Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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264. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised from the dividend withholding tax applied to real estate investment trusts in each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35702/25]

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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266. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised in each of the past ten years from capital gains tax paid by real estate investment trusts, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35704/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 and 266 together.

The rules relating to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in Ireland are contained in Part 25A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The purpose of the REIT regime is to allow for a collective investment vehicle which provides a comparable after-tax return to investors as direct investment in rental property, by eliminating the double layer of taxation at corporate and shareholder level which would otherwise apply on a property investment via a corporate vehicle.

A REIT is generally exempt from corporation tax on the income and gains from its property rental business, which are instead taxed in the hands of the investor, provided the REIT distributes at least 85% of its property income.

In order to qualify as a REIT, a number of conditions must be satisfied including (but not limited to) the requirement that at least 75% of the aggregate income of the REIT must derive from its property rental business. The residual or non-property rental business is subject to corporation tax in the normal manner.

A further condition is the requirement for the REIT to be listed on the main market of an EU stock exchange within three years of becoming a REIT.

Dividend Withholding Tax (DWT) at the standard rate of 25% is generally deducted by the REIT from dividends paid to shareholders. The DWT is available as a credit against the shareholder’s Irish tax liability.

For Irish investors:

• Individuals are liable to tax at their marginal rates on dividends received, with credit for the DWT deducted;
• Corporates will be liable to tax at 25%, with credit for DWT; and
• Institutional portfolio investors are liable to tax on REIT dividends at 12.5%, this being the rate generally applicable to trading income.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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265. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised from the dividend withholding tax applied to Irish real estate funds in each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35703/25]

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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267. To ask the Minister for Finance the revenue raised in each of the past ten years from capital gains tax paid by Irish real estate funds, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35705/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 265 and 267 together.

The Irish Real Estate Fund (“IREF”) regime was introduced by Finance Act 2016 and amended by Finance Act 2017 to address concerns over the use of collective investment vehicles by certain non-resident investors to minimise their exposure to Irish tax on Irish property transactions. IREFs are Irish funds, or sub-funds where the fund is an umbrella scheme, where at least 25 per cent of the value of the assets held by the fund is derived from Irish real estate assets (subject to certain exclusions).

IREFs are not subject to capital gains tax or dividend withholding tax. The tax code provides that the funds are subject to an IREF Withholding Tax (WHT) at a rate of 20% on distributions and redemptions to non-resident investors. Where appropriate declarations are in place, the legislative provisions exempt from IREF WHT, certain categories of investors such as life assurance companies, pension funds, investment undertakings and their EEA equivalents, charities, credit unions and Section 110 companies.

In addition to a 20% IREF WHT on distributions, a charge to income tax at the rate of 20% at the level of the IREF to counter the use of excessive debt and other payments to reduce distributable profits applies since the anti-avoidance measures were introduced in the Finance Act 2019. The three anti-avoidance measures introduced in the Finance Act include (i) a debt cap, to limit excessive leveraging and resulting interest, (ii) a property financing cost ratio, to limit excessive interest rates, and (iii) a “wholly and exclusively” test to limit excessive expenses.

The following table sets out the gross level of IREF Withholding Tax and Income Tax paid since the introduction of the IREF regime and subsequent measures.

Gross IREF WHT and Income Tax charge paid in the respective years