall (notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts as to the time when any capital expenditure is or is to be treated as incurred) be treated as having been incurred in that period.

Table

Farm Buildings and Structures to Which Allowances for the Control of Pollution Apply

1. Waste storage facilities including slurry tanks.

2. Soiled water tanks.

3. Effluent tanks.

4. Tank fences and covers.

5. Dungsteads and manure pits.

6. Yard drains for storm and soiled water removal.

7. Walled silos, silage bases and silo aprons.

8. Housing for cattle, including drystock accommodation, byres, loose houses, slatted houses, sloped floor houses and kennels, roofed feed or exercise yards where such houses or structures eliminate soiled water.

9. Housing for sheep and unroofed wintering structures for sheep and sheep dipping tanks.

660.

Farming: wear and tear allowances deemed to have been made in certain cases.

(1)In this section –

“balancing allowance” and “balancing charge” have the same meanings respectively as in Chapter 2 of Part 9;

“wear and tear allowance” means an allowance made under section 284.

(2)In determining whether any, and if so what, wear and tear allowance, balancing allowance or balancing charge in respect of machinery or plant is to be made to or on any person for any chargeable period in taxing a trade of farming, there shall be deemed to have been made to that person, for every previous chargeable period in which the machinery or plant belonged to that person and which is a chargeable period to be taken into account for the purpose of this section, such wear and tear allowance or greater wear and tear allowance, if any, in respect of the machinery or plant as would have been made to that person if, in relation to every such previous chargeable period –

(a)the profits or gains from farming had been chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule D,

(b)those profits or gains had been charged to tax in accordance with section 58 of the Income Tax Act, 1967, and not in an amount determined under section 21 of the Finance Act, 1974,

(c)farming had been carried on by that person since the date on which that person acquired the machinery or plant,

(d)the machinery or plant had been used by that person solely for the purposes of farming since that date, and

(e)a proper claim had been duly made by that person for wear and tear allowance in respect of the machinery or plant for every relevant chargeable period.

(3)There shall be taken into account for the purposes of this section every previous chargeable period in which the machinery or plant concerned belonged to the person and –

(a)during which the machinery or plant was not used by the person for the purposes of farming,

(b)in respect of which the person was charged to tax on an amount determined in accordance with section 21 of the Finance Act, 1974,

(c)during which farming was not carried on by the person, or

(d)during which farming was carried on by the person in such circumstances that the full amount of the profits or gains of farming was not liable to be charged to tax under Case I of Schedule D.

(4)In the case of a company (within the meaning of section 4(1)), subsection (2)(c) shall not alter the periods which are to be taken as chargeable periods but, if during any period after the 5th day of April, 1976, and after the company acquired the machinery or plant, the company has not been within the charge to corporation tax, any year of assessment or part of a year of assessment falling within that period shall be taken as a chargeable period as if it had been an accounting period of the company.

(5)Nothing in this section shall affect section 288(4).

661.

Farming: restriction of relief in respect of certain losses.

(1)This section shall apply to a loss sustained by a person in the carrying on of farming in any year of assessment, being a year for which such person was not chargeable to tax in respect of profits or gains from farming.

(2)No relief shall be given under section 382 in respect of a loss to which this section applies by deducting such loss from or setting it off against the amount of the profits or gains from farming assessed for any year of assessment.

662.

Income tax: restriction of relief, for losses in farming or market gardening.

(1)In this section –

“prior 3 years”, in relation to a loss incurred in a year of assessment, means the last 3 years of assessment before that year;

“prior period of loss” means the prior 3 years or, if losses were incurred in successive years of assessment amounting in the aggregate to a period longer than 3 years (and ending when the prior 3 years end), that longer period.

(2)

(a)Any loss (including any amount in respect of allowances which by virtue of section 392 is to be treated as a loss) incurred in a trade of farming or market gardening shall not be available for relief under section 381 unless it is shown that, for the year of assessment in which the loss is claimed to have been incurred, the trade was being carried on on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of profits in the trade.

(b)Without prejudice to paragraph (a), any loss (including any amount in respect of allowances which by virtue of section 392 is to be treated as a loss) incurred in any year of assessment in a trade of farming or market gardening shall not be available for relief under section 381 if in each of the prior 3 years a loss was incurred in carrying on that trade.

(c)For the purposes of this section, the fact that a trade of farming or market gardening was being carried on at any time so as to afford a reasonable expectation of profit shall be conclusive evidence that it was then being carried on with a view to the realisation of profits.

(d)This subsection shall not restrict relief for any loss or any capital allowance where it is shown by the claimant –

(i)that the whole of the claimant’s farming or market gardening activities in the year following the prior 3 years are of such a nature, and carried on in such a way, as would have justified a reasonable expectation of the realisation of profits in the future if those activities had been undertaken by a competent farmer or market gardener, and

(ii)that if such farmer or market gardener had undertaken those activities at the beginning of the prior period of loss, such farmer or market gardener could not reasonably have expected those activities to become profitable until after the end of the year following the prior period of loss.

(e)This subsection shall not restrict relief where the carrying on of the trade forms part of and is ancillary to a larger trading undertaking.

(3)In ascertaining for the purposes of this section whether a loss was incurred in any year, the rules applicable to Case I of Schedule D shall be applied.

(4)Where a trade of farming or market gardening is or is to be treated as being carried on for a part only of a year of assessment by reason of its being set up and commenced, or discontinued, or both, in that year, subsection (2) shall apply in relation to that trade as regards that part of that year.

(5)subsection (2) shall not restrict relief for any loss or capital allowance if the trade was set up and commenced within the prior 3 years, and for the purposes of this subsection a trade shall be treated as discontinued and a new trade set up in any event which under the Income Tax Acts is to be treated as equivalent to the permanent discontinuance or setting up of a trade.

(6)Notwithstanding subsection (5), where at any time there has been a change in the persons engaged in carrying on a trade of farming or market gardening, this section shall apply to any person who was engaged in carrying on the trade immediately before and immediately after the change as if the trade were the same before and after the change without any discontinuance and as if a person and another person with whom such person is connected were the same person.

663.

Corporation tax: restriction of relief for losses in farming or market gardening.

(1)In this section –

“prior 3 years”, in relation to a loss incurred in an accounting period, means the last 3 years before the beginning of the accounting period.

“prior period of loss” means the prior 3 years or, if losses were incurred in successive accounting periods amounting in all to a period longer than 3 years (and ending when the prior 3 years end), that longer period.

(2)

(a)Any loss incurred in a trade of farming or market gardening shall not be available for relief under section 396(2) unless it is shown that, for the accounting period in which the loss is claimed to have been incurred, the trade was being carried on on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of profits in the trade.

(b)

(i)In this paragraph, “loss computed without regard to capital allowances” means a loss ascertained in accordance with the rules of Case I of Schedule D but so that, notwithstanding sections 307 and 308, no account shall be taken of any allowance or charge which otherwise would be taken into account under those sections.

(ii)Without prejudice to paragraph (a), any loss incurred in any accounting period in a trade of farming or market gardening shall not be available for relief under section 396(2) if a loss computed without regard to capital allowances was incurred in carrying on that trade in that accounting period and in each of the accounting periods wholly or partly comprised in the prior 3 years.

(d)This subsection shall not restrict relief for any loss where it is shown by the claimant company –

(i)that the whole of its farming or market gardening activities in the year following the prior 3 years are of such a nature, and carried on in such a way, as would have justified a reasonable expectation of the realisation of profits in the future if those activities had been undertaken by a competent farmer or market gardener, and

(e)This subsection shall not restrict relief where the carrying on of the trade forms part of and is ancillary to a larger trading undertaking.

(3)subsection (2) shall not restrict relief for any loss if the trade was set up and commenced within the prior 3 years, and for the purposes of this subsection a trade shall be treated as discontinued and a new trade set up in any event which under the Tax Acts is to be treated as equivalent to the permanent discontinuance or setting up of a trade; but a trade shall not be treated as discontinued if under section 400(6) it is not to be treated as discontinued for the purpose of capital allowances and charges.

(4)Where a trade of farming or market gardening is or is to be treated as being carried on for a part only of an accounting period by reason of its being set up and commenced, or discontinued, or both, in that accounting period, subsection (2) shall apply in relation to that trade as regards that part of that accounting period.

(5)Notwithstanding subsection (3), where at any time there has been a change in the persons engaged in carrying on a trade of farming or market gardening, this section shall apply to any person, who was engaged in carrying on the trade immediately before and immediately after the change as if the trade were the same before and after the change without any discontinuance and as if a person and another person with whom such person is connected were the same person, and accordingly relief from corporation tax may be restricted under this section by reference to losses some of which are incurred in years of assessment and some, computed without regard to capital allowances, are incurred in a company’s accounting periods.

664.

Relief for certain income from leasing of farm land.

(1)

(a)In this section –

“farm land” means land in the State wholly or mainly occupied for the purposes of husbandry and includes a building (other than a building or part of a building used as a dwelling) situated on the land and used for the purposes of farming that land;

“EU Basic Income Support for Sustainability” means the scheme administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 ;

“lease”, “lessee”, “lessor” and “rent” have the same meanings respectively as in Chapter 8 of Part 4;

“own”, in relation to farm land, includes holding a leasehold interest in farm land;

“qualifying lease” means a lease of farm land which is –

(i)in writing or evidenced in writing,

(ii)for a definite term of 5 years or more, and

(iii)made on an arm’s length basis between a qualifying lessor or qualifying lessors and a lessee or lessees who is, or each of whom is, a qualifying lessee in relation to the qualifying lessor or the qualifying lessors;

“qualifying lessee”, in relation to a qualifying lessor or qualifying lessors, means, as the case may be –

(i)an individual who –

(I)is not connected with the qualifying lessor or with any of the qualifying lessors, and

(II)uses any farm land leased from the qualifying lessor or the qualifying lessors for the purpose of a trade of farming carried on solely or in partnership,

(ii)a company which –

(I)is not connected with the qualifying lessor or with any of the qualifying lessors,

(II)is not controlled either directly or indirectly by any person who is connected with the qualifying lessor or with any of the qualifying lessors, and

(III)uses any farm land leased from the qualifying lessor or the qualifying lessors for the purpose of a trade of farming carried on solely or in partnership;

“qualifying lessor” means an individual who –

(i)[deleted]

(ii)has not after the 30th day of January, 1985, leased the farm land which is the subject of the qualifying lease from a person or persons, who is or are, or one of whom is, connected with him or her, on terms which are not such as might have been expected to be included in a lease if the negotiations for the lease had been at arm’s length, and

(iii)subject to paragraph (aa), has owned the farm land referred to in that paragraph for a continuous period of not less than 7 years beginning on the date of the contract to purchase the farm land concerned.

“relevant lease” means a lease of farm land which is for a definite term of 50 years or more;

“the specified amount”, in relation to any surplus or surpluses (within the meaning of section 97(1)) arising in respect of the rent or the rents from any farm land let under a qualifying lease or qualifying leases, means, subject to paragraph (b), the lesser of –

(i)the amount of that surplus or the aggregate amount of those surpluses,

(ii)as respects a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made –

(I)in the period beginning on the 6th day of April, 1985, and ending on the 19th day of January, 1987, €2,539.48,

(II)in the period beginning on the 20th day of January, 1987, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1987, €3,555.27,

(III)in the period beginning on the 1st day of January, 1988, and ending on the 29th day of January, 1991, €2,539.48,

(IV)in the period beginning on the 30th day of January, 1991, and ending on the 22nd day of January, 1996 –

(A)€5,078.95, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(B)€3,809.21, in any other case,

(V)in the period beginning on 23 January 1996, and ending on 31 December 2003 –

(A)€7,618.43, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(B)€5,078.95, in any other case,

(VI)in the period beginning on 1 January 2004 and ending on 31 December 2005 –

(A)€10,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(B)€7,500, in any other case,

(VII)in the period beginning on 1 January 2006 and ending on 31 December 2006 –

(A)€15,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(B)€12,000, in any other case,

(VIII)in the period beginning on 1 January 2007 and ending on 31 December 2014 –

(A)€20,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 10 years or more,

(B)€15,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, other than a case to which clause (A) applies, and

(C)€12,000, in any other case, or

(IX)on or after 1 January 2015 –

(A)€40,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 15 years or more,

(B)€30,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 10 years or more, other than a case to which clause (A) applies,

(C)€22,500, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, other than a case to which either clause (A) or clause (B) applies, and

(D)€18,000, in any other case,

(iii)where the rent or rents was or were not receivable in respect of a full year’s letting or lettings, such amount as bears to the amount determined in accordance with subparagraph (I), (II), (III), (IV), (V), (VI), (VII), (VIII) or (IX), as may be appropriate, of paragraph (ii) of this definition the same proportion as the amount of the rent or the aggregate amount of the rents bears to the amount of the rent or the aggregate amount of the rents which would be receivable for a full year’s letting or lettings.

