Revenue has estimated that 111 farms worth over €1m changed hands last year and made use of consanguinity relief to avoid a large tax bill on the transfer.

Consanguinity relief allows blood relatives to transfer farms at a reduced rate of 1% stamp duty, as opposed to the now standard 7.5%.

The relief has been extended until the end of 2023, but Revenue has been considering raising the rate of stamp duty on land transfers worth over €1m to 2% when consanguinity relief is used.

While this proposal was deliberated in Budget 2021 by Revenue, it pointed out that one of the drawbacks would be the “strong resistance” that farm organisations would pose to any hike in the rate.