The IT38 is the Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) return a beneficiary files after receiving a gift or inheritance. For a genuinely straightforward benefit, filing it yourself online is realistic — Revenue's system does the tax calculation for you. This guide is part of our wider explainer on how inheritance tax (CAT) works in Ireland, and it focuses on the practical question: can I do this myself, and how?
It also draws the line clearly. Self-filing is the right call for a small slice of cases and the wrong call for the rest. Before any of the how-to, read the scope below — if your situation falls outside it, the honest answer is to hand it to a tax advisor rather than risk an incorrect return.
First: do you actually need to file?
You are required to file an IT38 once the total taxable value of your gifts and inheritances within a group exceeds 80% of the relevant group threshold — even if no CAT is actually due. That 80% test aggregates everything you have received within the same group since 5 December 1991, not just the benefit in front of you.
So the filing duty can arise before any tax bill does. If you are below the 80% line and owe nothing, you generally have nothing to file. Our guide to the 80% filing trigger and the 31 October rule walks through how the trigger works and how prior gifts count toward it.
What you need before you start
Gather these before you open the return. The single thing most people are missing is a confirmed valuation date, which is typically confirmed by the executor, not set by you.
- Your valuation date and benefit value— both confirmed by the executor. The valuation date starts your deadline clock and is a precise Revenue concept; here's how the valuation date works.
- Your PPSNand a Revenue online account — myAccount or ROS.
- Your group and threshold— which depends on your relationship to the person who left you the benefit.
- Records of prior gifts or inheritancesin the same group since 5 December 1991 — these aggregate toward your 80% test and your tax.
IT38 or IT38S: which form applies
There are two versions of the return. The full IT38 is filed online through myAccount or ROS. The simplified IT38S is a short form for the most straightforward cases, available online or as a paper form. Revenue sets the conditions for the IT38S, and they line up almost exactly with the simple-case scope above.
Filed online through myAccount or ROS
Available online, or as a short paper form posted with payment
Used when any reliefs, exemptions or credits apply (beyond the small-gift exemption)
Only where you claim no reliefs apart from the small-gift exemption
Used where the benefit carries conditions or restrictions
Only where the benefit has no conditions or restrictions
Used where the benefit comes from more than one person or is part of a larger benefit
Only where the property is from one person and is not part of a larger benefit
When the simplified IT38S can be used instead of the full IT38. The IT38S is only for cases meeting all of Revenue's conditions. Source: Revenue.
| The full IT38 (online) | The simplified IT38S |
|---|---|
| Filed online through myAccount or ROS | Available online, or as a short paper form posted with payment |
| Used when any reliefs, exemptions or credits apply (beyond the small-gift exemption) | Only where you claim no reliefs apart from the small-gift exemption |
| Used where the benefit carries conditions or restrictions | Only where the benefit has no conditions or restrictions |
| Used where the benefit comes from more than one person or is part of a larger benefit | Only where the property is from one person and is not part of a larger benefit |
In practice, if you genuinely meet every point in the simple-case scope, you are likely eligible for the IT38S. Either way, filing online through myAccount or ROS is the cleaner route, because the system computes any tax for you rather than leaving you to calculate it by hand.
Filing through ROS or myAccount, step by step
The four steps to a filed IT38
From signing in to paying — the whole return for a simple case is short.
Sign in to myAccount or ROS
Use Revenue's myAccount for a personal filing, or ROS (Revenue Online Service) if you are already registered there. You sign in with your own credentials and your PPSN. If you do not yet have a myAccount, you register for one first — allow time for the postal step, so do not leave this to the last week before the deadline. If you can verify your identity online — for example with a current driving licence or recent payslip or Revenue details — myAccount access can be immediate; otherwise Revenue posts a password, which takes longer.
Start the CAT IT38 return
In myAccount, go to “Gifts & Inheritances” and select to file a CAT IT38 return; in ROS, select Capital Acquisitions Tax. You then choose the filing period that matches your valuation date — which is why pinning that date first matters.
If you are filing the full IT38 on ROS, use the Return Preparation Facility (RPF)to prepare and save your return. The plain online ROS form does not save to “Work in Progress” and can time out, so you risk losing your work if you use it instead. myAccount filers do not need this step.
Enter your benefit and valuation date
Enter the value of what you received, your valuation date, your group and relationship to the person who left it to you, and any earlier gifts or inheritances from the same group since 5 December 1991. Revenue's online system calculates any tax for you from the figures you enter, so accuracy here is what drives the result.
File and pay by 31 October
Filing and paying are a single obligation, often called “pay and file”. Submit the return and pay any tax due by 31 October — the year is set by your valuation date. Filing without paying, or paying without filing, does not meet the deadline. If a payment is due, pay it through the online service at the same time.
After you file
When you submit online, keep the acknowledgement Revenue gives you — it is your proof the return was filed and any tax paid. Save a copy of the figures you entered too, in case a question comes up later.
Where the 80% rule meant you filed but owed no tax, there is nothing further to pay, but the filed return matters: an unfiled obligation can hold up a tax clearance or surface when a later inheritance is assessed, If your circumstances change — a further inheritance, or a relief you had not considered — the position can change, and it is worth checking rather than assuming.
When to stop and get help
This guide is safe to follow only in the situations described above. If any of the list below applies to you, a tax advisor is the right next step. There is no penalty for asking, and a wrong return is far costlier to unwind than a short conversation.
If you are not certain which side of the line you fall on, that uncertainty is itself a reason to check. Answer a few questions about your situation and we'll point you to the right next step — whether that is filing it yourself or an introduction to a tax advisor who handles exactly this. If you'd prefer to talk it through, you can contact us.