Stamp duty on financial cards

Introduction

A tax (or stamp duty) is charged by the Government on cards issued by financial institutions in Ireland each year. If you use one of the following cards issued by a financial institution, you must pay a certain tax each year on that card.

These cards include:

• Credit cards and charge cards
• Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) cards and debit (Laser) cards

Credit cards and charge cards

A credit card is a plastic card issued by a financial institution that allows you to obtain goods, services or cash up to a stipulated credit limit. You then pay the credit card company for the amount of the total sales you charge on the card. Interest is charged on any outstanding balance each month.

A charge card can be used like a credit card except no interest is charged since balances are paid by you at the end of each month.

The stamp duty is payable annually as follows:

• Credit cards: €30 
• Charge cards: €30 

The charge is for each account. An individual can have additional cards issued on his/her account without paying extra duty. Companies that have a number of cards on one account must pay the duty on each card.

The duty is payable on April 1 for the preceding year. The tax year for the stamp duty begins on April 2.

If the credit card account is closed never having been used, no stamp duty is payable provided that you close the account in the same period as it was opened. If you have used your card and you close your account during the year, you will be charged.

If you are changing to a different credit card account you don’t have to pay the duty more than once. When you are closing the account your card issuer will give you a letter of closure stating that you have paid your stamp duty for the year. If you give this letter to your new card issuer, you will not be charged stamp duty by them for that year. You can change account as often as you like during the year without paying extra duty, as long as you transfer a letter of closure between the card issuers each time.

You are not liable to stamp duty if your billing address is outside the State for the entire accounting period in question.

In the case of a credit card account or a charge card account, where the cardholder has died and the account is closed, there is no duty payable in respect of the credit card account or charge card account on the following 1 April.

ATM cards and debit (Laser) cards

The annual stamp duty for these cards is as follows:

• ATM card: €2.50
• Debit (Laser) card: €2.50
• Combined ATM and laser card: €5

The duty is applied to each card, rather than each account. It does not apply to a replacement for a lost card.

The duty is charged each year for cards held on December 31. This means, if you close your account before 31 December in a year you will not be charged stamp duty because duty is collected on cards which are valid on 31 December each year.

There are a number of exemptions:

• If you have not used your card during the year then it is not liable for stamp duty. This applies even if you use the card to request a chequebook, a balance statement, or to establish your identity or account number. There is no charge if the card is issued on a deposit account which has an average balance of less than €12.70.
• There is no duty payable where the cardholder has died during the accounting period.
• You are not liable to stamp duty if your billing address is outside the State.

Further information

If you have a query about a stamp duty charge on your account you should raise it with your financial institution. For more information on how the stamp duty on financial cards is applied contact Revenue's Large Cases Division - see below.