{"id":541352,"date":"2026-06-18T09:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T09:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/541352\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T09:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T09:41:14","slug":"we-are-moving-home-from-america-could-a-long-house-hunting-trip-make-us-tax-residents-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/541352\/","title":{"rendered":"We are moving home from America. Could a long house-hunting trip make us tax residents? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: My husband and I are <\/b>Irish citizens; I was born in Ireland, my husband has citizenship through our marriage. Our home is in the <\/b>United States<\/b><\/a> where we are citizens and earn our income. <\/b><\/p>\n

We are investigating moving back to Ireland completely. If our stay extends beyond 183 days while we house hunt, would we become <\/b>tax<\/b><\/a> liable here? <\/b><\/p>\n

A: Spending more than 183 days in Ireland<\/a> during a tax year generally means you would be regarded as tax-resident here for that year, says Kellie McLaughlin, solicitor with Gibson and Associates. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s the 280-day rule to think about, too. This is where you can become tax resident in year two if the total number of days spent in Ireland over two consecutive tax years exceeds 280 days, subject to spending at least 30 days in Ireland each year, she says. <\/p>\n

The tax year in Ireland runs from January 1st to December 31st. <\/p>\n

But residence here doesn\u2019t automatically mean that Ireland has the right to tax all your income, McLaughlin says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs both of you are also US citizens and appear to have your permanent home there, economic interests and existing tax residence in the US, the Ireland-US double-taxation treaty may need to be considered,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I\u2019m an American, can I live in Ireland for six months of the year?\u2019<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The treaty\u2019s \u201ctie breaker\u201d provisions look at where you have a permanent home, where your personal and economic relations are closest, your habitual abode and, ultimately, your nationality, McLaughlin says. <\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on these things, it may be possible to remain treaty-resident [or tax resident] in the United States, notwithstanding a period of residence in Ireland,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

But house hunting here for an extended period with a view to a permanent move could be relevant if your stay extends and your connections with Ireland increase, she says. <\/p>\n

Bear in mind, too, that a rented home here could be regarded as a permanent home, even if you retain your home in the US. A person can have only one permanent home. <\/p>\n

McLaughlin suggests getting personalised tax advice before exceeding the 183-day threshold, particularly if you are still undecided about moving here. <\/p>\n

Doing some tax planning in advance of triggering Irish tax residency could mean tax savings and avoiding unexpected charges. <\/p>\n

The name of the reader who submitted the question is not being published to protect the identities of those involved.<\/p>\n

Please send your legal queries to Joanne Hunt, Ask the Lawyer, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to joanne.hunt@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Q: My husband and I are Irish citizens; I was born in Ireland, my husband has citizenship through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[232372,79,18,19,17,12094,51352,4520,384],"class_list":["post-541352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-ask-the-lawyer","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-money-matters","tag-republic","tag-tax","tag-united-states"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116770457969727803","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}