(aa)

(i)Subject to subsections (1A) to (1D), paragraph (iii) of the definition of ‘qualifying lessor’ shall apply to an individual who purchased farm land pursuant to a contract entered into on or after 1 January 2024 for a consideration equal to the market value of the farm land at the date of the purchase of that farm land.

(ii)The reference in subparagraph (i) to the purchase by an individual of farm land shall be read as including a reference to the acquisition by an individual of a leasehold interest in farm land under a relevant lease and the reference in that subparagraph to the date of the purchase shall be read as including a reference to the date on which a relevant lease in respect of farm land is granted.

(b)Where the income of a qualifying lessor consists of or includes rent or rents –

(i)from a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made in the period beginning on the 20th day of January, 1987, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1987, and from a qualifying lease made –

(I)in the period beginning on the 6th day of April, 1985, and ending on the 19th day of January, 1987, or

(II)in the period beginning on the 1st day of January, 1988, and ending on the 29th day of January, 1991,

the specified amount shall not exceed €3,555.27;

(ii)from a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made in the period beginning on the 30th day of January, 1991, and ending on the 22nd day of January, 1996, and from a qualifying lease made before the 30th day of January, 1991, the specified amount shall not exceed –

(I)€5,078.95, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(II)€3,809.21, in any other case;

(iii)from a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made in the period beginning on 23 January 1996, and ending on 31 December 2003, and from a qualifying lease made before 23 January 1996, the specified amount shall not exceed –

(I)€7,618.43, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(II)€5,078.95, in any other case;

(iv)from a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made in the period beginning on 1 January 2004, and ending on 31 December 2005, and from a qualifying lease made before 1 January 2004, the specified amount shall not exceed –

(I)€10,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(II)€7,500, in any other case;

(v)from a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made in the period beginning on 1 January 2006 and ending on 31 December 2006, and from a qualifying lease made before 1 January 2006, the specified amount shall not exceed –

(I)€15,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, and

(II)€12,000, in any other case;

(vi)from a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made in the period beginning on 1 January 2007 and ending on 31 December 2014, and from a qualifying lease made before 1 January 2007, the specified amount shall not exceed –

(I)€20,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 10 years or more,

(II)€15,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, other than a case to which clause (I) applies, and

(III)€12,000, in any other case;

(vii)from a qualifying lease or qualifying leases made on or after 1 January 2015, and from a qualifying lease made at any other time, the specified amount shall not exceed –

(I)€40,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 15 years or more,

(II)€30,000, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 10 years or more, other than a case to which clause (I) applies,

(III)€22,500, in a case where the qualifying lease or qualifying leases is or are for a definite term of 7 years or more, other than a case to which either clause (I) or clause (II) applies, and

(IV)€18,000, in any other case.

(1A)

(a)Where an individual referred to in subsection (1)(aa)(i) –

(i)within a period of 7 years from the date of the purchase referred to in subsection (1)(aa), transfers the farm land, in whole or in part (in this subsection referred to as the ‘transferred farm land’), other than by way of purchase for a consideration equal to the market value of the transferred farm land at the date of the transfer, to a person (in this subsection referred to as the ‘transferee’) who is connected with the individual, and

(ii)it is reasonable to consider that the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the transfer referred to in subparagraph (i) is to avoid the application to the individual of paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ in respect of the transferred farm land,

then –

(I)the transferred farm land shall be treated as having been purchased by the transferee for a consideration equal to its market value at the date of the transfer,

(II)for the purposes of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (aa) of subsection (1), a reference in that subparagraph to the date of the purchase shall be read as a reference to the date of the transfer, and

(III)paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ shall apply to the transferee in respect of the transferred farm land and the reference in that paragraph to the date of the contract to purchase the farm land shall be read as a reference to the date of the transfer of the farm land to the transferee.

(b)Where, within the period of 7 years from the date of the purchase referred to in subsection (1)(aa) –

(i)the transferee transfers the transferred farm land, in whole or in part, other than by way of purchase for a consideration equal to its market value, to a person connected with the individual (in this subsection referred to as a ‘subsequent transferee’), and

(ii)it is reasonable to consider that the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the transfer referred to in subparagraph (i) is to avoid the application to the transferee of paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ in respect of the transferred farm land,

then –

(I)the transferred farm land shall be treated as having been purchased by the subsequent transferee for a consideration equal to its market value at the date of the transfer to the subsequent transferee,

(III)paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ shall apply to the subsequent transferee in respect of the transferred farm land and the reference in that paragraph to the date of the contract to purchase the farm land shall be read as a reference to the date of the transfer of the farm land to the subsequent transferee.

(c)Paragraph (b) shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in respect of any transfer by a subsequent transferee to another person as it does to a transfer by a transferee to a subsequent transferee under that paragraph.

(d)In this subsection, references to the transfer of farm land, in whole or in part, shall be read as including references to the grant of a leasehold interest in the farm land, in whole or in part, and, where the context requires, references to –

(i)the transferee shall be read as a reference to the person to whom the lease has been granted,

(ii)the person transferring the farm land shall be read as a reference to the person granting the leasehold interest in the farm land, and

(iii)the date of the transfer shall be read as a reference to the date on which the leasehold interest in the farm land is granted.

(1B)

(a)Where, as part of, or in connection with, a scheme or arrangement –

(i)farm land is acquired (in this subsection referred to as the ‘acquired farm land’) by an individual on or after 1 January 2024 from a person (not being an individual) with whom the individual is connected,

(ii)the farm land is acquired by the individual other than by way of purchase for a consideration equal to its market value at the date of the acquisition, and

(iii)it is reasonable to consider that the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the scheme or arrangement is to avoid the application to the individual of paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ in respect of the acquired farm land,

then –

(I)the acquired farm land shall be treated as having been purchased by the individual for a consideration equal to its market value at the date of the acquisition,

(III)paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ shall apply to the individual in respect of the farm land and the reference in that paragraph to the date of the contract to purchase the farm land shall be read as a reference to the date of the acquisition of the farm land by the individual.

(b)In this subsection, ‘acquire’, in relation to farm land, includes the acquisition of a leasehold interest in farm land and a reference in this subsection to the date of the acquisition shall, in relation to farm land, be read as including a reference to the date on which a leasehold interest in farm land was granted.

(1C)

(a)Where, on or after 1 January 2024, an individual purchases farm land pursuant to a contract entered into on or after that date, from a person who is not connected with the individual for a consideration that is greater or less than the market value of the farm land on the date of the purchase, then –

(i)the farm land shall be treated as having been purchased by the individual for a consideration equal to its market value at the date of the purchase, and

(ii)paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ and, where applicable, paragraph (a)(i) of subsection (1A), shall apply to the individual.

(b)Where, as part of a scheme or arrangement entered into between an individual and another person in respect of farm land purchased by the individual pursuant to a contract entered into on or after 1 January 2024 (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first-mentioned farm land’) –

(i)the individual acquires farm land from such other person (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘second-mentioned farm land’) in exchange for the first-mentioned farm land, and

(ii)it is reasonable to consider that the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the scheme or arrangement is to avoid the application to the individual of paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ in respect of the first-mentioned farm land,

then –

(I)the second-mentioned farm land shall be treated as having been purchased by the individual for a consideration equal to its market value at the date of the acquisition of that farm land by the individual, and

(II)paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ and, where applicable, subsection (1A)(a)(i), shall apply to the individual in respect of the second-mentioned farm land.

(c)In this subsection, ‘acquire’, in relation to farm land, includes the acquisition of a leasehold interest in farm land and a reference in this subsection to the date of the acquisition shall, in relation to farm land, be read as including a reference to the date on which a leasehold interest in farm land was granted.

(1D)Paragraph (iii) of the definition in subsection (1) of ‘qualifying lessor’ shall not apply in respect of an individual who enters into a qualifying lease by reason of the death of the individual’s spouse or civil partner and the spouse or civil partner jointly owned the farm land with the individual immediately before the death of the spouse or civil partner.

(2)Where for any year of assessment –

(a)the total income of a qualifying lessor consists of or includes any profits or gains chargeable to tax under Case V of Schedule D, and

(b)any surplus or surpluses (within the meaning of section (97)(1)) arising in respect of the rent or rents from any farm land let under a qualifying lease or qualifying leases has been or have been taken into account in computing the amount of those profits or gains,

the qualifying lessor shall in determining that total income be entitled to a deduction of the lesser of –

(i)the specified amount in relation to the surplus or surpluses, and

(ii)the amount of the profits or gains.

(3)The amount of any deduction due under subsection (2) shall –

(a)where by virtue of section 1017 a woman’s income is deemed to be her husband’s income, be determined separately as regards the part of his income which is his by virtue of that section and the part which is his apart from that section,

(b)where by virtue of section 1017 a man’s income is deemed to be his wife’s income, be determined separately as regards the part of her income which is hers by virtue of that section and the part which is hers apart from that section, or

(c)where by virtue of section 1031C an individual’s income is deemed to be his or her civil partner’s income, be determined separately as regards the part of his or her income which is his or hers by virtue of that section and the part which is his or hers apart from that section,

and where section 1023 or 1031H, as the case may be, applies, any deduction allowed by virtue of subsection (2) shall be allocated to the person and to his or her spouse or civil partner as if they were not married or civil partners.

(4)

(a)For the purposes of subsection (2), where a single qualifying lease relates to both farm land and other property, goods or services, only such amount, if any, of the surplus arising in respect of the rent payable under the lease as is properly attributable to the lease of the farm land, and after such apportionments of rent, expenses and other deductions as are necessary, shall be treated as a surplus arising in respect of a rent from farm land let under a qualifying lease.

(b)[deleted]

(5)For the purposes of determining the amount of any relief to be granted under this section, the inspector may by notice in writing require the lessor to furnish such information as the inspector considers necessary.

(6)

(a)Subsections (1) and (2) of section 459 and section 460 shall apply to a deduction under this section as they apply to any allowance, deduction, relief or reduction under the provisions specified in the Table to section 458.

(b)Subsections (3) and (4) of section 459 and paragraph 8 of Schedule 28 shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in relation to a deduction under this section.

(7)Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Tax Acts, for the purposes of determining the amount of any relief to be granted under this section, any payment received by the lessor, relating to the leasing of farm land under a qualifying lease, which is in consequence of the receipt or the expected receipt by the lessee of a payment relating to that farm land under the EU Basic Income Support for Sustainability, will be treated as rent from farm land.

(8)A lease which would otherwise be a qualifying lease shall not be a qualifying lease if –

(a)a qualifying lessee of the lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first mentioned lease’), or a person connected with that qualifying lessee of the first mentioned lease, is a qualifying lessor of another qualifying lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘second mentioned lease’) where the qualifying lessor of the first mentioned lease is a qualifying lessee of the second mentioned lease,

(b)a qualifying lessee of the lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first mentioned lease’) is a qualifying lessor of another qualifying lease (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘second mentioned lease’) where that qualifying lessor of the first mentioned lease, or a person connected with that qualifying lessor, is a qualifying lessee of the second mentioned lease, or

(c)the farm land which is the subject of the lease is farmed, in whole or in part, by the qualifying lessor.

664A.

Relief for increase in carbon tax on farm diesel.

