Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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76. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will make changes to capital gains tax in order that a loophole concerning properties owned by individuals in nursing home care, availing of the fair deal scheme, can be rectified (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41690/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In general, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is chargeable on a gain arising on the disposal of an asset, including a residential property, at the rate of 33%. The first €1,270 of chargeable gains of an individual in any year are exempt from CGT.

Section 604, TCA 1997 provides relief from CGT on the disposal of one’s principal private residence (PPR), being a dwelling house together with land occupied as its gardens or grounds up to an area (exclusive of the site of the dwelling house) of one acre. If a property was occupied by an individual as their PPR for all or part of their period of ownership, then full or partial relief from CGT will be available where a chargeable gain arises on the disposal of that property. The last 12 months of ownership of such a property by the individual is treated as a period of occupation for the purpose of this relief. By way of example, if an individual both owned and occupied a residential property as their PPR for 10 years prior to disposal, no CGT will arise in respect of any chargeable gain which may accrue to that individual on foot of their disposal of same. However, if the individual only occupied the property as their PPR for 7 of the 10 years in which they owned the property, they will pay CGT in respect of 20% of the chargeable gain which may arise on foot of their disposal of same, as the portion of the gain which relates to the period in which the individual occupied, or is deemed to have occupied, the property as their PPR is fully relieved from CGT.

I am advised by Revenue in addition to the last 12 months of ownership of a PPR, as noted above, certain other periods of absence from the PPR in the course of an individual’s ownership of same may be deemed to be periods of occupation for the purposes of PPR relief. These include periods of absence during which both of the following circumstances apply:

• the individual seeking to rely on PPR relief (who would normally live alone) was receiving care in a hospital, nursing home or convalescent home, or was resident in a retirement home on a feepaying basis, and
• the PPR in question remained unoccupied during the period of absence.