Revenue has done a U-turn in relation to stamp duty relief on transfers of land to certain young trained farmers, with young farmers now able to claim the relief if they are farming in a company.

In February, Revenue said the relief was “only available to individuals and is not available to any type of company”.

However, responding to a query from the Irish Farmers Journal, it said that in light of engagement with relevant stakeholders in the interim period, Revenue had reviewed the legislative provisions of relief and liaised with the Department of Finance on the policy objective of the relief, and its intended operation in commercial scenarios.

“On foot of these discussions, it is now considered that the requirement that a transferee must spend not less than 50% of his or her normal working time farming the land may be satisfied where he or she carries out the farming activities through a company or a partnership.

“For the relief to apply in the case of a company, the individual must be the main shareholder and working director of the company and must farm the land on behalf of the company,” a Revenue spokesperson said.

Young trained farmer relief can be clawed back where ownership of the land is not retained for the required five-year period from the date of execution of the deed of transfer.