1.1 How do I know if I am resident in Ireland for a tax year?
Your residence status for Irish tax purposes is determined by the number of days you are present in Ireland during a
given tax year (1 January to the following 31 December). You will therefore be a resident of Ireland in either of the
following circumstances:
w if you spend 183 days or more in Ireland for any purpose in the tax year in question
or
w if you spend 280 days or more in Ireland for any purpose over a period of two consecutive
tax years you will be regarded as resident in Ireland for the second tax year. For example, if you
spend 140 days here in year 1 and 150 days here in year 2 you will be resident in Ireland for
year 2.
(However, if you spend 30 days or less in total in Ireland in either tax year those days will not be reckoned for the
purposes of applying this test.) A ‘day’ for residence purposes is one on which you are present in Ireland at any time
during the day. For 2008 and previous years a ‘day’ is one on which you are present in Ireland at midnight.
1.2 What is Ordinary Residence?
The term Ordinary Residence as distinct from residence refers to an individual’s pattern of residence over a number of
tax years. If you have been resident in Ireland for three consecutive tax years you are regarded as ordinarily resident
from the beginning of the fourth tax year. Conversely you will cease to be ordinarily resident in Ireland having been
non resident for three consecutive tax years.
1.3 What is Domicile?
Domicile is a concept of general law. It is broadly interpreted as meaning residence in a particular country with the
intention of residing permanently in that country. Every individual acquires a domicile of origin at birth. An Irish
domicile of origin will remain with an individual until such time as a new domicile of choice is acquired. However,
before that domicile of origin can be shed there has to be clear evidence that the individual has demonstrated a
positive intention of permanent residence in the new country and has abandoned the idea of ever returning to live in
Ireland. An individual’s domicile status can influence the extent to which foreign sourced gains are taxable in Ireland.