Irish Independent: Independent Ministers Renew Push to Change Inheritance Tax Thresholds — Budget 2027 Flashpoint
In a development framing next year’s fiscal debate, irish independent attention focuses on a renewed push by Independent ministers to alter inheritance tax thresholds in Budget 2027. Correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act shows Minister of State for Transport Seán Canney raised the issue with the Minister for Finance, highlighting a case that campaigners say exposes how current Capital Acquisitions Tax thresholds can leave some relatives significantly worse off.
Background & context
There is to be a renewed push by Independent ministers for changes to inheritance tax thresholds in Budget 2027. Correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act shows Minister of State for Transport Seán Canney told Minister for Finance Simon Harris he would raise the matter. Canney pointed to the example of a woman who sought to split her estate between her children and an adult grandchild whose father had died; the grandchild’s tax-free threshold at the time stood at €32, 500, while children inherit under a higher threshold.
Irish Independent: Deep analysis and policy implications
At the core of the debate is the Capital Acquisitions Tax (Cat) regime: a 33 per cent tax on gifts or inheritances above tax-free thresholds determined by relationship to the benefactor. Children inheriting from a parent can receive up to €400, 000 tax-free, a threshold introduced in Budget 2025. A grandchild under 18 whose own parent has died can also inherit up to €400, 000 tax-free from a grandparent. Other relatives, including all grandchildren over 18, fall into a category where the tax-free threshold is now €40, 000, up from €32, 500 after Budget 2025.
The FOI material cited by stakeholders makes clear that the example at the centre of Canney’s correspondence involved a death in 2024, when the relevant threshold for that adult grandchild was €32, 500. Canney told the finance minister the family knew it was too late for changes to aid that case but were “wondering if the Government can make any exceptions around this for future cases. ” That exchange crystallises two policy questions: whether thresholds properly reflect contemporary family structures, and whether the Cat framework should differentiate more finely between categories of beneficiaries.
Expert perspectives
Minister of State for Transport Seán Canney said people “probably have been discriminated against” by the current Cat regime and that “we need to have a look at that. ” He added that “We’ll be looking to see if we can get something done on it [inheritance tax thresholds] in this year’s budget, ” while also saying it was “too early” to set out the scale of any increases.
Minister for Finance Simon Harris replied in correspondence that the proposal “will be considered as part of our annual review of Capital Acquisitions Tax. ” A spokesman for the minister indicated Cat was reviewed last year as part of the Tax Strategy Group process and that “options were set out for broadening its scope, ” with this year’s Tax Strategy Group exercise to further consider the matter. The spokesman also said Harris “recognises the burden of capital taxes and, as with all taxes, is keeping this matter under review. ” Independent ministers Michael Healy-Rae and Marian Harkin previously pushed for similar changes for beneficiaries of estates left by people with no children; no changes were made to Cat in the last budget.
The exchange in the FOI correspondence and the explicit statutory thresholds make the choices facing policy‑makers concrete: whether to raise uniform thresholds, introduce more granular categories, or consider targeted exceptions for families in cases of parental death. Each option has distinct revenue and equity implications captured in the Tax Strategy Group’s remit.
Will Independent ministers secure changes in Budget 2027, or will the matter remain within the ongoing Tax Strategy Group process? The answer will shape how the state balances perceived inequities in inheritance outcomes against the fiscal trade-offs built into the existing Capital Acquisitions Tax framework and will be watched closely by families and advisers navigating post‑death distributions in the years ahead. irish independent commentary will likely follow the next rounds of review closely as officials weigh options.
