Cost of allowing a deduction against rental income for the capital cost of the property in the initial years of ownership of a rental unit

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Finance the first and full-year cost of allowing a deduction against rental income for the capital cost of the property in the initial years of ownership of a rental unit; and the corresponding reduction in the base cost of the property on a future disposal.
REPLY



The Report of the Working Group on the Tax and Fiscal Treatment of Rental Accommodation Providers (published by my Department on Budget Day 2017) identified the measure suggested by the Deputy as a possible medium-term option. The report does not cost the measure but notes that three factors relevant for the costing would be:

• the reduction in current income tax revenues;
• in the longer term, the claw-back of the deduction as CGT rather than income tax, USC and PRSI; and
• the potential for loss to the Exchequer if the property is not subject to CGT in future.

I am advised by Revenue that as capital allowances in respect of the purchase of a property are not allowable, tax returns do not capture information in relation to the purchase price of the properties for which rental income is declared. As this information is not available, it is not possible to estimate the tax cost associated with the measure outlined by the Deputy.