Relief for Expenditure on Approved Buildings and Gardens in the State - IT 30

Overview of Relief

Tax relief is available from income tax or corporation tax to the owner/occupier of:

an approved building (including surrounding garden)
an approved garden existing independently
an approved building in use as a guest house subject to certain conditions

in respect of expenditure incurred on the repair, maintenance or restoration of the approved building or garden.

Quailfying expenditure is treated for tax purposes as if it were a loss in a separate trade carried on by that owner/occupier and the normal rules for giving loss relief apply. Unrelieved qualifying expenditure incurred in a particular chargeable period can be carried forward for two subsequent chargeable periods.

Relief in respect of qualifying expenditure incurred in a chargeable period will be limited to the amount of the expenditure attributable to the actual work carried out during that chargeable period. Tax relief is not available , however, where any such expenditure is otherwise allowable for tax purposes or in respect of sums recoverable by a claimant by way of a grant or reimbursement from any source.

Additional relief up to an aggregate total of €6,350 is available in respect of the following items:

the repair, maintenance or restoration of approved objects in an approved building/garden provided the objects are on display for a period of at least two years from the year in which the expenditure is claimed ( leaflet IT 56 sets out the detailed rules in relation to approved objects)
the installation, maintenance or replacement of a security alarm system in the approved house/garden, and
the provision of public liability insurance for an approved building/garden.

Approved Building/Garden

An approved building is one in respect of which determinations have been made:

by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht - that it is a building which is intrinsically of significant scientific, historical, architectural or aesthetic interest, and
by the Revenue Commissioners - that reasonable access to the building is afforded to the public.

An approved garden is one in respect of which determinations have been made:

by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht - that it is a garden which is intrinsically of significant horticultural, scientific, historical, architectural or aesthetic interest, and
by the Revenue Commissioners - that reasonable access to the garden is afforded to the public.

Determinations by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaelacht,
Built Heritage & Architectural Policy Section ,
Room 1.06 (Section 482 ),
Custom House,
Dublin 1.

Telephone: 01-8882465

Email: BuiltHeritage@ahg.gov.ie

Determinations by the Revenue Commissioners

Application foms in respect of determinations by the Revenue Commissioners that reasonable access is afforded to the public may be obtained from:

Office of the Revenue Commissioners,
Income & Capital Taxes Division,
1st Floor Stamping Building,
Dublin Castle,
Dublin 2.

Telephone: 01-6748011 / 7024101

Fax: 01-6799287/ 6795814

Application Forms

Form SB1 - Building - Application form for a determination in respect of public access to a building, Section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997
Form SB1A - Guesthouse - Application form for a determination in respect of Tourist Accommodation Facility, Section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997
Form SB2 - Gardens - Application form for a determination in respect of public access to a garden, Section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

Reasonable Public Access

Revenue Commissioners must be satisfied that the following minimum requirements are met:

access to the whole or a substantial part of the building/garden must be available at the same time,
access must be provided at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, subject to any temporary closures necessary for repair, maintenance and restoration work,
access is afforded for a period of at least 60 days in any one year including not less than 40 days (of which 10 days must be Saturdays or Sundays) during the period 1 May - 30 September inclusive.
As part of the 40 day opening requirement, access must be available during all of National Heritage Week (to the extent that it falls within the period 1 May-30 September) where qualifying expenditure is incurred in a particular chargeable period
the daily viewing times must be at least four hours,
the admission price, if any, must be reasonable so as not to preclude the public from seeking access to the building/garden,
opening times must be advertised in local and / or national papers, and
a sign must be erected outside the building indicating opening times.

In addition to meeting the Revenue Commissioners requirement regarding reasonable access set out above, claimants for tax relief must also advise Fáilte Ireland regarding access to the approved building/garden. The Revenue Commissioners carry out checks annually to ensure that public access are being met. Also, the public access to buildings in respect of which relief has been claimed can be examined as part of a Revenue audit on the owner/ occupier of those buildings/gardens.

Approved building in use as a Guest House

The following conditions apply where the approved building is in use as a guest house:

the approved building must be in use as a guest house for at least six months of the calendar year - of which four months must be in the period 1 May - 30 September inclusive.
the owner/occupier must prove to Revenue that he/she incurred the expenditure in respect of which the relief is being claimed,
the building must be registered or listed with Fáilte Ireland as a guest house, and
Fáilte Ireland must have been notified regarding the opening times of the guest house.

There is also provision whereby approved buildings can switch from qualification for relief under "reasonable access" to qualification under "guest-house" and vice versa without any clawback of relief.

Claiming tax relief in respect of an approved building/garden

In order to qualify for relief the expenditure must be incurred on the repair, maintenance or restoration of an approved building or on the maintenance or restoration of any garden or grounds of an ornamental nature occupied or enjoyed with that building.

In order to qualify for relief in respect of an approved garden, the expenditure must be incurred on the maintenance or restoration of the garden.

A claimant is obliged to afford facilities at any reasonable time to authorised officers of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and of the Revenue Commissioners to inspect the approved building/garden or to examine the work in respect of which the expenditure to which the claim relates was incurred.

Restriction of relief in the case of a passive investment scheme

This scheme whereby tax relief of up to €31,750 was available to individuals who incurred qualifying expenditure on an approved building, through participating in a passive investment scheme was abolished with effect from the tax year 2010.

Limit to Relief for High Earners

Relief under Section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 is one of the specified relief which is resreicted under the high earners restriction.

Section 482 and Repayments

Section 137 Finance Act 2008 introduced a new measure to ensure that repayments arising as a result of claims for Section 482 relief for periods falling outside the general 4 year time limit for repayments may be allowed.

Clawback of the Relief

There is provision for either the Revenue Commissioners or the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to revoke a determination made where the conditions for granting such a determination cease to exist. Any relief granted to a claimant in the five year period immediately before the determination is revoked by the Revenue Commissioners will be clawed back.

Revenue: February 2013

Revenue Information Note