Business Relief Ireland — 90% CAT Relief for Cork Business Owners

Business Relief (also known as Business Property Relief) is a powerful tax relief available to Cork business owners passing business assets to the next generation. It reduces the taxable value of qualifying business assets by 90% for CAT purposes — dramatically reducing the inheritance tax bill.

What Is Business Relief?

Under Section 93 of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003, qualifying business assets can have their taxable value reduced by 90% when inherited. This means CAT is only calculated on 10% of the business's value.

Example: A Cork company worth €1,000,000. Without relief: potential CAT liability of approximately €220,000 (after Group A threshold). With Business Relief: taxable value reduced to €100,000 — potentially no CAT at all within the Group A threshold.

What Assets Qualify?

Qualifying assets include:

• Shares in an unquoted (private) company carrying on a trading business
• A business carried on by the deceased as sole trader or partner
• Farmland used for business farming (may interact with Agricultural Relief)

Excluded: Property investment companies, holding companies that are primarily investment vehicles, and companies that are listed on a stock exchange.

Ownership Period Requirement

The deceased must have owned the business assets for:

• At least 5 years before the gift or inheritance (for assets inherited from a non-family member), or
• At least 2 years if the assets were inherited from a parent or spouse who also owned them for the requisite period

Beneficiary Retention Requirement

The beneficiary must retain the qualifying business assets for 6 years after taking the inheritance, and must not sell or dispose of them during this period. If they do, Revenue claws back the relief. This is a critical condition that must be communicated clearly to beneficiaries inheriting Cork businesses.

Business Relief and Shareholders Agreements

If you own shares in a company with business partners, a well-structured shareholders agreement with cross-option provisions can ensure the beneficiary has practical options: they can either take over the shares and satisfy the retention condition, or trigger a buyout under the cross-option so the surviving shareholders acquire the deceased's shares — with the business relief potentially still available on the inheritance received.

Planning Your Cork Business Succession

Start planning early. Business Relief is available on death, but lifetime planning — including lifetime share transfers using the Group A threshold, restructuring the business to ensure it qualifies, and preparing a shareholders agreement — gives the most options. See: Business Succession Planning Cork.