For most families, the home is the most valuable and most emotionally charged asset in an estate. Knowing how it passes, whether it can be kept or must be sold, and whether tax applies gives you real clarity at a hard time. This guide sits within our wider overview of dealing with assets after death in Ireland, and focuses on the home itself.
We cover the form of ownership, which decides almost everything; how the home is kept or transferred to a beneficiary; the dwelling house exemption that can remove inheritance tax; and the Fair Deal charge that sometimes sits over the property. If the home is to be sold instead, our guide to selling a house during probate covers that route. None of this is legal advice — it is a plain-English summary of the official Irish position.
How the home was owned decides everything
The first question is always how the home was owned, because that — not the will — decides whether it forms part of the estate at all. There are three common situations: joint tenancy, tenancy in common, and sole ownership. The table below shows how each is treated.
Joint tenancy
Passes automatically to the surviving co-owner by right of survivorship
No — it falls outside the estate that the will or intestacy rules deal with
Tenancy in common
The deceased's share passes under their will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will
Yes — the deceased's share is part of the estate
Sole name
The whole home passes under the will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will
Yes — the home is part of the estate
How the family home passes depends on the form of ownership. Source: Citizens Information.
| How the home was owned | What happens on death | Part of the estate? |
|---|---|---|
| Joint tenancy | Passes automatically to the surviving co-owner by right of survivorship | No — it falls outside the estate that the will or intestacy rules deal with |
| Tenancy in common | The deceased's share passes under their will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will | Yes — the deceased's share is part of the estate |
| Sole name | The whole home passes under the will, or under the intestacy rules if there is no will | Yes — the home is part of the estate |
Joint tenancy is the most common arrangement for married couples and civil partners. Both people own the whole property together, so when one dies the survivor automatically becomes the sole owner by right of survivorship. The deceased's interest cannot be left by will, and the home does not pass through the estate.
Tenancy in common is different. Each owner holds a distinct share, which may be unequal — for example, two siblings owning a house in 60/40 shares. When a tenant in common dies, their share does not go to the co-owner. It passes under their will, or under the intestacy rules — the rules that apply when there is no will — if none was left.
Sole ownership means the whole home was in the deceased's name alone. The entire property forms part of the estate and passes to whoever is entitled under the will, or under intestacy. A grant from the Probate Office is normally needed before it can be transferred or sold.
Keeping the home or transferring it to a beneficiary
Where the home passes by survivorship to a surviving joint tenant, there is nothing to distribute: the survivor simply proves the death and updates the registered ownership, usually without needing a grant for the property itself. The home was never part of the estate, so the will and intestacy rules do not apply to it.
Where the home is part of the estate, the personal representative — the executor named in the will, or the administrator appointed by the court where there is no will — decides, with the beneficiaries, whether it is kept or sold. Keeping it means transferring ownership to the beneficiary entitled to it; this is done by an assent, a formal deed by which the personal representative vests the home in the beneficiary once the grant has issued.
The choice usually comes down to two questions: do the beneficiaries want to live in or keep the home, and does the estate need the cash to settle debts and taxes? If the home can be retained, an assent transfers it intact and may open the door to the dwelling house exemption below. If it must be sold — to release funds or because beneficiaries cannot agree to keep it — that is a separate process with its own steps, valuation, and tax consequences.
The dwelling house exemption from inheritance tax
An inherited home counts toward your Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) threshold like any other asset. CAT is the Irish tax on gifts and inheritances. It applies at 33% above your tax-free group threshold — €400,000 (Group A, covering children and stepchildren), €40,000 (Group B, covering siblings, nephews, and nieces) or €20,000 (Group C, all others) for benefits taken on or after 2 October 2024. A home inherited from a spouse or civil partner is exempt from CAT altogether.
For others, the dwelling house exemption can remove the tax on an inherited home entirely — but only if strict conditions are met. Revenue applies these conditions to inheritances taken on or after 25 December 2016. All four steps below must be satisfied.
Dwelling house exemption: the four conditions
Each condition must be met for an inheritance taken on or after 25 December 2016. Source: Revenue.
The home was the deceased's main residence
The house must have been the only or main home of the person who died at the date of their death. A limited relaxation applies where you are a dependent relative of the person who died. Revenue treats this as the starting point: the exemption is built around an inherited home that both people actually lived in.
You lived there for three years before the inheritance
You must have occupied the house as your only or main home for the three years immediately before the date of the inheritance. This is a continuous-occupation test, not a question of whose name is on the deeds. Staying there occasionally, or keeping belongings there, does not satisfy it.
You own no other dwelling house at the inheritance date
You must not own, or have an interest in, any other house at the date of the inheritance. You also cannot acquire another house from the same person between the inheritance and the valuation date. Owning a second property — even a small share of one — can defeat the exemption entirely.
You keep living there for six years afterwards
The house must continue to be your only or main home for six years after the date of the inheritance. If you sell it or move out within that period without a valid reason, the exemption can be withdrawn and CAT becomes payable. This is the condition people most often trip over.
Because the exemption turns on facts about where you live rather than the value of the home, it is easy to lose by accident — for example, by already owning a small share of another property at the inheritance date. For how CAT works more generally, see our guide to inheritance tax in Ireland. If a home is involved, confirm your position with a tax adviser before you rely on the exemption.
The Fair Deal charge on the home
If the person who died had been in long-term nursing home care under the Fair Deal scheme, their home may carry a deferred charge. Under Fair Deal, a single resident contributes 7.5% of the value of their assets each year toward care; a married person or civil partner contributes 3.75% of combined non-cash assets. Either way, the contribution based on the principal residence is capped at three years — the home is not counted as an asset after three years in care.
Many families use the optional Nursing Home Loan so that the contribution based on the home does not have to be paid during the person's lifetime. Instead, those deferred amounts become a loan secured against the property, repaid to Revenue after death — typically out of the estate or from the proceeds when the home is sold. The scheme does not take the home itself.
For the personal representative, this means a Fair Deal loan is a debt of the estate that must be settled before the home can be transferred clear of the charge. It is worth identifying early, because it affects how much is left to distribute. Our guide to Fair Deal estate recovery in Ireland explains how the repayment is calculated and claimed.
When professional help is worth it
Many estates with a home can be handled without difficulty once the form of ownership is clear and a grant is in hand. Professional help is most valuable where the home was owned as tenants in common, where a surviving spouse wants to exercise the Section 56 right, where the dwelling house exemption is being relied on, or where a Fair Deal loan sits over the property.
Getting the title and tax position right from the start usually costs far less than correcting a mistake after the fact — especially where an exemption could be lost or a charge missed. Our overview of dealing with assets after death sets the home in the context of the wider estate.