Almost €300 million has been collected from residential stamp duty in the last four years, according to new figures from the Department of Finance.
Figures provided by the Department of Finance in response to a parliamentary question by Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath revealed that the lion’s share of the €270 million collected in residential stamp duty receipts since 2011 came last year, pointing to increased activity in the property market.
Last year saw a total of €102 million collected in respect of almost 43,000 residential property transactions, continuing the upward trend in stamp duty receipts in recent years.
The total collected rose from €45 million in 2011 to €57 million in 2012 and rose again to €66 million in 2013.
The number of transactions has also steadily increased in recent years, rising from just over 18,300 in 2011 to more than 25,000 in 2012, before reaching close to 30,000 in 2013.
Recent budgets have moved to simplify the stamp duty system that applies to both residential property transactions and non-residential transactions, which includes commercial property and land.
Residential stamp duty now applies at a rate of 1 per cent for transactions up to and including €1 million and are at 2 per cent thereafter. Meanwhile, stamp duty for non-residential transactions applies at a flat rate of 2 per cent.
Just under €400 million was collected from non-residential stamp duty receipts between 2011 and 2014.
About 43 per cent of the total yield was collected last year, with receipts of €173 million from stamp duty on nearly 23,000 non-residential transactions.
