Ireland taxes capital gains at a single flat rate of 33 percent, applied to gains above a small annual exemption of €1,270. There is no holding-period reduction and no rate band that scales with income — the rate on a crypto gain is the same 33 percent whether the holder earns little or a great deal, and whether the asset was held a week or a decade. That flatness is the defining feature of Irish Capital Gains Tax, and it makes the calculation refreshingly simple compared with jurisdictions that tier the rate by income or holding period.
The flat 33% rate and the €1,270 exemption
The mechanics are direct. Each year, the first €1,270 of net chargeable gains is exempt — a personal exemption that is not transferable between spouses and does not carry forward if unused. Gains above that line are taxed at 33 percent, full stop.
A holder with €5,000 of net gains in a year is taxed on €3,730 at 33 percent; the first €1,270 falls under the exemption. Because the rate does not move, the planning levers in Ireland are about timing disposals across tax years to use each year's exemption, and about managing losses — not about chasing a lower long-term band that does not exist.
Every disposal counts, and FIFO sets the basis
As in most jurisdictions that tax gains, every disposal is a chargeable event. Selling crypto for euro, swapping one token for another, and spending crypto are all disposals — a crypto-to-crypto trade realises a gain or loss on the asset given up, even though no euro changes hands.
Cost basis runs on FIFO — first in, first out — so the oldest units are treated as disposed of first. Receipts are treated separately: staking and airdrop receipts are generally taxed as income at the point of receipt, valued when the holder gains control, with that value becoming the base cost for the later disposal. A four-week (28-day) rule acts as Ireland's wash-sale analogue: a loss on shares or units reacquired within 28 days is restricted, so a quick sell-and-rebuy does not produce a clean harvested loss. HQ Wealth applies FIFO and the 33 percent CGT treatment, so the gain on each disposal traces back to the oldest-first basis the rules require.
The ETF trap: a separate 41% exit-tax regime
The most important Irish wrinkle is one that catches investors who assume every asset is taxed like a share. Most ETFs — both Irish and EU-domiciled funds — are not taxed under the 33 percent CGT rate at all. They fall under a separate exit-tax regime at 41 percent, and the differences run deeper than the rate:
- The rate is 41 percent, not 33 percent — higher than the ordinary CGT rate.
- Gains roll up gross inside the fund rather than being taxed only on disposal.
- A deemed disposal applies every eight years. Even without selling, the holder is treated as having disposed of and reacquired the ETF on its eighth anniversary, crystallising a tax charge on the accumulated gain — gross roll-up with a periodic reckoning.
The practical lesson is that an investor cannot assume an ETF is taxed like ordinary shares. A crypto holder who diversifies into a fund may unknowingly cross from the 33 percent CGT world into the 41 percent exit-tax world, with its eight-year deemed-disposal clock. HQ Wealth flags the distinct ETF exit-tax regime rather than folding fund holdings into the ordinary CGT calculation, so the two are not silently conflated.
Pay-and-file: the unusual CGT dates
Ireland splits its CGT payment dates across the year in a way that surprises filers used to a single deadline. The payment of CGT does not line up with the return:
- For disposals made in the first eleven months of the year (January to November), CGT is due by a deadline in December of that same year.
- For disposals made in December, CGT is due by a deadline the following January.
This pay-and-file timing differs from the income-tax return, so a holder can owe CGT well before the return that reports it is filed. The gains themselves are reported on Form 11 (self-assessment, via its CGT panel) or on Form CG1 for those not otherwise in self-assessment.
The wider system
A few fixed points frame the rest. Retirement saving runs through a PRSA or an occupational pension, each sheltering qualifying holdings under its own rules. VAT is 23 percent, a consumption tax separate from anything levied on gains. None of this replaces advice on a specific situation — the ETF distinction alone can change both the rate and the timing of a charge, and a holder with fund exposure or significant activity is well served confirming the treatment with a professional. HQ Wealth applies FIFO and the 33 percent CGT treatment, and flags the distinct ETF exit-tax regime, in an Ireland tax pack so the figures reflect the right regime for each holding.
Takeaway: Ireland taxes crypto gains at a flat 33 percent above a €1,270 exemption with FIFO basis and unusual December and January pay-and-file dates — but most ETFs fall under a separate 41 percent exit-tax regime with a deemed disposal every eight years, so an investor cannot assume a fund is taxed at the CGT rate.