myAccount or ROS for Your IT38? Choosing the Right Revenue Channel for a One-Off Inheritance
If you are a PAYE employee filing a single inheritance with no special reliefs, you can do the whole IT38 yourself through Revenue's myAccount — you do not need ROS. ROS only becomes necessary when you are filing as a registered self-assessed taxpayer, acting as an agent (like a solicitor), or claiming most reliefs through the full IT38. Here is exactly how to tell which channel applies to you, and a step-by-step of a €420,000 parental inheritance filed start to finish.
The short answer: most one-off beneficiaries use myAccount
Revenue gives ordinary taxpayers two online doors to file a Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) return: myAccount (the PAYE/general portal) and ROS, the Revenue Online Service used by the self-employed, companies and registered agents. Both let you file the IT38 and both calculate the tax for you. For the typical situation this page is about — one inheritance from a parent, no business or agricultural relief, nothing complicated — myAccount is the correct and simplest channel.
The choice is not really "which form is better." It is "which Revenue login do I already have, and does my situation force me onto ROS?" Below is the dividing line.
| Use myAccount when… | You need ROS when… |
|---|---|
| You are a PAYE worker / general taxpayer filing your own benefit | You are filing as an agent (e.g. a solicitor filing for the estate) |
| You are filing a single gift or inheritance for yourself | You are a registered self-assessed (Income Tax / ROS) taxpayer and prefer to file there |
| You have a PPSN and can register for CAT inside myAccount | You are filing on behalf of a trust, estate or company |
| Your case fits the short IT38S (see below) or the full online IT38 | You need features or bulk filing only ROS exposes |
You do not need to be self-employed, and you do not need a ROS digital certificate, to file your own one-off inheritance. A standard myAccount login plus your PPSN is enough. Source: Revenue, How do you file (IT38).
First: register for CAT and link the disponer
One thing trips people up before they ever see the IT38: CAT is a separate tax registration. Having a myAccount login does not automatically mean you are registered for Capital Acquisitions Tax. You add it once, inside the same myAccount.
Registering for CAT in myAccount
- Sign in to myAccount.
- Under Manage My Record, choose Tax Registrations.
- Select Register for Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT). Revenue assigns the registration date automatically.
Once CAT shows in your record, the Gifts & Inheritances service appears, and inside it you select File CAT IT38 Return.
Linking the disponer — and why their PPSN matters
The "disponer" is the person who gave you the gift or left you the inheritance — in a parental inheritance, your late parent. When you add the disponer on the online return, their PPSN is a required field. You cannot move past that screen without it. For a deceased parent this is usually their PPSN from their own tax records; the executor or solicitor handling the estate normally has it, and if it cannot be located you can contact the Department of Social Protection to confirm a PPSN.
Gather the disponer's full name, address and PPSN, plus your own PPSN and the dates involved, before you start the online IT38. The form will not let you save and progress the disponer step without the PPSN, so people who start without it get stuck halfway. Source: Revenue, How do you file.
The IT38S short form: who actually qualifies
Revenue offers a short-form IT38 (the "IT38S") for genuinely simple cases. It is faster because it skips the reliefs and aggregation machinery of the full return. You qualify for the short form only if all three of these are true:
- You are not claiming any relief, exemption or credit — apart from the Small Gift Exemption (the €3,000 annual gift exemption). No Agricultural Relief, no Business Relief, no Dwelling House Exemption, no foreign-tax credit.
- The benefit you received has no conditions or restrictions attached — you take it as an absolute interest.
- The property is from one disponer only and is not part of a larger benefit or a series of benefits taken on the same day.
If any one of those fails — say you are claiming Dwelling House Exemption on the family home, or you inherited from both parents, or you took a life interest rather than the asset outright — you must use the full IT38. The full IT38 is also available through myAccount and ROS; only the agent / self-assessed scenarios force you specifically onto ROS.
The IT38S can be filed online or on paper. If you file the short form on paper, you must calculate the CAT yourself, sign it, and post it with payment to the Collector-General in Limerick. Filing it online through myAccount is easier because Revenue does the calculation for you. Source: Revenue, How do you file and the official Form IT38S (PDF).
Do you even have to file? The 80% rule
You are obliged to file an IT38 once the total taxable value of the benefits you have received in a group exceeds 80% of the relevant group threshold — counting all prior aggregable gifts and inheritances in that group since 5 December 1991. For a parent-to-child inheritance (Group A, threshold €400,000), the 80% trigger is €320,000. Below 80% and with no tax due, no return is required; cross it and you must file even if reliefs eventually wipe out the tax. Source: Revenue, Filing obligations.
The 2026 thresholds and rate at a glance
| Group | Relationship to disponer | Tax-free threshold (from 2 Oct 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Child (incl. certain step/foster children) inheriting from a parent | €400,000 |
| B | Brother, sister, niece, nephew, grandchild, lineal ancestor/descendant | €40,000 |
| C | Everyone else (e.g. friends, cousins) | €20,000 |
Anything above the relevant threshold is taxed at the flat CAT rate of 33% (in force since 6 December 2012). Sources: Revenue, CAT thresholds and CAT rates.
Worked walk-through: a €420,000 parental inheritance via myAccount
Cathal, 38, is a PAYE software engineer in Galway. His mother, Bríd, died in 2026 and left him €420,000 of cash and quoted shares outright. Cathal has never received any prior gift or inheritance from either parent. He is not claiming any relief — it is a clean cash-and-shares inheritance with no conditions. He has a myAccount login from filing the odd PAYE refund.
