If you wish to make a gift to anybody, you can let them have up to €3,000 each year before that person would have to pay Capital Acquisitions Tax. If therefore you wanted to give €5,000 to somebody, you could pay €3,000 at the beginning of December and a further €2,000 at the beginning of January and the beneficiary would not have to pay tax. If the €5,000 was all paid in one go, they would have to pay tax.

You might bear this in mind the next time you are feeling generous.

Kevin Brophy