Tax deductibility for pre-letting expenses

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated first and full year cost of a deduction for pre-letting expenses incurred by a landlord in bringing a property which has been vacant for a minimum period of one year to the rental market.

REPLY

In Budget 2018 I introduced a new deduction for pre-letting expenses of a revenue nature incurred on a property that has been vacant for a period of 12 months or more. I introduced this measure in order to encourage owners of vacant residential property to bring such properties into the rental market.

A cap on allowable expenses of €5,000 per property applies, and the relief is subject to clawback if the property is withdrawn from the rental market within 4 years.  The relief is available for qualifying expenses incurred up to the end of 2021. At the time of Budget 2018, this measure was projected to cost €1.5 million in 2018 and €3 million in a full year.

I have been informed by Revenue, that as tax returns for 2018 are not due to be filed until after the year’s end, it is not possible at present to comment on the current uptake of the scheme or update the projected cost estimates.