Step 1 — Does he have to file? Group A, threshold €400,000. The 80% trigger is €320,000. His €420,000 benefit is well above that, so a return is required.
Step 2 — Which channel and which form? Cathal is a PAYE worker filing his own single inheritance → myAccount, not ROS. He claims no reliefs (the Small Gift Exemption aside), the benefit is absolute, and it comes from one disponer only → he qualifies for the IT38S short form.
Step 3 — Calculate the CAT.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Taxable value of the inheritance | €420,000 |
| Less: Group A threshold | −€400,000 |
| Less: prior aggregable Group A benefits | −€0 |
| Taxable excess | €20,000 |
| CAT at 33% (€20,000 × 0.33) | €6,600 |
Cathal's CAT bill is €6,600. (Revenue's online IT38 does this arithmetic for him; he is checking it himself so there are no surprises.)
Step 4 — Register and file. He signs in to myAccount → Manage My Record → Tax Registrations → registers for CAT. The Gifts & Inheritances service appears; he selects File CAT IT38 Return, chooses the IT38S, and enters his details and Bríd's — including her PPSN, the required field on the disponer screen.
Step 5 — Deadline. Bríd's valuation date falls in, say, May 2026 (between 1 January and 31 August), so Cathal's pay-and-file deadline is 31 October 2026. He files and pays the €6,600 before then. (Had the valuation date fallen between 1 September and 31 December, the deadline would have rolled to 31 October 2027.)
When is it due? The valuation-date deadline rule
CAT is "pay and file": you file the IT38 and pay the tax by the same date, and that date hangs off the valuation date (broadly, when you become beneficially entitled and the benefit can be valued — for an inheritance, often around the grant of probate).
| Valuation date falls… | Pay-and-file deadline |
|---|---|
| Between 1 January and 31 August | 31 October of the same year |
| Between 1 September and 31 December | 31 October of the following year |
Source: Revenue, Important dates for CAT. Late filing or late payment can attract a surcharge and interest, so it pays to register for CAT early rather than on 30 October.
Saving, amending, and getting your acknowledgement
Saving a part-finished return
The online IT38 lets you save your progress and return later — useful if you are waiting on the disponer's PPSN or a final valuation. It sits in your myAccount as a work-in-progress until you submit. Just remember the deadline applies to the submitted return, not the saved draft.
Getting the acknowledgement of a filed IT38
When you submit, Revenue issues an on-screen and stored acknowledgement / notice of acknowledgement confirming the return was received, with a reference. Keep it: solicitors and banks dealing with the estate frequently ask for proof the CAT return was filed and the tax paid before they release funds or complete the administration. You can retrieve it later from the Gifts & Inheritances area of myAccount.
Amending or adding to a filed return
Made a mistake, or a further benefit came to light (e.g. a second asset from the same estate)? You can amend a filed IT38 or file additional benefits through the same online service rather than starting over. Source: Revenue, File additional benefits or amend a filed return.
- PAYE + single inheritance + no reliefs = myAccount. ROS is for agents, self-assessed filers, trusts/estates and companies.
- CAT is its own registration. Add it inside myAccount (Manage My Record → Tax Registrations) before the IT38 service appears.
- The disponer's PPSN is mandatory on the online form — gather it before you start or you will get stuck.
- IT38S short form needs all three: no reliefs (bar the Small Gift Exemption), absolute benefit, one disponer only.
- 2026 figures: Group A €400,000, Group B €40,000, Group C €20,000; CAT rate 33%. File once you cross 80% of the threshold.
- Deadline hangs off the valuation date — 31 Oct same year (Jan–Aug) or 31 Oct next year (Sep–Dec). You can save, amend, and download your acknowledgement.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file my IT38 in myAccount, or do I have to use ROS?
If you are a PAYE or general taxpayer filing your own single gift or inheritance, you can file the IT38 (including the short IT38S) entirely in myAccount — no ROS account needed. ROS is required when you file as an agent (such as a solicitor), as a registered self-assessed taxpayer, or for a trust, estate or company.
How do I register for CAT before filing?
Sign in to myAccount, go to Manage My Record → Tax Registrations, and register for Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT). Revenue assigns the registration date automatically and the Gifts & Inheritances service then becomes available so you can select "File CAT IT38 Return."
What information do I need about the disponer?
You need the disponer's full name, address and PPSN, your own PPSN, your relationship to them, the gift/inheritance details and the relevant dates. The disponer's PPSN is a required field — the online form will not let you progress without it.
Who can use the short IT38S instead of the full IT38?
You qualify only if all three apply: you claim no reliefs, exemptions or credits (apart from the Small Gift Exemption); the benefit has no conditions or restrictions; and it comes from one disponer only and is not part of a larger benefit. If any of these fails, use the full IT38.
How much CAT is due on a €420,000 inheritance from a parent?
Group A's threshold is €400,000, so €20,000 is taxable (assuming no prior aggregable Group A benefits). At the 33% CAT rate that is €6,600. Revenue's online IT38 calculates this for you, but it is worth checking the figure yourself.
How do I get proof that my IT38 was filed?
On submission, Revenue issues an acknowledgement confirming the return was received, which is stored in the Gifts & Inheritances area of myAccount. Keep it — solicitors and banks often request proof the CAT return was filed and the tax paid before releasing estate funds.
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