(1)In this section –

‘accounting period’, in relation to a person, means –

(a)where the person is a company, an accounting period determined in accordance with section 27, or

(b)where the person is not a company, a period of one year ending on the date to which the accounts of the person are usually made up,

but, where accounts have not been made up or where accounts have been made up for a greater or lesser period than one year, the accounting period shall be such period not exceeding one year as the Revenue Commissioners may determine;

‘carbon tax’ means the carbon charge referred to in section 96(1A) (inserted by section 64(1)(f) of the Finance Act 2010) of the Finance Act 1999;

‘farm diesel’ means the mineral oil described as ‘other heavy oil’ in Schedule 2A to the Finance Act 1999 used by a person in the carrying on of a trade of farming, but does not include such oil used for the purpose of home heating;

‘relevant carbon tax’ means an amount equivalent to the amount determined by the formula –

A – B

where –

Ais the amount of the carbon tax included in a deduction in respect of farm diesel in the computation by a person of the amount of the profits or gains of that person to be charged to tax under Case I of Schedule D, and

Bis the amount of the carbon tax that would have been included in that deduction if the amount of the carbon tax had been calculated at the rate of €41.30 per 1,000 litres of farm diesel.

(2)Where –

(a)a person carries on in an accounting period a trade of farming in respect of which the person is within the charge to tax under Case I of Schedule D, and

(b)in the computation of the amount of the profits or gains of that trade the person is, apart from this section, entitled to any deduction on account of farm diesel,

then such person shall be entitled in that computation to a further deduction for farm diesel of an amount equal to the relevant carbon tax.

Chapter 2

Farming: relief for increase in stock values (ss. 665-669)

665.

Interpretation (Chapter 2).

In this Chapter –

“accounting period”, in relation to a person, means –
(a)where the person is a company, an accounting period determined in accordance with section 27, or
(b)where the person is not a company, a period of one year ending on the date to which the accounts of the person are usually made up,
but, where accounts have not been made up or where accounts have been made up for a greater or lesser period than one year, the accounting period shall be such period not exceeding one year as the Revenue Commissioners may determine;

“chargeable period” has the same meaning as in section 321(2);

“company” has the same meaning as in section 4;

“period of account”, in relation to a person, means a period for which the accounts of the person have been made up;

“specified return date for the chargeable period” has the same meaning as in section 959A.;

“trading income”, in relation to the trade of farming, means –
(a)where the person is a company, the income from the trade computed in accordance with the rules applicable to Case I of Schedule D, or
(b)in the case of any other person, the profits or gains of the trade computed in accordance with the rules applicable to Case I of Schedule D;

“trading stock”, in relation to the trade of farming, has the same meaning as in section 89 and, in determining the value of a person’s trading stock at any time for the purposes of a deduction under section 666, to the extent that at or before that time any payments on account have been received by the person in respect of any trading stock, the value of that stock shall be reduced accordingly.

666.

Deduction for increase in stock values.

(1)Subject to this Chapter, where –

(a)a person carries on in an accounting period the trade of farming in respect of which the person is within the charge to tax under Case I of Schedule D, and

(b)the value of the person’s trading stock of that trade at the end of the accounting period (in this Chapter referred to as its “closing stock value”) exceeds the value of the trading stock of that trade at the beginning of the accounting period (in this Chapter referred to as its “opening stock value”),

the person shall, in the computation for the purposes of tax of the trading income of that trade, be entitled to a deduction under this section equal to 25 per cent of the amount of that excess as if the deduction were a trading expense incurred in the accounting period, and the amount of that excess is referred to in this Chapter as the person’s “increase in stock value”.

(2)In the case of a company –

(a)the amount of the deduction under this section in an accounting period shall not exceed the amount of the company’s trading income for that period after all reductions of income for that period by virtue of sections 396 and 397 and after all deductions and additions for that period by virtue of sections 307 and 308 and before any deduction allowed by virtue of this section, and

(b)where a deduction allowed by virtue of this section in computing the company’s income from the trade of farming for an accounting period applies for an accounting period (in this subsection referred to as “the relevant period”), the company shall not be entitled to –

(i)a deduction under section 307 or 308 for any accounting period later than the relevant period in respect of any allowance treated as a trading loss of the trade before the commencement of the relevant period,

(ii)a set-off of a loss under section 396 for any accounting period later than the relevant period in respect of a loss sustained in the trade before the commencement of the relevant period, or

(iii)a set-off of a loss under section 397 for any accounting period earlier than the relevant period in respect of a loss sustained in the trade.

(3)In the case of a person other than a company, where a deduction allowed by virtue of this section in computing the person’s trading profits of the trade of farming for an accounting period applies for a year of assessment (in this subsection referred to as “the relevant year”) –

(a)the person shall not be entitled to relief –

(i)under section 382 for any year of assessment later than the relevant year in respect of a loss sustained in the trade before the commencement of the relevant year, or

(ii)under section 385 for any year of assessment earlier than the relevant year in respect of a loss sustained in the trade,

(b)section 304(4) or that section as applied by any other provision of the Income Tax Acts shall not apply as respects a capital allowance or part of a capital allowance which is or is deemed to be all or part of a capital allowance for the relevant year and to which full effect has not been given in that year because there were no profits or gains chargeable for that year or there was an insufficiency of profits or gains chargeable for that year,

(c)section 392 shall not apply to the capital allowances or any part of such allowances for the relevant year, and

(d)the amount of any deduction given under this section shall not exceed the amount of the person’s trading income from the trade of farming for the relevant year before any deduction allowed by virtue of this section.

(4)

(a)A deduction shall not be allowed under this section in computing a company’s trading income for any accounting period which ends after 31 December 2024.

(b)Any deduction allowed by virtue of this section in computing the profits or gains of the trade of farming for an accounting period of a person other than a company shall not apply for any purpose of the Income Tax Acts for any year of assessment later than the year 2024.

(5)A person shall not be entitled to a deduction under this section for any chargeable period unless a written claim for such a deduction is made on or before the specified return date for that chargeable period.

(6)This section shall apply to a trade of farming carried on by a partnership as it applies to a trade of farming carried on by a person.

667.

Special provisions for qualifying farmers.

(1)In this section, but subject to section 667A, “qualifying farmer” means an individual who –

(a)in the year 1993-94 or any subsequent year of assessment first qualifies for grant aid under the Scheme of Installation Aid for Young Farmers operated by the Department of Agriculture and Food under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 797/85 of 12 March 1985 or that Regulation as may be revised from time to time, or

(b)

(i)first becomes chargeable to income tax under Case I of Schedule D in respect of profits or gains from the trade of farming for the year 1993-94 or any subsequent year of assessment,

(ii)has not attained the age of 35 years at the commencement of the year of assessment referred to in subparagraph (i), and

(iii)at any time in the year of assessment so referred to –

(I)is the holder of a qualification set out in the Table to this section (in this subparagraph referred to as “the Table”) and, in the case of a qualification set out in subparagraph (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of paragraph 3, or in paragraph 4, of the Table, is also the holder of a certificate issued by Teagasc – The Agricultural and Food Development Authority (in this section referred to as “Teagasc”) certifying that such person has satisfactorily attended a course of training in farm management the aggregate duration of which exceeded 80 hours; but, where Teagasc certifies that any other qualification corresponds to a qualification set out in the Table, that other qualification shall for the purposes of this subsection be treated as if it were the corresponding qualification so set out, or

(II)

(A)has satisfactorily attended full-time a course at a third-level institution in any discipline for a period of not less than 2 years’ duration, and

(B)is the holder of a certificate issued by Teagasc certifying satisfactory attendance at a course of training in either or both agriculture and horticulture the aggregate duration of which exceeded 180 hours.

(III)[deleted]

(2)In the case of a qualifying farmer –

(a)section 666(1) shall apply as if “100 per cent” were substituted for “25 per cent”;

(b)paragraph (a) shall apply in computing a person’s trading profits for an accounting period in the case of an individual who becomes a qualifying farmer –

(i)on or after the 6th day of April, 1993, and before the 6th day of April, 1995, for the year of assessment 1995-96 and for each of the 3 immediately succeeding years of assessment, or

(ii)on or after 6 April 1995 and on or before 31 December 2004, for the year of assessment in which the individual becomes a qualifying farmer and for each of the 3 immediately succeeding years of assessment.

Table

1. Qualifications awarded by Teagasc:

(a) Certificate in Farming;

(b) Diploma in Commercial Horticulture;

(d) Diploma in Pig Production;

(e) Diploma in Poultry Production.

2. Qualifications awarded by the Farm Apprenticeship Board:

(a) Certificate in Farm Management;

(b) Certificate in Farm Husbandry;

3. Qualifications awarded by a third-level institution:

(a) Degree in Agricultural Science awarded by the National University of Ireland through the National University of Ireland, Dublin;

(b) Degree in Horticultural Science awarded by the National University of Ireland through the National University of Ireland, Dublin;

(c) Degree in Veterinary Science awarded by the National University of Ireland through the National University of Ireland, Dublin;

(d) Degree in Rural Science awarded by the National University of Ireland through the National University of Ireland, Cork or by the University of Limerick;

(e) Diploma in Rural Science awarded by the National University of Ireland through the National University of Ireland, Cork;

(f) Degree in Dairy Science awarded by the National University of Ireland through the National University of Ireland, Cork;

(g) Diploma in Dairy Science awarded by the National University of Ireland through the National University of Ireland, Cork.

4. Certificates awarded by the National Council for Educational Awards:

(a) National Certificate in Agricultural Science studied through Kildalton Agricultural College and Waterford Regional Technical College;

(b) National Certificate in Business Studies (Agribusiness) studied through the Franciscan Brothers Agricultural College, Mountbellew, and Galway Regional Technical College.

667A.

Further provisions for qualifying farmers.

(1)In this section ‘qualifying farmer’ means an individual who –

(a)in the year 2004 or any subsequent year of assessment first qualifies for grant aid under the Scheme of Installation Aid for Young Farmers operated by the Department of Agriculture and Food under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 797/85 of 12 March 1985 or that Regulation as may be revised from time to time, or

(b)

(i)first becomes chargeable to income tax under Case I of Schedule D in respect of profits or gains from the trade of farming for the year 2004 or any subsequent year of assessment,

(ii)has not attained the age of 35 years at the commencement of the year of assessment referred to in subparagraph (i), and

(iii)at any time in the year of assessment so referred to satisfies the conditions set out in subsection (2), (3) or (4).

(2)The conditions required by this subsection are that the individual, referred to in the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in subsection (1), is the holder of a qualification set out in the Table to this section (in this section referred to as the ‘Table’), and –

(a)in the case of a qualification set out in paragraph 1(f) or paragraph 2(h) of the Table, is also the holder of a certificate awarded by the Further Education and Training Awards Council for achieving the minimum stipulated standard in assessments completed in a course of training, approved by Teagasc –

(i)in either or both agriculture and horticulture, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 100 hours, and

(ii)in farm management, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 80 hours,

(b)in the case of a qualification set out in subparagraph (b), (c) or (d) of paragraph 3 of the Table, is also the holder of a certificate awarded by the Further Education and Training Awards Council for achieving the minimum stipulated standard in assessments completed in a course of training, approved by Teagasc, in farm management, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 80 hours.

(3)The conditions required by this subsection are that the individual, referred to in the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in subsection (1) –

(a)has achieved the required standard for entry into the third year of a full-time course of 3 or more years’ duration in any discipline at a third-level institution and that has been confirmed by that institution, and

(b)is the holder of a certificate awarded by the Further Education and Training Awards Council for achieving a minimum stipulated standard in assessments completed in a course of training, approved by Teagasc –

(i)in either or both agriculture and horticulture, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 100 hours, and

(ii)in farm management, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 80 hours.

(4)The conditions required by this subsection are that the individual, referred to in the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in subsection (1), is the holder of a letter of confirmation from Teagasc confirming satisfactory completion of a course of training, approved by Teagasc, for persons who in the opinion of Teagasc are restricted in their learning capacity due to physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual disability.

(5)For the purposes of subsection (2) where Teagasc certifies that –

(a)any other qualification corresponds to a qualification set out in the Table, and

(b)that other qualification is deemed by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland to be at least at a standard equivalent to that of the qualification set out in the Table,

then that other qualification shall be treated as if it were the qualification set out in the Table.

(6)In the case of a qualifying farmer –

(a)section 666(1) shall apply as if ‘100 per cent’ were substituted for ’25 per cent’, and

(b)paragraph (a) shall apply in computing a person’s trading profits for an accounting period in the case of an individual who becomes a qualifying farmer at any time in the period beginning on or after 1 January 2004 and ending on or before 31 December 2008, for the year of assessment in which the individual becomes a qualifying farmer and for each of the 3 immediately succeeding years of assessment.

