Campaigners accuse Government of U-turn on reforming inheritance tax laws

Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) thresholds increased in Budget but no systemic reform 

James Sexton of End Discrimination in Inheritance Tax said the Government "continues to reinforce the structural discrimination embedded in the current inheritance tax system".

A group which has campaigned for changes to inheritance tax laws has accused the Government of "a last minute U-turn" on its commitments to reform. 

Budget 2027 saw Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) thresholds for Group A (which includes parent to child) increase from €400,000 to €420,000, the Group B threshold (including siblings, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren) rise from €40,000 to €44,000, and the Group C threshold (including unmarried partners and carers) rise from €20,000 to €22,000. 

The End Discrimination in Inheritance Tax (Edit) said the law discriminates against childless couples and said Taoiseach Mícheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris had acknowledged unfairness in the tax system for childless citizens. "By failing to reform Inheritance Tax in Budget 2027 the Government continues to reinforce the structural discrimination embedded in the current inheritance tax system," said Edit's James Sexton. 

Grant Thornton's Julia Considine said the Government had missed an opportunity to deliver meaningful reform of Ireland’s the gift and inheritance tax system. “Any increase in the CAT thresholds will be welcomed by those who benefit from it, but Budget 2027 was an opportunity to look beyond simple tweaks and set out a roadmap to address the fundamental imbalance within our inheritance tax system. The Revenue figures themselves illustrate the disparity starkly. Almost €3 in every €5 of inheritance tax receipts in 2025 came from beneficiaries in Groups B and C, despite those groups having substantially lower tax-free thresholds than what applies to a child inheriting from a parent.

“Not everybody has children and for many people, the most important person in their life may be a long-term partner, sibling, niece, nephew, or somebody who does not fall within their immediate family at all. Family dynamics and living arrangements have evolved over the years, but our inheritance tax system is still stuck in the past."

John Cuddigan of RDJ said increases in the CAT thresholds are welcome, but do not address the bigger issue with the system. "The thresholds remain at levels lower than levels following the financial crash in 2009 and any increases have not kept up with property value increases since then."

Liam Kenny, tax partner at RSM Ireland said widespread reform was needed to bring the tax regime in line with "modern family circumstances, and asset values".