Ireland Revised Entrepreneur Relief: €1.5m Lifetime Limit from 2026

Revenue’s Tax and Duty Manual Part 19-06-02b on Revised Entrepreneur Relief (section 597AA Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) was updated in eBrief No. 080/26 to reflect Finance Act 2025: the lifetime limit on relief rises from €1 million to €1.5 million for chargeable gains on qualifying disposals of chargeable business assets by a relevant individual on or after 1 January 2026.

The reduced Capital Gains Tax rate remains 10% (it has been 10% for disposals on or after 1 January 2017). Gains above the lifetime limit continue to be charged at the standard CGT rate. For SME owners planning exits, share sales, or business-asset disposals in 2026, the extra €500,000 of headroom is material — but only if the statutory conditions are met.

You must aggregate all prior gains on qualifying disposals from 1 January 2016 onward when checking whether you have reached the lifetime limit. Revenue’s public guidance states you can claim relief on the first €1,000,000 of gains arising between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2025, and that for gains arising on or after 1 January 2026 the lifetime limit increases to €1,500,000.

The manual’s worked examples illustrate that a disposal on or after 1 January 2026 can use remaining capacity up to the new €1.5 million ceiling, with any excess gain taxed at the standard rate. Do not assume every euro of a 2026 exit automatically attracts 10% — map prior claims first.

Revised Entrepreneur Relief is for individuals, not companies. Broadly, you need continuous ownership of the chargeable business assets for three years in the five years before disposal (with specific shareholding rules where the business is in a company), and — for company shares — a director or employee working-time condition of at least 50% of your time in a managerial or technical capacity for a continuous three-year period in the five years before disposal, plus at least 5% of the ordinary shares for the required period.

Investment holding, development land, and certain non-qualifying activities remain outside the relief. Revenue’s manual and the citizen-facing Revised Entrepreneur Relief page are the authoritative checklists — take advice before restructuring solely to chase the higher limit.

Rebuild your lifetime-limit schedule: list every s.597AA claim since 2016, the gain relieved, and remaining capacity under the €1.5 million cap. Align share registers, employment/director records, and time-commitment evidence with the working-time test before a letter of intent is signed.

Model standard-rate CGT on any gain above the remaining limit so cash and escrow mechanics are realistic. If you also have UK exit exposure, keep Irish Revised Entrepreneur Relief analysis separate from UK Business Asset Disposal Relief — the regimes are not interchangeable.

FinnAccountings helps Ireland and UK SME owners organise bookkeeping and tax prep drafts with Chartered Accountant insight before you or your Chartered Accountant (Ireland) or ICAEW/ACCA adviser reviews a disposal computation. Start a free trial to keep ownership and trading records review-ready — we prepare drafts; we do not file CGT returns or claim relief with Revenue on your behalf.

For broader Irish capital-tax context, see our H1 2026 capital taxes briefing. Use the free tax calculator only for high-level planning estimates, and our company formation product page if you are still choosing a structure well before an exit.