(7)For the purposes of this section, an individual who, before 1 January 2004 –

(a)is the holder of a qualification set out in the Table to section 667 or a qualification certified by Teagasc as corresponding to such a qualification so set out, in respect of which –

(i)satisfactory attendance at a course of training in farm management, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 80 hours, is required in order for the conditions of paragraph (b) (iii) of the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in section 667(1) to be satisfied, shall be deemed to be the holder of a qualification corresponding to that set out in paragraph 3(b) of the Table, or

(ii)satisfactory attendance at a course of training is not required in order for the conditions of paragraph (b) (iii) of the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in section 667(1) to be satisfied, shall be deemed to be the holder of a qualification corresponding to that set out in paragraph 2(a) of the Table,

(b)satisfies the requirements set out in paragraph (b)(iii)(II)(A) of the definition of ‘qualifying farmer’ in section 667(1), shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements set out in subsection (3) (a), and

(c)is the holder of a certificate issued by Teagasc certifying satisfactory attendance at a course of training –

(i)in farm management, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 80 hours, shall be deemed to be the holder of a certificate referred to in subsection (2)(b), or

(ii)in either or both agriculture and horticulture, the aggregate duration of which exceeded 180 hours, shall be deemed to be the holder of a certificate referred to in subsection (2)(a).

Table

1.Qualifications awarded by the Further Education and Training Awards Council:

(a)Vocational Certificate in Agriculture Level 3;

(b)Advanced Certificate in Agriculture;

(c)Vocational Certificate in Horticulture Level 3;

(d)Vocational Certificate in Horse Breeding and Training Level 3;

(e)Vocational Certificate in Forestry Level 3;

(f)Awards other than those referred to in subparagraphs (a) to (e) which are, at least, at a standard equivalent to that of the award referred to in subparagraph (a).

2.Qualifications awarded by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council:

(a)National Certificate in Agriculture;

(b)National Diploma in Agriculture;

(c)National Certificate in Science in Agricultural Science;

(d)National Certificate in Business Studies in Agri-Business;

(e)National Certificate in Technology in Agricultural Mechanisation;

(f)National Diploma in Horticulture;

(g)National Certificate in Business Studies in Equine Studies;

(h)National Certificate or Diploma awards other than those referred to in subparagraphs (a) to (g).

3.Qualifications awarded by other third-level institutions:

(a)Primary degrees awarded by the faculties of General Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at University College Dublin;

(b)Bachelor of Science (Education) in Biological Sciences awarded by the University of Limerick;

(c)Bachelor of Science in Equine Science awarded by the University of Limerick;

(d)Diploma or Certificate in Science (Equine Science) awarded by the University of Limerick.

667B.

New arrangements for qualifying farmers.

(1)In this section “qualifying farmer” means an individual –

(a)

(i)who in the year of assessment 2007 or any subsequent year of assessment first qualifies for grant aid under the scheme of Installation Aid for Young Farmers operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 797/85 of 12 March 1985 or that Regulation as may be revised from time to time, or

(ii)who –

(I)first becomes chargeable to income tax under Case I of Schedule D in respect of profits or gains from the trade of farming for the year of assessment 2007 or any subsequent year of assessment,

(II)has not attained the age of 35 years at the commencement of the year of assessment referred to in clause (I), and

(III)at any time in the year of assessment so referred to satisfies the conditions set out in subsection (2) or (3),

(b)who, where the requirements of subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (a) are first satisfied in the year of assessment 2012 or any subsequent year of assessment (in this paragraph referred to as the “first year of assessment”), submits a business plan to –

(i)Teagasc, for the purpose of this section, or

(ii)Teagasc or the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for any other purpose,

on or before 31 October in the year following the first year of assessment.

(2)The conditions required by this subsection are that the individual referred to in the definition of “qualifying farmer” in subsection (1) is the holder of a trained farmer qualification (within the meaning given by section 654A).

(3)The conditions required by this subsection are that the individual, referred to in the definition of “qualifying farmer” in subsection (1), is the holder of a letter of confirmation from Teagasc confirming satisfactory completion of a course of training, approved by Teagasc, for persons who in the opinion of Teagasc are restricted in their learning capacity due to physical, sensory, or intellectual disability or to mental health.

(4)[deleted]

(5)In the case of a qualifying farmer-

(a)section 666(1) will apply as if “100 per cent” were substituted for “25 per cent”, and

(b)paragraph (a) will apply in computing a person’s trading profits for an accounting period in the case of an individual who becomes a qualifying farmer at any time in the period beginning on or after 1 January 2007 and ending on or before 31 December 2024, for the year of assessment in which the individual becomes a qualifying farmer and for each of the 3 immediately succeeding years of assessment.

(5A)

(a)In this subsection –

“qualifying period”, in relation to a qualifying farmer, means the year of assessment in which an individual becomes a qualifying farmer and each of the 3 immediately succeeding years of assessment;

“relevant tax” means any income tax or universal social charge;

“relief” means an amount equivalent to an amount determined by the formula –

A – B

where –

Ais the amount of relevant tax that would be payable by a qualifying farmer for a year of assessment falling within the qualifying period computed as if subsection (5) had not been enacted, and

Bis the amount of relevant tax payable by the qualifying farmer for that year of assessment.

(b)Subject to subsection (5B), where a qualifying period commences in the year of assessment 2012 or any subsequent year of assessment, the qualifying farmer shall be entitled to relief in respect of deductions under section 666(1), by virtue of subsection (5), of an amount not exceeding –

(i)in the aggregate in the qualifying period, €100,000, and

(ii)in any one year of assessment falling within the qualifying period, €40,000.

(5B)The aggregate amount of relief, within the meaning of subsection (5A), granted to a qualifying farmer under this section, section 667D and section 81AA of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 shall not exceed the limit of €100,000.

(6)An individual who, at any time before 31 March 2008, satisfies the conditions referred to in paragraph (b)(iii) of the definition of “qualifying farmer” in section 667A(1) will be deemed to satisfy the conditions referred to in paragraph (a)(ii)(III) of the definition of “qualifying farmer” in subsection (1).

(7)This section shall apply to a qualifying farmer who comes within the definition of microenterprise or small enterprise in Article 2 of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472 of 14 December 2022 or that Regulation as may be revised from time to time, and in respect of whom subsection (5) applies for the year of assessment 2012 or any subsequent year of assessment.

667C.

Special provisions for registered farm partnerships.

(1)In this section and sections 667D to 667G –

“Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1408/2013” means Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 [OJ No. L352, 24.12.2013, p.9] as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/316 of 21 February 2019 [OJ No. L51 I, 22.2.2019, p.1] and Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2046 of 25 October 2022 [OJ No. L275, 25.10.2022, p.55];

“common agricultural payments” means any payment arising directly to a partner under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union;

“excluded farm asset” means farm land or livestock or machinery used for any of the following farming activities where that activity is excluded, by the terms of the partnership agreement, from the partnership:
(a)pig farming;
(b)poultry farming;
(c)mushroom farming;
(d)forestry;
(e)bloodstock farming;
(f)intensive horticultural cropping;
(g)on-farm milk processing, other than milking and storage of milk;
(h)generation of fuel or electricity;

“farm asset”, other than an excluded farm asset, means –
(a)farm land,
(b)an entitlement to common agricultural payments, and
(c)livestock or machinery used for farming,
but shall not include farm land which is to be disposed of to an authority possessing compulsory purchase powers where the disposal would not be made but for the exercise of those powers, or the giving by the authority concerned of formal notice of its intention to exercise those powers;

“farm land” means land which includes a building (other than a building or part of a building used as a dwelling) occupied by a partner for the purposes of farming that land;

“Minister” means Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine;

“non-active partner” means –
(a)in the case of an individual, an individual who, during the accounting period spends not more than an average of at least 10 hours per week personally engaged in the activities of the several trade, or
(b)in the case of a company, a company whose officers and employees, during the accounting period between them, spend an average of not more than 10 hours per week personally engaged in the activities of the several trade,
where the activities of the several trade are carried on on a commercial basis and in such a way that profits of the several trade could reasonably be expected to be made in that period or within a reasonable time thereafter;

“partner” means a person who is a partner in a registered farm partnership;

“primary participant” means the precedent partner, within the meaning of section 1007;

“qualifying farmer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 667B;

“register” means the register of farm partnerships established and maintained by the Minister under and in accordance with this section and regulations under subsection (4A);

“register of succession farm partnerships” shall be construed in accordance with section 667D(1);

“registered farm partnership” means a farm partnership entered on the register;

“several trade” has the meaning given to it by section 1008.

(1A)

(a)A primary participant, in relation to a farm partnership, may apply to the Minister to enter the farm partnership on the register and shall comply with all requirements relating to the application specified in regulations made under subsection (4A).

(b)In order to be entered on the register, a farm partnership shall comply with all of the following conditions:

(i)the farm partnership shall exist wholly for the purpose of carrying on the trade of farming;

(ii)the farm partnership agreement shall be in writing and shall:

(I)comply with the Partnership Act 1890;

(II)include information identifying the partners, the farm land farmed by the partnership, relating to their shares in the partnership and to the operation of the partnership;

(III)commit the partners to the agreement to a period of operation as a farm partnership of not less than 5 years,

(iii)subject to subsection (1C), the farm partnership shall have at least 2 members and not more than 10 members;

(iv)no member of the farm partnership shall be a non-active partner;

(v)of the members of the farm partnership –

(I)at least one shall be a person who has been engaged in the trade of farming on farm land owned or leased by that person, consisting of at least 3 hectares of useable farm land, for at least 2 years immediately preceding the date of formation of the partnership, and

(II)other than the person referred to in clause (I), at least one is a natural person and either satisfies the requirements of clause (I) or –

(A)is the holder of a trained farmer qualification (within the meaning given by section 654A), and

(B)under the terms of the farm partnership, holds an entitlement to at least 20 per cent of the profits of the partnership;

(vi)other than an excluded farm asset, a partner in a farm partnership shall not have an interest in any farm asset outside of the farm partnership at any time during the period of registration of the farm partnership, and for the purposes of this section, farm land owned or leased by a partner but licensed to the farm partnership concerned shall not be treated as the partner having an interest in land outside of the farm partnership;

(vii)any payment arising to a partner in a farm partnership, from the trade of farming for the purposes of the farm partnership agreement is liable to be, and shall be paid by the partner to the farm partnership.

(1B)

(a)The primary participant shall notify the Minister within 21 days of any change to the farm partnership or its activities and failure to do so shall result in the removal of the partnership from the register from the date of the change unless the Minister is satisfied that –

(i)the change does not affect the farm partnership’s eligibility to be entered, and remain on, the register, and

(ii)the failure was neither the result of careless nor deliberate behaviour on the part of the precedent partner and it is remedied without unreasonable delay upon the precedent partner becoming aware of the failure.

(b)

(i)The primary participant shall notify the Minister, prior to a new partner joining, or an existing partner ceasing to be a partner in the farm partnership (in this paragraph referred to as an ‘alteration’), of the proposed alteration and shall request the Minister to amend the relevant entry on the register accordingly.

(ii)The Minister shall not approve a proposed alteration and amend the relevant entry on the register under subparagraph (i) unless he or she is satisfied that the farm partnership will continue to comply with the requirements of this section, and that the proposed alteration is made for bona fide commercial purposes.

(1C)A farm partnership shall not be eligible to be entered on the register if any partner in that partnership –

(a)is a director of a company that is also a partner in that farm partnership, or

(b)has a shareholding in a company –

(i)that is also a partner in that farm partnership, or

(ii)has a shareholding in a company which directly or indirectly has a shareholding in a company which is a partner in that farm partnership.

(1D)

(a)The Minister shall only enter a farm partnership on the register where he or she is satisfied that the farm partnership has met the conditions set out in subsection (1A).

(b)Where the Minister is not satisfied that the farm partnership is continuing to meet the conditions set out in subsection (1A), then the Minister shall remove the partnership from the register with effect from the date upon which the partnership ceased to meet those conditions.

(c)A farm partnership shall stand suspended from the register where an order has been made under section 9 of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which relates to an area where any part of the farm land of the partnership is situated, but each partner in a partnership that is so suspended shall continue to be treated as a partner in a registered farm partnership for the purposes of subsection (2).

