How Gifted Deposits Work for Irish Mortgages

What Is a Deed of Gift?

A Deed of Gift, more commonly encountered in practice as a lender’s “gift letter” or gift declaration, is a signed document confirming that money coming from a family member is an outright gift, not a loan, and not an arrangement that gives the donor any future claim on the property.

Lenders ask for it before releasing mortgage funds because, under Irish law, anyone who contributes money toward a property purchase can generally be entitled to a beneficial “equity” interest in it, whether or not that was ever intended. The gift letter exists to rule that out in writing. It’s typically provided by parents, grandparents, or siblings, though any family member or close connection can act as donor. At minimum, a lender’s gift letter needs to state:

• The donor’s full name, address and relationship to the applicant.
• Confirmation the gift is non-repayable and interest-free.
• Confirmation the donor has no legal or beneficial interest in the property.
• The exact amount being gifted and the date of transfer.
• The donor’s signature, and in some cases confirmation they’ve received independent legal advice.

Gift Letter vs Deed of Confirmation

These two documents do different jobs at different stages, and mixing them up is one of the most common sources of confusion.

The gift letter satisfies the lender at application stage. The Deed of Confirmation does something more specific at the legal stage: it’s executed by anyone who may have a beneficial interest in the property, your donor and it formally postpones any claim they could otherwise make, ranking it behind the bank’s mortgage security. In practice, it exists so the lender can enforce its mortgage without ever having to give notice to, or get consent from, the person who gave you the deposit. Most lenders supply their own version of this document directly in the loan pack sent to your solicitor, and it’s usually paired with a separate spousal consent form if the property will be a family home and the donor’s own spouse isn’t a joint owner.

How Much Can You Gift Tax Free?

Ireland taxes gifts and inheritances under Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT), and how much you can receive tax-free depends on your relationship to the donor. Budget 2026 made no changes to these thresholds, so the figures below are current.

• Every individual can receive €3,000 a year from any number of donors, completely tax free and outside the lifetime threshold.
• A couple can therefore receive €6,000 a year from one set of parents using the small gift exemption alone, €3,000 to each partner.
• Anything above the annual exemption counts toward the recipient’s lifetime Group threshold.
• Once the lifetime threshold is exceeded, CAT is charged at 33% on the balance.
• These thresholds are cumulative for life, and count gifts and inheritances received from anyone in that Group since 5 December 1991, so an earlier gift, even a small one from years ago, reduces what’s left of the threshold today.

This is general guidance, not tax advice. Confirm your own position with Revenue or an accountant before relying on it, particularly if you’ve received other gifts or inheritances from the same donor group in the past.

Central Bank Deposit Rules

The gift only matters because of the deposit requirement sitting underneath it. Here’s what the Central Bank’s mortgage measures currently require:

Current market context: the average first-time buyer mortgage reached €326,000 in H1 2026, the highest level on record, with first-time buyers accounting for 59% of all drawdowns in the period. On a mortgage of that size at 90% LTV, the deposit alone comes to roughly €36,000, before stamp duty, legal fees and other purchase costs are added. That’s the exact gap family gifts are increasingly closing, and it’s worth being clear:

A gifted deposit is deposit money, not income, so it doesn’t change your income multiple. It changes how much of the purchase price you need to fund yourself before the mortgage covers the rest.

Avoiding Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Delays

Gifts From Family Abroad

Build in extra time

If your donor lives outside Ireland, a common scenario for Irish buyers with parents or relatives in the abroad e.g. UK, the US, Australia or further afield – the paperwork carries a few extra layers:

• Certified identification for the overseas donor, usually a passport plus proof of address.
• Confirmation of the sending bank and the SWIFT or international transfer reference.
• Currency conversion evidence if the gift wasn’t sent in euro.
• The same signed gift letter requirement applies regardless of where the donor lives, distance doesn’t reduce what the lender needs to see.

Build in extra time for this. International transfers and certified ID checks routinely add days, sometimes weeks, that a purely domestic gift wouldn’t need, starting the paperwork early is the single biggest lever you have here.

Protecting the Gift

A gifted deposit isn’t just a lender requirement to tick off, it’s family money, and it’s worth thinking about what protects it, and you, once it’s part of your home. If something happened to you, would the mortgage, and the gift that helped fund it, be protected?

• Mortgage Protection: usually a lender requirement before drawdown, covering the outstanding mortgage balance. More on mortgage protection insurance
• Life Insurance: makes sure the family gift and the home itself are protected if the worst happens. More on life insurance
• Income Protection: in case illness or injury stops you working and meeting repayments. More on income protection insurance
• Serious Illness Cover: a lump sum if a specified condition is diagnosed. More on critical illness cover

Frequently Asked Questions