Market capitalisation exemption

About this scheme

The market capitalisation exemption removes Stamp Duty on transfers of stocks and marketable securities issued by smaller listed companies, available for transactions between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2030. To qualify, the securities must be admitted to trading on a relevant market — a MiFID II regulated market or multilateral trading facility (such as Euronext Dublin or Euronext Growth), or an equivalent market outside the EU (such as the London Stock Exchange) — and the issuer's market capitalisation must be below €1 billion. The exemption only applies once a valid notification of the relevant market capitalisation has been emailed to Revenue by the market operator or issuer, together with an explanation of how the figure was calculated. The resulting exemption period runs from two weeks after notification (or the following 1 January, if later) through to the following 31 December. Qualifying transfers made during that window are exempt from Stamp Duty. Revenue publishes a list of valid notifications and their exemption periods each year.

Who can apply

• Applies to transfers of stocks and marketable securities ('relevant securities') during the exemption period, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030
• The relevant securities must be admitted to trading on a 'relevant market': a MiFID II regulated market (e.g. Euronext Dublin), a MiFID II multilateral trading facility (e.g. Euronext Growth, operated by Euronext Dublin), or an equivalent third-country market outside the EU (e.g. the London Stock Exchange)
• The issuer's closing market capitalisation must have been below €1 billion on 1 December of the previous year — or, if the securities were admitted to trading after that date, the expected market capitalisation on admission must have been below €1 billion
• The transaction must take place during the specific exemption period applicable to that issuer, which depends on when a valid market capitalisation notification was made to Revenue
• A valid notification of the issuer's applicable market capitalisation must be made to Revenue (by the market operator or the issuer) before the exemption can apply — without a valid notification, the exemption cannot apply at all
• The exemption can be claimed for relevant securities traded electronically (in the CREST electronic settlement system) or transferred by stock transfer form

How to apply

1. 1The market operator or the issuer of the relevant securities emails a valid notification to CREST@revenue.ie — the Closing market capitalisation notification form (for the closing cap at 1 December) or the Expected market capitalisation notification form (for the expected cap on admission to trading) — together with supporting information explaining how the market capitalisation was calculated.
2. 2Once a valid notification is made, the exemption period is set: it begins two weeks after the notification (or 1 January of the following year, whichever is later) and ends on the following 31 December.
3. 3Claim the exemption on qualifying transfers of the relevant securities that occur during that exemption period, whether traded electronically through the settlement system or transferred by stock transfer form.