(2)Subject to subsection (3) and (3A), where a person is a partner in a registered farm partnership, section 666 shall apply as if in that section –

(a)in subsection (1) “50 per cent” were substituted for “25 per cent”, and

(b)the following was substituted for subsection (4) –

(4)

(a)A deduction shall not be allowed under this section in computing a company’s trading income for any accounting period which ends after 31 December 2024.

(b)Any deduction allowed by virtue of this section in computing the profits or gains of a trade of farming for an accounting period of a person other than a company shall not apply for any purpose of the Income Tax Acts for any year of assessment later than the year 2024.’.”,

(3)Where a person referred to in subsection (2) is a qualifying farmer, section 667B shall apply for the purposes of this section as if in subsection (5)(a) of that section “50 per cent” were substituted for “25 per cent”.

(3A)

(a)In this subsection –

‘qualifying period’, in relation to a specified person –

(i)means an accounting period in respect of which that person is entitled to a relevant deduction and each subsequent accounting period where the accounting periods in aggregate do not exceed 36 months where the specified person is a company, and

(ii)where the specified person is not a company, means a year of assessment in which that person is entitled to a relevant deduction and each of the 2 immediately succeeding years of assessment;

‘relevant deduction’ means a deduction under section 666(1), in accordance with subsection (2)(a) of this section;

‘relevant tax’, in relation to a specified person –

(i)where the specified person is a company, means any corporation tax, and

(ii)where the specified person is not a company, means any income tax or universal social charge;

‘relief’ means an amount equivalent to an amount determined by the formula –

A – B

where –

Ais the amount of relevant tax that would be payable by a specified person for a year of assessment or an accounting period, as the case may be, falling within the qualifying period computed as if subsection (2) had not been enacted, and

Bis the amount of relevant tax payable by the specified person for that year of assessment or accounting period, as the case may be;

‘specified person’ means a person referred to in subsection (2), other than a person entitled to a deduction under subsection (1) of section 666 equal to 100 per cent of the excess referred to in the said subsection (1).

(b)Subject to paragraphs (c) and (d), a specified person shall be entitled to relief in respect of relevant deductions of an amount not exceeding €7,500 in the aggregate in the qualifying period.

(c)In the case of a qualifying period commencing on or after 1 January 2014, a specified person shall be entitled to relief in respect of relevant deductions of an amount not exceeding €15,000 in the aggregate in that qualifying period.

(d)In the case of a qualifying period commencing on or after 1 January 2024, a specified person shall be entitled to relief in respect of relevant deductions of an amount not exceeding €20,000 in the aggregate in that qualifying period.

(e)Where a specified person constitutes a single undertaking within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1408/2013, relief under this subsection shall be available only insofar as it does not exceed the ceiling of aid laid down in that Commission Regulation.

(4)This section shall apply in respect of any accounting period which begins on or after 1 January 2012 and ends on or before 31 December 2024.

(4A)

(a)The Minister, after consultation with and with the approval of the Minister for Finance, may by regulations establish and maintain a register of farm partnerships (in this subsection referred to as the ‘register’) and those regulations may make separate provision for different classes of farm partner and farm partnership and may provide for –

(i)different divisions of the register relating to different classes of registered farm partnership,

(ii)the form and manner of, and information and documentation required for, an application for entry on the register,

(iii)the form and manner of registration of a farm partnership on the register,

(iv)the assignment of a unique identifier to a farm partnership entered on the register and purposes for which and conditions subject to which, it may be used,

(v)procedures where subsection (1B) or subsection (1D)(b) applies,

(vi)[deleted]

(vii)conditions relating to what the Minister considers to be an appropriate distance between farm land to be used by the partners in carrying on the several trade, having regard to resources and best agricultural practice, provided that no part shall be more than 75 kilometres from another part, and

(viii)such supplemental, transitional and incidental matters as appear to the Minister to be necessary and appropriate.

(b)Every regulation made under this subsection shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.

(5)This section comes into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

667D.

Succession farm partnerships

(1)A primary participant, in relation to a registered farm partnership may apply to the Minister to also enter the registered farm partnership on the register of succession farm partnerships established and maintained under and in accordance with this section and regulations under subsection (7) (in this section referred to as the ‘register of succession farm partnerships’) and shall comply with all requirements relating to the application so specified.

(2)In order to be entered on the register of succession farm partnerships, a registered farm partnership shall comply with all of the following conditions:

(a)subject to subsections (3) and (4), the farm partnership shall have at least 2 members, each of whom shall be a natural person,

(b)of the members of the farm partnership –

(i)at least one shall comply with clause (I) of section 667C(1A)(b)(v), in so far as that clause refers to owned farm land, (in this section referred to as the ‘farmer’), and

(ii)of the others, each member shall not yet have reached 40 years of age and shall comply with subclauses (A) and (B) of section 667C(1A)(b)(v)(II) (in this section referred to as a ‘successor’),

(c)the business plan of the farm partnership shall have been submitted to, and approved by, the Minister,

(d)subject to subsection (3)(a), the farmer shall enter an agreement with one or more than one of the successors (in this section referred to as an ‘agreement’) to transfer or sell at least 80 per cent of the farm assets to which the farm partnership applies, to the successor, or successors, at a time during the period beginning 3 years after and ending 10 years after the date that the application is made under subsection (1), and

(e)the terms of the agreement under subsection (2)(d) shall include –

(i)the farm assets of the farm partnership on the day that the application is made under subsection (1),

(ii)any conditions to which the transfer or sale will be subject,

(iii)the year in which the proposed transfer may take place, and

(iv)any other terms agreed between the farmer and successor, or successors, including in relation to the farm assets, the conduct of the farming trade or the creation of any rights of residence in dwellings on the farm land.

(3)Where the farm assets, or an interest in the farm assets, referred to in a succession farm partnership –

(a)are jointly owned prior to the formation of the succession farm partnership, no agreement under subsection (2)(d) shall be made unless each person who jointly owns or jointly holds an interest in the land concerned, gives full and informed consent to the agreement to the transfer of those assets under subsection (2)(d) and joins in the agreement,

(b)are jointly farmed prior to the formation of the succession farm partnership, whether jointly owned or not, any individual who jointly farmed the lands which are to be transferred under subsection (2)(d) with the farmer, may, notwithstanding subsection (2)(a), become a partner in the partnership notwithstanding that that individual would be a non-active partner.

(4)Where the farmer wishes to form a succession farm partnership with both the successor and that successor’s spouse or civil partner then that spouse or civil partner may become a partner in the partnership notwithstanding that that individual would be a non-active partner and the agreement under subsection (2)(d) may provide for the joint transfer or sale of the farm assets concerned to both a successor and that successor’s spouse or civil partner.

(5)

(a)The Minister shall only enter a farm partnership on the register of succession farm partnerships where he or she is satisfied that the farm partnership has met the conditions set out in subsection (2).

(b)Where the Minister is not satisfied that the farm partnership is continuing to meet the conditions set out in subsection (2), then the Minister shall remove the partnership from the register of succession farm partnerships with effect from the date upon which the partnership ceased to meet those conditions.

(6)

(a)Subject to paragraph (b), for the year of assessment in which the farm partnership is registered as a succession farm partnership and the 4 years of assessment immediately following that year of assessment, each partner in that partnership shall be entitled to a tax credit (to be known as the ‘succession tax credit’) of the lesser amount of –

(i)€5,000 per year of assessment divided between the partners in accordance with their profit sharing ratio under their partnership agreement, or

(ii)the assessable profits (after deducting any capital allowances related to that trade) of that partner’s several trade.

(b)No partner in a succession farm partnership shall be entitled to the succession tax credit in a year of assessment where a successor has attained the age of 40 years at the commencement of that year of assessment.

(c)If the farm assets are not transferred in accordance with the agreement under subsection (2)(d) then, subject to paragraphs (d) and (e), the farmer shall be deemed to have paid an annual payment, to which section 238 applies, of €125,000, or such lower amount as would result in the tax due under section 238 equalling the succession tax credit claimed by all partners, in the latest year of assessment in which the transfer could have taken place.

(d)If it is shown to the satisfaction of a Revenue officer that the farm assets would have been transferred in accordance with subsection (2)(d) but the successor was no longer willing to proceed in accordance with the agreement under that subsection, then paragraph (c) shall apply as if references to the farmer were references to the successor.

(e)If it is shown to the satisfaction of a Revenue officer that the farm assets were not transferred because of mutual agreement between the farmer and the successor, then each partner shall be deemed to have paid an annual payment in an amount that would result in the tax due pursuant to section 238 equalling the succession tax credit claimed by that partner, in the year of assessment in which the mutual agreement not to transfer the farm assets takes place.

(7)The Minister, having consulted and obtained the approval of the Minister for Finance, may, by regulations, establish and maintain a register of succession farm partnerships and those regulations may provide for –

(a)the form and manner of, and information and documentation required for, an application for entry on the register of succession farm partnerships, and in particular, the form and content of the business plan referred to in subsection (2)(c), and agreements and other evidence required to satisfy the Minister regarding compliance with subsection (2)(d) or (e),

(b)the form and manner of registration of a succession farm partnership on the register of succession farm partnerships,

(c)the assignment of an identifier to a succession farm partnership the purposes for which and conditions subject to which, it may be used and any link to the unique identifier referred to in section 667C(4A)(iv), and

(d)such supplemental and incidental matters as appear to the Minister to be necessary and appropriate.

(8)

(a)In this subsection –

‘relevant tax’ means any income tax or universal social charge;

‘relief’ means an amount equivalent to an amount determined by the formula –

A – B

where –

Ais the amount of relevant tax that would be payable by a partner in a succession farm partnership for a year of assessment in which a succession tax credit is claimed by the partner, computed as if this section did not apply, and

Bis the amount of relevant tax payable by the partner for that year of assessment.

(b)The aggregate amount of relief granted to a person under this section, section 667B and section 81AA of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 shall not exceed the limit of €100,000.

667E.

Authorised officers

(1)In this section –

‘relevant statutory provisions’ means sections 667C and 667D;

‘person in charge’ means, in relation to a place, any of the following:

(a)the owner;

(b)the person under whose direction and control the activities at that place are being conducted;

(c)the person whom the authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing is in control of that place;

(d)the driver of a vehicle;

‘place’ includes a vehicle or any attachment to a vehicle.

(2)

(a)The Minister may appoint such and so many persons as he or she considers appropriate to be authorised officers for the purposes of the enforcement of the relevant statutory provisions.

(b)Authorised officers appointed under paragraph (a) shall be furnished by the Minister with a warrant of their appointment as an authorised officer.

(c)When exercising a power under this section, an authorised officer shall, if requested by a person affected, produce the warrant of his or her appointment, or a copy of it, to that person and a form of personal identification.

(d)An appointment under this section may be revoked at any time by the Minister.

(3)An authorised officer shall, for the purposes of the relevant statutory provisions, have power to do any one or more of the following:

(a)subject to subsection (4), at all reasonable times enter, inspect, examine and search any lands or place to which the authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that this section applies, including for the purpose of surveying or mapping any land for any purpose under those provisions;

(b)while on the lands or at the place referred to in paragraph (a), may inquire into, search, examine and inspect any records relating to the operation of the farm partnership, registered farm partnership or, as the case may be, succession farm partnership;

(c)inspect and take copies of or extracts from any such records or any electronic information system at that place, including in the case of information in a non-legible form, copies of or extracts from such information in a permanent legible form or require that such copies be provided;

(d)require the person in charge to give the authorised officer such information as the authorised officer may reasonably require for the purposes of any search, examination, investigation, inspection or inquiry under those provisions, including the name and address of the owner or manager of the lands;

(e)require any person whom the authorised officer reasonably believes to be able to give to the authorised officer information relevant to any search, examination, investigation, inspection or inquiry under those provisions to answer such questions as the authorised officer may reasonably require relative to the search, examination, investigation, inspection or inquiry and to sign a declaration of the truth of the answers.

(4)An authorised officer shall not enter a dwelling other than –

(a)with the consent of the occupier, or

(b)in accordance with a warrant of the District Court issued under subsection (6) authorising such entry.

(5)Where an authorised officer, in the exercise of his or her powers under this section, is prevented from entering any place or lands, an application may be made to the District Court for a warrant under subsection (6) authorising such entry.

