Completing your gift or Inheritance Tax return (IT38)

Filing obligations for certain interest free loans

When is an interest free loan reportable?

If you receive a gift in respect of a specified loan, you may have to file a Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) return.

A specified loan is any loan, advance or any form of credit that is:

  • received by you from a close relative
  • received by you from a company of which a close relative is a beneficial owner
  • made by a close relative to a company of which you are a beneficial owner
  • or
  • made between two companies where:
    • you are a beneficial owner of the borrowing company
    • and
    • a close relative is a beneficial owner of the lending company.

Note

A close relative is someone related to you for the purposes of either the Group A or Group B thresholds.

You will have to file a CAT return where:

  • you are deemed to have taken a gift for CAT purposes in respect of a specified loan
  • no interest was paid on the loan within 6 months of the end of the year of that gift
  • and
  • the combined balance on the loan and any other specified loan exceeds €335,000 in the year.

What information will you need to provide

If you have to file a CAT return on receipt of a gift in respect of a specified loan, you include:

  • the name, address and tax reference number of the person you received the loan from
  • and
  • the balance outstanding on the loan.

Next: How do you file?