I've seen plenty of farms change hands. Let's work out what this one would cost you, and how to bring it down.

Cat, the farm cat

What would inheriting the farm cost you?

Six short sets of questions. You'll get an estimate of the inheritance tax (CAT) and the main farm reliefs that could cut it.

How Kinacre checks the rules

PrivateYour answers stay on this device. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere, and nobody else using the site can see it. On a shared phone, use "Clear my answers" when you're done.

How is the farm passing to you?

InheritanceThe owner has died, or will leave it to you in a will Transfer during their lifetimeThe owner gives it to you while alive

Your relationship to the owner Your relationship sets your tax-free threshold. Date of death or transfer Budget 2027 raised the thresholds from 7 Oct 2026.

You and the owner

Cat's tipSome reliefs depend on how long the owner held the farm, how they used it, and how much you've worked on it.

Your ageYoung farmer reliefs end at 35 and 40. Years the owner has owned the farmBusiness relief needs 2 years (on death) or 5 (a gift). Owner's ageFor their capital gains tax relief on a gift. It doesn't change the inheritance tax figure.

For the last 6 years the owner farmed the land, or leased it to an active farmer (a rule not yet in force: it doesn't change your estimate) The owner has owned and farmed the land for at least 10 years (for their capital gains tax relief)

Favourite nephew or niece relief

A nephew or niece who has worked on the farm can be treated as the owner's child, moving the threshold from €44,000 to €420,000 on the farm assets.

For the 5 years before the transfer, you worked on the farm for the owner more than 24 hours a week (or more than 15 if only the owner, their spouse and you run it)

What counts as working on the farm?

Revenue looks for real, regular work in the farm business: herd and milk records, payments, contractor and co-op dealings, statements from neighbours. Simply being named in the will isn't enough, and Revenue has refused claims where the work couldn't be shown.

What you're receiving

Cat's tipTax is worked out on what each item would sell for on the valuation date, and only farm property gets the 90% relief. A valuer or auctioneer's figure is best.

Land

Farmland, acres Value per acre

Local sale prices are the best guide

Land value: €0

Development value within the land

Optional. Extra value above farm use, e.g. land zoned for housing. Affects a 10-year clawback.

Buildings, stock and machinery

Farm buildings and yards

Farmhouse

Counts as farm property if in proportion to the farm Livestock and bloodstock

Machinery and equipment

Everything else in the inheritance

Non-farm assets

Cash, shares, other houses or sites left to you Debts and costs you take on

Farm loans, funeral and legal costs

Why non-farm assets matter twice

Cash or a house left to you is taxed without the 90% relief, and it also counts against you in the 80% farmer test on the next page. If the owner is still alive, leaving non-farm assets to other family members can help on both counts.

What you already own

Cat's tipTo get agricultural relief, farm property must be at least 80% of everything you own once you've inherited. This is the "farmer test", checked once, on the valuation date: for an inheritance, usually the date the grant of probate or administration issues, not the date of death; for a gift, the date of the gift. Enter what you expect to own on that date.

The rules for valuing your own assets

Only what's yours. Your spouse's own assets are left out. Anything you own jointly counts at your share, usually half.
Full value, no debts. Loans aren't deducted, with one exception: the mortgage on your own off-farm home.
Pensions: leave out pension funds you can't yet draw. Pension money already paid out to you, including from a pension you've inherited, counts as savings. How pensions are taxed
Who really owns it matters more than whose name it's in. A registration or account name is evidence of ownership, not the final word.

Your home

Value of your home

Full value of the property. Enter 0 if you rent or live in the farmhouse. Mortgage outstanding

Full balance of a loan used to buy, build or repair it Your share

Other property

Other houses or apartments

Your share. Rental, holiday or inherited houses. No mortgage deduction. Sites or non-farm land

Your share

Money and investments

Bank, credit union and post office

Your own accounts in full, plus your share of joint ones (usually half). Include prize bonds and cash. Shares, funds and crypto

Include investment bonds and company shares. Not pensions.

Cars and other belongings

Cars you own

Today's resale value. Leave out cars on PCP or hire purchase. Anything else of value

Boats, valuables, money owed to you, a share in a business

Cars: whose name, PCP and car loans

Two cars in your name, one driven by your spouse: if you paid for both and they're yours, count both. If your spouse paid for theirs and treats it as their own, it's theirs even though it's registered to you; keep proof of who paid.
PCP or hire purchase: the finance company owns the car until you make the final payment, so leave it out.
Car bought with a bank or credit union loan: you own it, so count its full value. The loan isn't deducted.

Farm property you already own

Land, stock or machinery

Counts in your favour in the farmer test

Your plans for the next 6 years

Cat's tipThere's also an "active farmer" test. For 6 years, the land must be farmed by you or by someone you lease it to, and whoever farms it needs a qualification or must farm at least half their working time.

What will you do with the land?

Farm it myselfOn a commercial basis Lease it outTo an active farmer, 6+ years NeitherConacre, leave idle or sell

Your agricultural qualification The approved list is on the Teagasc website. Farming will take at least half my normal working time (Revenue treats 20 hours of a 40-hour week as half) The person leasing it holds an approved qualification or farms at least half their working time, on a lease of 6 years or more

Conacre isn't a lease

Letting land on conacre (an 11-month letting) doesn't satisfy the test. You need a written lease of at least 6 years to an active farmer. Long leases also bring income tax relief on the rent.

The farmhouse and past gifts

Cat's tipAn inherited home can be fully exempt in some cases, and earlier gifts use up part of your tax-free threshold.

The farmhouse

The farmhouse was the owner's only or main home You lived in the farmhouse as your only or main home for the 3 years before You'll keep living there for 6 years (not needed if you're 65 or over)

You must also not own any other house when you inherit, which comes from your answers on the "What you own" page.

Earlier gifts and inheritances

Taxable value of earlier gifts and inheritances from people in the same group

Since 5 December 1991, after any reliefs that applied. Leave out small gifts of up to €3,000 a year from each person: they don't count. If you're not sure of the figure, ask your adviser.For a son or daughter, that's anything from either parent. Section 72 life policy (optional)

Sum insured, if the owner has one to pay inheritance tax

Your estimate

To get a PDF, choose "Save as PDF" as the printer.

Estimated inheritance tax (CAT)

€0

Without reliefs €0Reliefs save €0

80% farmer test0%

80%

Cat's take

How the figure is worked out

Your options to reduce the bill

Farm adviser? Kinacre Pro runs these figures for each client, with scenarios side by side and a report in your firm's name.