(6)Without prejudice to the powers conferred on an authorised officer under this section, if a judge of the District Court is satisfied, by information on oath by an authorised officer that there are reasonable grounds for believing that –

(a)there is anything at any place or any records (including documents stored in a non-legible form) or information relating to a place or lands that the authorised officer requires to inspect for the purposes of the relevant statutory provisions, held at any place, or

(b)there is, or such an inspection is likely to disclose, evidence of a contravention of the relevant statutory provisions,

the judge may issue a warrant authorising an authorised officer, accompanied by such other authorised officers or such other competent persons as may be appropriate, at any time or times, within one month from the date of issue of the warrant, on production of the warrant if requested, to enter the place or lands, if necessary by the use of reasonable force, and perform the functions conferred on an authorised officer under the relevant statutory provisions.

(7)Where an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for apprehending any serious obstruction in the performance of his or her functions or otherwise considers it necessary, the officer may be accompanied by other authorised officers or any other person authorised by the Minister for this purpose, when performing any functions conferred on him or her by or under the relevant statutory provisions.

667F.

Appeals officer

(1)The Minister may appoint a person to be an appeals officer (in this section and section 667G referred to as an ‘appeals officer’) for the purposes of appeals under sections 285D and 667G.

(2)An appeals officer shall be either a practising solicitor or a practising barrister, either of whom shall have not less than 5 years experience.

(3)A solicitor or barrister in the full-time service of the State shall not be an appeals officer.

(4)An appeals officer shall –

(a)hold office for a term of 3 years and, subject to subsection (6), shall be eligible for reappointment on the expiry of that term of office,

(b)be independent in the performance of his or her functions,

(c)be paid such fees and allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, may determine, and

(d)at such intervals and in relation to such periods as are specified by the Minister, submit a report in writing to the Minister in relation to the performance of his or her functions as an appeals officer during the period to which the report refers.

(5)An appeals officer may –

(a)resign from office by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on the date on which the Minister receives the letter, or

(b)be removed from office by the Minister where in the opinion of the Minister the appeals officer –

(i)has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his or her functions under this section, or

(ii)has committed stated misbehaviour.

(6)An appeals officer may not serve more than two consecutive terms of office.

(7)The appeals officer may, in consultation with the Minister, establish the procedures to be followed by him or her regarding –

(a)the holding of a hearing,

(b)the examination by the appeals officer of the parties to the appeal or other persons,

(c)requests by the appeals officer for information or further information, for the purposes of the appeal, from the parties to the appeal or other persons,

(d)provision by the appeals officer to the parties to the appeal of all information for the purposes of the appeal, received by the appeals officer, and

(e)any other matter as the appeals officer considers appropriate for the proper performance by the appeals officer of his or her functions.

(8)The Minister shall, subject to the provisions of any enactment or rule of law, indemnify an appeals officer appointed by the Minister in respect of any act done or omitted to be done by him or her in the performance or purported performance of his or her functions as such appeals officer, unless the act or omission concerned was done in bad faith.

667G.

Appeals

(1)The Minister shall give notice in writing to the primary participant concerned of his or her decision –

(a)to refuse to enter, under section 667C(1D)(a), the farm partnership on the register,

(b)to refuse to enter, under section 667D(5)(a), the farm partnership on the register of succession farm partnerships,

(c)to remove, under section 667C(1B)(a), the farm partnership from the register,

(d)not to amend an entry on the register under section 667C(1B)(b),

(e)to refuse to approve the business plan of a farm partnership for the purposes of section 667D(2)(c),

(f)to remove, under section 667C(1D)(b), the farm partnership from the register, or

(g)to remove, under section 667D(5)(b), the farm partnership from the register of succession farm partnerships.

(2)A notice under subsection (1) shall –

(a)include reasons for the decision,

(b)inform the primary participant that –

(i)he or she may appeal the decision, in writing, within 21 days of the date of the notice to the appeals officer, and

(ii)the notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for the appeal, and

(c)inform the primary participant that the decision shall be suspended until –

(i)the decision becomes final under subsection (3), or

(ii)the disposal of an appeal under this section.

(3)If, on the expiration of the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice under subsection (2), no appeal under this section is made by the primary participant, the Minister’s decision under subsection (1) is final.

(4)A notice of appeal shall comply with subsection (2)(b) and shall be accompanied by such fee as may be determined by the Minister from time to time and published in such manner as the Minister considers appropriate, including on the internet.

(5)For the purposes of an appeal the appeals officer –

(a)shall notify the Minister of the appeal,

(b)shall request submissions from the parties to the appeal and they shall furnish the submissions to the appeals officer within the period, which shall be not less than 7 days, specified in the request,

(c)following consideration of the submissions, may hold a hearing, and

(d)may request information from the parties to the appeal, or any other person as the appeals officer considers necessary for the proper performance of his or her functions and the parties to the appeal, or other person as the case may be, shall furnish the information to the appeals officer within the period specified in the request.

(6)If a hearing is held –

(a)each of the parties to the appeal is entitled to be heard at the hearing, and

(b)the appeals officer may adjourn the hearing of the matter at any stage in the proceedings until a date specified by the appeals officer.

(7)In considering an appeal under this section the appeals officer shall consider –

(a)submissions from the parties to the appeal,

(b)the evidence presented at any hearing of the matter, and

(c)all information furnished to the appeals officer.

(8)On completion of his or her consideration of the appeal the appeals officer shall make a decision determining the appeal as soon as practicable in all the circumstances of the case, and in any case not more than 42 days after the date of the notice of appeal, which may be a decision to –

(a)affirm the decision of the Minister, or

(b)quash the decision of the Minister and allow the appeal.

(9)The appeals officer shall notify the parties to the appeal of the decision under subsection (8) as soon as practicable after it is made.

(10)

(a)A party to the appeal may apply to the High Court regarding a decision of the appeals officer on a point of law and the determination of the High Court on such an appeal shall be final and conclusive.

(b)An application to the High Court under paragraph (a) shall be made not later than 14 days after the notification, under subsection (9), to the parties of the decision of the appeals officer.

668.

Compulsory disposals of livestock.

(1)In this section –

“excess” means the excess of the relevant amount over the value of the stock to which this section applies at the beginning of the accounting period in which the disposal takes place;

“relevant amount” means the amount of any income received by a person as a result or in consequence of a disposal of stock to which this section applies;

“stock to which this section applies” means –

(a)all cattle forming part of the trading stock of the trade of farming, where such cattle are compulsorily disposed of on or after 6 April 1993, under any statute relating to the eradication or control of diseases in livestock, and for the purposes of this section all cattle shall be regarded as compulsorily disposed of where, in the case of any disease eradication scheme, all eligible cattle for the purposes of any such scheme, together with such other cattle as are required to be disposed of, are disposed of, or

(b)animals and poultry of a kind specified in Parts I and II, respectively, of the First Schedule to the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966, forming part of the trading stock of the trade for farming, where all animals or poultry of the particular kind forming part of that trade of farming are disposed of on or after 6 December 2000, in such circumstances that compensation is paid by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in respect of that disposal.

(2)Where stock to which this section applies is disposed of in an accounting period by a person carrying on the trade of farming, the person may elect to have the excess treated in accordance with subsections (3) to (5), and such election shall be made in such form and contain such information as the Revenue Commissioners may require.

(3)

(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts apart from paragraph (b) and subsection (3A), where a person elects in accordance with subsection (2), the excess shall be disregarded as respects the accounting period in which it arises and shall instead be treated for the purposes of the Tax Acts as arising in equal instalments in each of the 4 immediately succeeding accounting periods.

(b)Notwithstanding paragraph (a) but subject to subsection (3A), where the person further elects, the excess shall be treated as arising in such equal instalments in the accounting period in which it arises and in the 3 immediately succeeding accounting period.

(3A)Where a trade of farming is permanently discontinued, tax shall be charged under Case IV of Schedule D for the chargeable period in which such discontinuation takes place in respect of the amount of the excess which would, but for such discontinuance, be treated by virtue of subsection (3) as arising in an accounting period or accounting periods ending after such discontinuance.

(4)Subject to subsection (4A), where, not later than the end of the period over which the excess is treated as arising under subsection (3), the person incurs or intends to incur expenditure on the replacement of stock to which this section applies in an amount not less than the relevant amount, then the person shall, in substitution for any deduction to which the person might otherwise be entitled under section 666 as a result of incurring an amount of expenditure equal to the relevant amount, be deemed to be entitled to a deduction under that section –

(a)where subsection (3)(a) applies, for each of the 4 immediately succeeding accounting periods referred to in that subsection, and

(b)where subsection (3)(b) applies, for the accounting period in which the excess arises and each of the 3 immediately succeeding accounting periods referred to in that subsection,

and the amount of that deduction shall be an amount equal to the amount treated as arising in each accounting period under subsection (3)(a) or (3)(b), as the case may be, and section 666 shall apply with any necessary modifications in order to give effect to this subsection.

(4A)Where it subsequently transpires that the expenditure actually incurred, on the replacement of stock to which this section applies, by the end of the period over which the excess is treated as arising under subsection (3), was less than the relevant amount, then –

(a)the aggregate deduction to which the person is deemed by subsection (4) to be entitled under section 666 in respect of the 4 accounting periods referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, of that subsection shall be reduced to an amount that bears the same proportion to that aggregate deduction as the expenditure actually incurred in those 4 accounting periods bears to the relevant amount, and

(b)the reduction to be made in accordance with paragraph (a) shall, as far as possible, be made in a later accounting period in priority to an earlier accounting period.

(5)An election under this section shall be made by notice in writing made on or before the specified return date for the chargeable period in which the stock to which this section applies is compulsorily disposed of.

(6)Where –

(a)by virtue of the operation of section 65, the profits or gains of both the year of assessment 2001 and the year of assessment 2002 are computed on the basis of an accounting period of one year ending in the period from 1 January 2002 to 5 April 2002, and

(b)an instalment referred to in subsection (3) is treated as arising in that accounting period,

then, notwithstanding any other provision of the Tax Acts –

(i)an amount equal to 74 per cent of that instalment shall be taken to be part of the profits or gains of the trade of farming for the year of assessment 2001, and

(ii)an amount equal to 26 per cent of that instalment shall be taken to be part of the profits or gains of the trade of farming for the year of assessment 2002.

(7)Where, by virtue of subsection (4), a person is deemed to be entitled to a deduction under section 666 in respect of the accounting period referred to in subsection (6), then –

(a)74 per cent of such deduction shall be granted for the year of assessment 2001, and

(b)26 per cent of such deduction shall be granted for the year of assessment 2002.

669.

Supplementary provisions

(Chapter 2).
(1)

(a)Where a person has acquired or disposed of trading stock otherwise than in the normal conduct of the trade of farming, the person shall be treated for the purposes of this Chapter as having, at the beginning or end of the relevant period of account, trading stock of such value as is just and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the case.

(b)Where the value of a person’s trading stock at the beginning of a period of account is not calculated on the basis used for the calculation of the value of the trading stock at the end of that period, the value of the trading stock at the beginning of that period shall for the purposes of this Chapter be treated as being what it would have been if it had been calculated on that basis.

(2)

(a)In any case where a person’s accounting period does not coincide with a period of account or with 2 or more consecutive periods of account, the person’s increase in stock value in the accounting period shall be determined for the purposes of section 666 not in accordance with subsection (1) of that section but by reference to a period (in this section referred to as “the reference period”) determined in accordance with this subsection.

(b)In any case where the beginning of a person’s accounting period does not coincide with the beginning of a period of account, the reference period shall begin at the beginning of the period of account which is current at the beginning of the person’s accounting period.

(c)In any case where the end of the person’s accounting period does not coincide with the end of a period of account, the reference period shall end at the end of the period of account which is current at the end of the person’s accounting period.

(d)In any case where paragraph (b) does not apply, the reference period shall begin at the beginning of the person’s accounting period and, in any case where paragraph (c) does not apply, the reference period shall end at the end of the person’s accounting period.

(3)

(a)In any case where subsection (2)(a) applies, a person’s increase in stock value in the accounting period shall be determined for the purposes of section 666 by the formula –

where –

Ais the number of months in the person’s accounting period,

Cis the value of the person’s trading stock at the end of the reference period,

Ois the value of the person’s trading stock at the beginning of the reference period, and

Nis the number of months in the reference period.

(b)In any case where a person’s increase in stock value in an accounting period is to be determined in accordance with paragraph (a), then, in section 666 and in subsections (4) to (6), any reference to the person’s closing stock value shall be construed as a reference to the value of the person’s trading stock at the end of the reference period.

