Exemption from tax on gains accruing on certain disposal of shares (S626B TCA 1997)

Section 626B of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997 provides an exemption for certain capital gains accruing on the disposal of certain shareholdings. It provides that a gain accruing to an investor company on the disposal of shares in an investee company will not be a chargeable gain if, at the time of the disposal, it meets a number of conditions. The conditions include a shareholding requirement, a requirement concerning the investee company’s residence and a trading requirement.

Tax and Duty Manual 20.01.14 has been updated to reflect the changes to section 626B TCA 1997 brought in by section 44 Finance Act 2014. This amendment provides that the exemptions provided by this section and section 626C TCA 1997 do not apply where any of the provisions of the anti-avoidance section 590 TCA 1997 apply, except where the participator is a company. In addition, the manual has also been updated to provide information regarding a company in liquidation and the trading requirement.

26 March 2015