Landowners benefited from €19.4m in tax-free rental income on farmland in 2016, the latest information from the Revenue shows. Overall, 8,490 claims for tax relief on leased land were submitted, which marks a 20% increase on 2015 and the highest number of claims in the last five years.

The Government helped to incentivise the leasing of land in 2015 when the amount of income that could be exempt from tax under a qualifying long-term lease was increased by 50%.

Exemption

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The exemption in tax was aimed at improving land mobility and, since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015, auctioneers have reported an increase in demand for land, particularly from dairy enterprises.

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Long read: a strong and stable market for land in 2017

Land access moving to leasing