(4)

(a)A person shall not be entitled to a deduction under section 666 for an accounting period if that accounting period ends by virtue of the person ceasing to –

(i)carry on the trade of farming,

(ii)be resident in the State, or

(iii)be within the charge to tax under Case I of Schedule D in respect of that trade.

(b)In any case where a person’s increase in stock value in an accounting period is to be determined in accordance with subsection (3)(a), paragraph (a) shall apply as if the reference in that paragraph to the person’s accounting period were a reference to any of the accounting periods comprised in the person’s reference period.

(5)

(a)Subject to paragraphs (b) to (d), where a person claims a deduction under section 666 and, immediately before the beginning of an accounting period, the person was not carrying on the trade to which the claim relates, then, unless –

(i)the person acquired the initial trading stock of that trade on a sale or transfer from another person on that person’s ceasing to carry on that trade, and

(ii)the stock so acquired is or is included in the person’s trading stock as valued at the beginning of the accounting period,

the person shall be treated for the purposes of section 666 and subsections (1) to (4) as having at the beginning of the accounting period trading stock of such value as is just and reasonable.

(b)In determining for the purposes specified in paragraph (a) the value of trading stock to be attributed to a person at the beginning of the accounting period, the inspector shall have regard to all the relevant circumstances of the case and in particular to –

(i)movements during the person’s accounting period in the costs of items of a kind comprised in the person’s trading stock during that period, and

(ii)changes during that period in the volume of the trade in question carried on by the person.

(c)The Appeal Commissioners dealing with an appeal from the decision of an inspector on a claim in a case where in accordance with paragraph (a) the inspector has attributed to a person at the beginning of an accounting period trading stock of a particular value shall, in hearing and determining the appeal in so far as it relates to the value of the trading stock to be so attributed, determine such value as appears to the Appeal Commissioners to be just and reasonable, having regard to those factors to which the inspector is required to have regard by virtue of paragraph (b).

(d)In any case where subsection (2)(a) applies to a person’s accounting period, for any reference in paragraphs (a) to (c) to that accounting period there shall be substituted a reference to the reference period.

(6)In any case where a person’s accounting period or reference period consists of a number of complete months and a fraction of a month, any reference in this section to the number of months in the period shall be construed as including that fraction of a month (and in any case where any such period is less than one month any such reference shall be construed as a reference to that fraction of a month of which the period consists).

Chapter 3

Milk Quotas (ss. 669A-669F)

669A. Interpretation.
In this Chapter –

“levy” means the levy referred to in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3950 of 28 December 1992 [Note: O.J. No. L405, 31.12.1992, p.1], as amended;

“milk” means the produce of the milking of one or more cows and ‘other milk products’ includes cream, butter and cheese;

“milk quota” means –
(a)the quantity of a milk or other milk products which may be supplied by a person carrying on farming, in the course of a trade of farming land occupied by such person to a purchaser in a milk quota year without that person being liable to pay a levy, or
(b)the quantity of a milk or other milk products which may be sold or transferred free for direct consumption by a person carrying on farming, in the course of a trade of farming land occupied by such person in a milk quota year without that person being liable to pay a levy;

“milk quota restructuring scheme” means a scheme introduced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development under the provisions of Article 8(b) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3950 of 28 December 1992, as amended;

“milk quota year” means a twelve month period beginning on 1 April and ending on the following 31 March;

“purchaser” has the meaning assigned to it under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3950 of 28 December 1992;

“qualifying expenditure” means –
(a)in the case of milk quota to which paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘qualifying quota’ refers, the amount of the capital expenditure incurred on the purchase of that qualifying quota, and
(b)in the case of milk quota to which paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘qualifying quota’ refers, the lesser of –
(i)the amount of capital expenditure incurred on the purchase of that qualifying quota, or
(ii)the amount of capital expenditure which would have been incurred on the purchase of that milk quota if the price paid were set otherwise than by the Minister for Agriculture and Food for the purposes of a Milk Quota Restructuring Scheme in the area in which the land, with which that milk quota is associated, is situated;

“qualifying quota” means –
(a)a milk quota purchased by a person on or after 1 April 2000 under a Milk Quota Restructuring Scheme, or
(b)a milk quota purchased by a lessee who entered into a lease agreement with a lessor in respect of that quota prior to 13 October 1999 and which ends on or after 31 March 2000 and which complies with the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 857/84 of 31 March 1984 [O.J. No. L90, of 1 April 1984, p.13.] or Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3950 of 28 December 1992;

“writing-down period” has the meaning assigned to it by section 669B(2).

669B. Annual allowances for capital expenditure on purchase of milk quota.
(1)Where, on or after 6 April 2000, a person incurs qualifying expenditure on the purchase of a qualifying quota, there shall, subject to and in accordance with this Chapter, be made to that person writing-down allowances during the writing-down period as specified in subsection (2); but no writing-down allowance shall be made to a person in respect of any qualifying expenditure unless the allowance is to be made to the person in taxing the person’s trade of farming.

(2)The writing-down period referred to in subsection (1) shall be 7 years commencing with the beginning of the chargeable period related to the qualifying expenditure.

(3)The writing-down allowances to be made during the writing-down period referred to in subsection (2) in respect of qualifying expenditure shall be determined by the formula –

A x B

where –

Ais the amount of the qualifying expenditure incurred on the purchase of the milk quota,

Bis the length of the part of the chargeable period falling within the writing-down period, and

Cis the length of the writing-down period.

669C. Effect of sale of quota.
(1)Where a person incurs qualifying expenditure on the purchase of a qualifying quota and, before the end of the writing-down period, any of the following events occurs –

(a)the person sells the qualifying quota or so much of the quota as the person still owns;

(b)the qualifying quota comes to an end or ceases altogether to be used;

(c)the person sells part of the qualifying quota and the net proceeds of the sale (in so far as they consist of capital sums) are not less than the amount of the qualifying expenditure remaining unallowed;

no writing-down allowance shall be made to that person for the chargeable period related to the event or any subsequent chargeable period.

(2)Where a person incurs qualifying expenditure on the purchase of a qualifying quota and, before the end of the writing-down period, either of the following events occurs –

(a)the qualifying quota comes to an end or ceases altogether to be used;

(b)the person sells all of the qualifying quota or so much of that quota as the person still owns, and the net proceeds of the sale (in so far as they consist of capital sums) are less than the amount of the qualifying expenditure remaining unallowed;

there shall, subject to and in accordance with this Chapter, be made to that person for the chargeable period related to the event an allowance (in this Chapter referred to as a ‘balancing allowance’) equal to –

(i)if the event is the qualifying quota coming to an end or ceasing altogether to be used, the amount of the qualifying expenditure remaining unallowed, and

(ii)if the event is a sale, the amount of the qualifying expenditure remaining unallowed less the net proceeds of the sale.

(3)Where a person who has incurred qualifying expenditure on the purchase of a qualifying quota sells all or any part of that quota and the net proceeds of the sale (in so far as they consist of capital sums) exceed the amount of the qualifying expenditure remaining unallowed, if any, there shall, subject to and in accordance with this Chapter, be made on that person for the chargeable period related to the sale a charge (in this Chapter referred to as a ‘balancing charge’) on an amount equal to –

(a)the excess, or

(b)where the amount of the qualifying expenditure remaining unallowed is nil, the net proceeds of the sale.

(4)Where a person who has incurred qualifying expenditure on the purchase of a qualifying quota sells a part of that quota and subsection (3) does not apply, the amount of any writing-down allowance made in respect of that expenditure for the chargeable period related to the sale or any subsequent chargeable period shall be the amount determined by –

(a)subtracting the net proceeds of the sale (in so far as they consist of capital sums) from the amount of the expenditure remaining unallowed at the time of the sale, and

(b)dividing the result by the number of complete years of the writing-down period which remained at the beginning of the chargeable period related to the sale,

and so on for any subsequent sales.

(5)References in this section to the amount of any qualifying expenditure remaining unallowed shall in relation to any event be construed as references to the amount of that expenditure less any writing-down allowances made in respect of that expenditure for chargeable periods before the chargeable period related to that event, and less also the net proceeds of any previous sale by the person who incurred the expenditure of any part of the qualifying quota acquired by the expenditure, in so far as those proceeds consist of capital sums.

(6)Notwithstanding subsections (1) to (5) –

(a)no balancing allowance shall be made in respect of any expenditure unless a writing-down allowance has been, or, but for the happening of the event giving rise to the balancing allowance, could have been, made in respect of that expenditure, and

(b)the total amount on which a balancing charge is made in respect of any expenditure shall not exceed the total writing-down allowances actually made in respect of that expenditure less, if a balancing charge has previously been made in respect of that expenditure, the amount on which that charge was made.

669D. Manner of making allowances and charges.
An allowance or charge under this Chapter shall be made to or on a person in taxing the profits or gains from farming but only if at any time in the chargeable period or its basis period the qualifying quota in question was used for the purposes of that trade.

669E. Application of Chapter 4 of Part 9.
(1)Subject to subsection (2), Chapter 4 of Part 9 shall apply as if this Chapter were contained in that Part.

(2)In Chapter 4 of Part 9, as applied by virtue of subsection (1) to a qualifying quota, the reference in section 312(5)(a)(i) to the sum mentioned in paragraph (b) shall in the case of a qualifying quota be construed as a reference to the amount of the qualifying expenditure on the acquisition of the qualifying quota remaining unallowed, computed in accordance with section 669C.

669F. Commencement (Chapter 3).
This Chapter shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance, with the consent of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, may, by order, appoint.

Chapter 4

Taxation of stallion profits and gains (ss. 669G-669K)

669G. Interpretation (Chapter 4).
In this Chapter-

“excess relief” has the same meaning as in section 485C;

“initial value” in relation to a stallion means its market value on –
(a)1 August 2008, or
(b)the day it is either acquired for, or appropriated to, stud activities, as the case may be
whichever is later, and any reference to a stallion includes a reference to an interest in a stallion;

“market value” at any time in relation to a stallion, means the price which the stallion might reasonably be expected to fetch on a sale in the open market and in a case where a person (the ‘purchaser’) acquires the stallion from another person (the ‘vendor’) –
(a)at arm’s length, and
(b)the purchaser and the vendor are not connected persons (within the meaning of section 10),
then the market value is the price paid;

“relevant amount” in relation to a year of assessment and an individual, means an amount determined by the formula – A – B where –
Ais the amount of income tax payable by the individual for the year of assessment, and
Bis the amount of income tax which would be payable by the individual for the year of assessment if –
(a)the entry at Reference Number 6 of Schedule 25B had not been enacted, and
(b)for the purposes of the entry at Reference Number 1 of Schedule 25B the definition of ‘exempt profits’ in section 140(1) did not include profits or gains which by virtue of section 231 were not charged to tax;

“relevant excess relief” in relation to a year of assessment and an individual, means an amount determined by the formula – C – D where –
Cis the amount of excess relief which is carried forward to the next year of assessment and which the individual is entitled to deduct from his or her total income for that year, and
Dis the amount of excess relief which would be carried forward to the next year of assessment and which the individual would be entitled to deduct from his or her total income for that year if –
(a)the entry at Reference Number 6 of Schedule 25B had not been enacted, and
(b)for the purposes of the entry at Reference Number 1 of Schedule 25B the definition of ‘exempt profits’ in section 140(1) did not include profits or gains which by virtue of section 231 were not charged to tax;

“residual value” in relation to a stallion, at any time, means –
(a)an amount equal to the initial value of the stallion, or
(b)if less, the amount by which the initial value of the stallion exceeds –
(i)the amount which has been allowed as a deduction under section 669I for a chargeable period ending before that time, or
(ii)where there is more than one such amount, the aggregate of such amounts.

669H. Charging provisions.
(1)The profits or gains arising in any chargeable period to the owner or part-owner of a stallion from the sale of services of mares by the stallion or rights to such services shall be chargeable to income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, in accordance with subsection (2).

(2)

(a)In a case in which the owner or part-owner of a stallion carries on in the chargeable period referred to in subsection (1) the trade of farming in respect of which the owner or part-owner is within the charge to tax under Case I of Schedule D, the profits or gains referred to in subsection (1) and any amount chargeable under subsection (3)(c) of section 669I shall be chargeable under that Case of that Schedule as part of that trade.

