Consumer Corner: How to give money to your children without facing a huge tax bill

The small-gift exemption could be an ideal way to help your child build up a fund that can be used at some point in the future to buy their first home.

Saving to buy a home can be extremely difficult for many people. Of course parents will want to do what they can to help out but giving money to children is not straightforward when you factor in tax rules and making sure you are obeying Revenue regulations. However, despite the restrictions, there are ways and means that parents can help out if their child is saving to buy a house.

Trevor Grant, chairperson of the Irish Mortgage Advisors says they regularly come across instances where parents want to give their children a helping hand: “Generally, we see parents helping out with the deposit for a home rather than paying large amounts of the purchase price. Our mortgage experts would always advise that customers should know where they stand from a tax perspective when this arises.”