Selling Kerry Group shares triggers capital gains tax on your profit, and where you live decides who collects it. Irish residents pay a flat 33% on gains above a €1,270 annual exemption.1Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the Disposal of an Asset US residents generally owe only US capital gains tax, because the US-Ireland tax treaty stops Ireland from taxing profits on shares sold through a recognized stock exchange by non-residents.2Internal Revenue Service. Tax Convention With Ireland So the capital gains tax on Kerry Group shares is a single-country bill for most shareholders, not a double one.
Which Country Taxes the Gain
Under Article 13(5) of the US-Ireland tax treaty, gains from selling shares in an Irish company quoted on a stock exchange are taxable only in the country where the seller lives.2Internal Revenue Service. Tax Convention With Ireland Kerry Group is listed on Euronext Dublin, which qualifies. A US resident selling Kerry Group shares owes capital gains tax to the IRS alone; Ireland has no claim on the profit.
Irish residents get the opposite result. If you live in Ireland for tax purposes, you owe Irish capital gains tax on the full gain, regardless of where the shares were traded or held. The same applies to someone ordinarily resident and domiciled in Ireland.
If you live in a third country, check whether it has a similar treaty with Ireland. