Owner-Occupier Relief

You can claim Owner-Occupier Relief if you spent money purchasing, constructing, converting or refurbishing a qualifying property. A qualifying property is a house or apartment which is part of a scheme in a qualifying area. You must live in and own the property. The relief reduces your taxable income for ten years.

This reduction is:

• 5% per year of qualifying expenditure, where you have spent money on a newly constructed property
• or
• 10% per year of qualifying expenditure, where you have spent money on refurbishing or converting a property.

The type of relief you can claim depends on how the property was first used:

• Owner-Occupier Relief applies if it was used by you as your sole or main home
• Section 23 Relief applies if you let the property under a qualifying lease.

Both types of relief cannot apply to the same property.

With Owner-Occupier Relief, the property includes a yard, garden or a car-parking space.

What schemes does the relief apply to?

Owner-Occupier Relief can be claimed under the following schemes:

• Integrated Area Urban Renewal
• Living Over the Shop
• Park and Ride
• Rural Renewal
• Town Renewal.

Qualifying period

The end date for these schemes was 31 July 2008. To qualify for Owner-Occupier Relief, construction, refurbishment or conversion work must have been carried out by this date.

If you require further information on this topic, forward your queries to your Revenue office through MyEnquiries.