(b)In a case, other than one referred to in paragraph (a), the profits or gains referred to in subsection (1) and any amount chargeable under subsection (3)(c) of section 669I shall be chargeable under Case IV of Schedule D.

669I. Provisions as to deductions.
(1)Where any person acquires ownership or part-ownership of a stallion, the profits or gains in relation to which are chargeable in accordance with section 669H(2), then that person, in computing the amount of income to be charged to tax under the Tax Acts for any chargeable period, shall not be entitled, other than in accordance with subsection (2), to any deduction in respect of expenditure incurred on such acquisition.

(2)

(a)Where the profits or gains referred to in subsection (1) are chargeable in accordance with section 669H(2)(a), for each of 4 consecutive chargeable periods, the first of which begins with the chargeable period in which-

(i)1 August 2008 occurs, in a case where the stallion is owned or part-owned on that day, or

(ii)in any other case, the stallion is either acquired for, or appropriated to, stud activities, as the case may be,

the owner or part-owner of the stallion shall, in computing for the purposes of tax the trading income of the trade of farming referred to in that section, be entitled to a deduction under this section equal to 25 per cent of the initial value of the stallion, as if the deduction were a trading expense incurred in the chargeable period.

(b)Subject to section 669K(3), where the profits or gains referred to in subsection (1) are chargeable in accordance with section 669H(2)(b), in determining the amount of income to be charged to tax under Case IV of Schedule D, such income shall be computed in accordance with the provisions applicable to Case I of Schedule D, taking into account this Chapter.

(3)Where, in any chargeable period a stallion to which this Chapter applies is disposed of or dies, then-

(a)no deduction which would otherwise be allowed under subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b), as the case may be, in respect of the initial value of that stallion shall be allowed for that chargeable period or for any subsequent chargeable period,

(b)a deduction of an amount equal to the residual value of the stallion at the time of its disposal or death shall be allowed for that chargeable period as if it were a deduction under subsection (2)(a), and

(c)the owner or part-owner of the stallion shall be chargeable to income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, on-

(i)the amount received in money or money’s worth, in respect of its disposal or death, or

(ii)in the case of a disposal, if greater, the price which the stallion might reasonably have been expected to fetch at the time of its disposal on a sale, at arm’s length between persons who are not connected (within the meaning of section 10), in the open market.

669J. Credit for tax paid.
(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, any individual, to whom Chapter 2A of Part 15 applies for any year of assessment, who has made a payment which includes a relevant amount in respect of that year of assessment shall, without prejudice to the payment so made, be treated as having made a payment on account of income tax of an amount equal to the relevant amount.

(2)So much of a payment of tax (referred to in this section as the ‘deemed payment on account of tax’) for a year of assessment by an individual as is treated in accordance with subsection (1) shall, in so far as possible, be set against any liability to income tax of the individual, for the year of assessment following the first-mentioned year of assessment.

(3)To the extent that the deemed payment on account of tax has not been set off in accordance with subsection (2), the balance remaining shall be set off against a liability to income tax for any subsequent year of assessment of the individual who is treated as having made the payment, in the order of being set off against a liability for an earlier period in priority to a liability for a later period.

(4)Only the excess of an overpayment of income tax for any year of assessment over the deemed payment on account of tax to be made for that year of assessment by virtue of this section may be repaid and interest shall not be payable in respect of any part of such overpayment other than the excess.

(5)Where in any year of assessment section 485E applies to an individual, then for the purposes of section 485F the excess relief for the year shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of the relevant excess relief.

669K. Miscellaneous (Chapter 4).
(1)For the purposes of determining the market value of a stallion to which this Chapter applies, the Revenue Commissioners may consult with such person or body of persons as, in their opinion, may be of assistance to them.

(2)Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Tax Acts, trading stock comprising stallions shall be disregarded for all purposes of section 666.

(3)In a case in which in any chargeable period the computation of the amount of income of a person to be charged to tax under Case IV of Schedule D under this Chapter results in a loss, then, notwithstanding section 383, the amount of the loss may not be deducted from or set off against other income charged to tax under Case IV of Schedule D arising in that chargeable period, and any loss, when carried forward to a subsequent chargeable period, may only be deducted from or set off against income to which section 669H(2)(b) applies arising in that subsequent chargeable period.

Chapter 5

Tax treatment of certain payments to holders of sea-fishing boat licences (ss. 669L-669O)

669L. Definitions
(1)In this Chapter –

“Brexit compensation sum” means sums arising to a licence holder made under a scheme to be established for that purpose by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/1755 in respect of a relevant vessel decommissioned during the period beginning on 1 January 2022 and ending on 31 December 2023, which may comprise one or more of the following:
(a)compensation for the destruction of a relevant vessel;
(b)a crew payment amount;
(c)the catch sum;
(d)compensation for the surrender of a sea-fishing boat licence;

“catch sum” means the portion of the Brexit compensation sum that is in respect of the annual gross tonnage of sea-fish stock landed over the periods beginning on 1 January 2018 and ending on 31 December 2018 and beginning on 1 January 2019 and ending on 31 December 2019 as adjusted for the age of the relevant vessel and which takes account of any amount previously paid to the licence holder as a temporary tie up payment;

“chargeable period” has the same meaning as in section 321(2);

“crew member” means an individual who has spent –
(a)at least 90 days at sea on board a relevant vessel in the period beginning on 1 January 2020 and ending on 31 December 2020, and
(b)at least 90 days at sea on board a relevant vessel in the period beginning on 1 January 2021 and ending on 31 December 2021;

“crew payment amount” means the portion of the Brexit compensation sum received by a licence holder in respect of crew members;

“day at sea” has the same meaning as in Chapter I of the Annex to the Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2021/1167 of 27 April 2021 [OJ No. L 253, 16.7.2021, p. 52] establishing the multiannual Union programme for the collection and management of biological, environmental, technical and socioeconomic data in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors from 2022;

“decommissioned” means, in respect of a sea-fishing boat, a sea-fishing boat which has been removed from the Register of Fishing Boats;

“licence holder” means the holder of a sea-fishing boat licence in respect of a relevant vessel;

“Register of Fishing Boats” means the Register of Fishing Boats maintained under section 74 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006;

“Regulation (EU) 2021/1755” means Regulation (EU) 2021/1755 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2021 [OJ No. L357, 8.10.2021, p. 1] establishing the Brexit Adjustment Reserve;

“relevant vessel” means a sea-fishing boat entered in the Register of Fishing Boats and used in the polyvalent and beam trawl segments of the fishing fleet which –
(a)has spent at least 90 days at sea –
(i)in each year in the 2 years preceding the year in which the sea- fishing boat is decommissioned, or
(ii)during each of the periods beginning on 1 January 2018 and ending on 31 December 2018 and beginning on 1 January 2019 and ending on 31 December 2019,
and
(b)was constructed at least 10 years before the date of decommissioning;

“sea-fishing boat licence” means a licence granted under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003;

“sea-fish stocks” means the stocks of sea-fish set out in Annexes 35 and 36 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, done at Brussels and London on 30 December 2020 [OJ No. L149, 30.4.2021, p. 10];

“temporary tie up payment” means a payment made to a person to temporarily cease all fishing activities and to retain the relevant vessel in port for at least one month during either or both of the following periods:
(a)the period beginning on 1 January 2021 and ending on 31 December 2021 under a scheme established for that purpose by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/1755;
(b)the period beginning on 1 January 2022 and ending on 31 December 2022 under a scheme to be established for that purpose by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/1755.

669M. Exemption for licence holder in respect of certain crew payments
(1)This section shall apply where a licence holder is chargeable to tax under Case IV of Schedule D in respect of the portion of the Brexit compensation sum which comprises the crew payment amount.

(2)Notwithstanding any provision of the Tax Acts, the total crew payment amount paid to the licence holder shall be exempt from income tax and corporation tax and shall not be reckoned in computing total income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(3)The crew payment amount paid to a licence holder shall not be deductible in computing the amounts of profits or gains chargeable to tax under Case IV of Schedule D.

(4)A licence holder shall not be entitled to an exemption under this section for the chargeable period concerned unless the crew payment amount is paid to the crew member concerned within 3 months of its receipt by the licence holder.

669N. Balancing charges on relevant vessel
(1)In this section, ‘balancing charge’ has the same meaning as in section 288.

(2)This section shall apply to the amount of the Brexit compensation sum which relates to compensation for the destruction of a relevant vessel.

(3)

(a)Where, on account of the receipt by a licence holder of a payment or payments to which subsection (2) applies, a balancing charge is to be made on that licence holder for any chargeable period other than by virtue of paragraph (b), then, the amount on which the balancing charge is to be made for that chargeable period shall be an amount equal to one-fifth of the amount (in this subsection referred to as ‘the original amount’) on which the balancing charge would, but for this subsection, have been made.

(b)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), there shall be made on the licence holder for each of the 4 immediately succeeding chargeable periods a balancing charge, and the amount on which that charge is made for each of those periods shall be an amount equal to one-fifth of the original amount.

669O. Exemption in respect of the catch sum
(1)Subject to subsection (2), where a licence holder is chargeable to tax under Schedule D in respect of the portion of the Brexit compensation sum which relates to the catch sum, the profits or gains chargeable in the period concerned shall be reduced by an amount equal to 50 per cent of the catch sum and shall be treated as so reduced for the purpose of computing total income for the purposes of the Tax Acts.

(2)Where a temporary tie up payment is included in the portion of the Brexit compensation sum which relates to the catch sum a licence holder may elect by notice in writing to a Revenue officer to have a deduction equal to 50 per cent of that amount of the temporary tie up payment or a portion of that payment taken into account in determining the profits or gains charged to tax under Schedule D in the relevant chargeable period, and such deduction shall be taken into account for the purpose of computing total income for the Tax Acts.

(3)The total amount of the reduction claimed under subsection (1) and the deduction claimed under subsection (2) shall not in aggregate exceed an amount equal to 50 per cent of the catch sum.

(4)Notwithstanding any limitation –

(a)in section 865(4) on the period within which a claim for a repayment of tax is required to be made, or

(b)in section 959V(6) on the period within which a chargeable person may amend a return and self assessment,

section 865(6) shall not prevent the Revenue Commissioners from repaying an amount of tax as a consequence of an election made under subsection (2), where a licence holder gives notice of such an election and amends the return and self assessment solely in respect of such election, in accordance with section 959V, for the relevant chargeable period within a period of 4 years after the end of the chargeable period in which the Brexit compensation sum is received and has made a valid claim in relation to a repayment of tax within the meaning of section 865.

(5)In this section –

‘relevant chargeable period’ means the chargeable period in which the temporary tie up payment referred to in subsection (2) was taken into account in determining profits or gains chargeable to tax under Schedule D;

‘return’ has the same meaning as in section 959A.

Farming II

TAXES CONSOLIDATION ACT

Part 23 Farming and Market Gardening (ss. 654-669O)

Interpretation and general (ss. 654-664A)

Interpretation (Part 23).

Trained farmer qualifications

Farming and market gardening profits to be charged to tax under Schedule D.

Farming: trading stock of discontinued trade.

Averaging of farm profits.

Taxation of certain farm payments.

Restructuring and diversification aid for sugar beet growers.

Farming: allowances for capital expenditure on construction of buildings and other works.

Farming: accelerated allowances for capital expenditure on slurry storage.

Farming: allowances for capital expenditure on the construction of farm buildings, etc. for control of pollution.

Farming: wear and tear allowances deemed to have been made in certain cases.

Farming: restriction of relief in respect of certain losses.

Income tax: restriction of relief, for losses in farming or market gardening.

Corporation tax: restriction of relief for losses in farming or market gardening.

Relief for certain income from leasing of farm land.

Relief for increase in carbon tax on farm diesel.

Farming: relief for increase in stock values (ss. 665-669)

Interpretation (Chapter 2).

Deduction for increase in stock values.

Special provisions for qualifying farmers.

Further provisions for qualifying farmers.

New arrangements for qualifying farmers.

Special provisions for registered farm partnerships.

Succession farm partnerships

Authorised officers

Appeals officer

Appeals

Compulsory disposals of livestock.

Supplementary provisions

Milk Quotas (ss. 669A-669F)

Taxation of stallion profits and gains (ss. 669G-669K)

Tax treatment of certain payments to holders of sea-fishing boat licences (ss. 669L-669O)

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