Pursuant to Section 980 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, a Capital Gains Tax Clearance Certificate (CG50A) must be obtained by the vendor if the consideration for a sale exceeds €500,000.00 for commercial assets, or €1m for residential property. If the clearance certificate is not obtained, the purchaser must withhold 15% of the consideration and account to Revenue. 

The original process of applying for a CG50A was paper-based and the CG50A issued within three to five days.  Revenue has introduced a system for the online processing of the CG50A which can be carried out through ROS Online.

Practitioners should ensure they are registered as a TAIN advisor as soon as possible in order to apply for an eCG50A. Registration takes approximately 24 hours and can be completed on the homepage of ROS online by going to ‘Manage Tax Registrations’ and adding this service.

Revenue will continue to accept paper format applications but the turnaround time for the issuance of an eCG50A will be approximately 10 days from 1 June 2021.

Registration as a TAIN advisor, and more information about the application for the eCG50A, can be found in the Revenue’s Guide for Applicants.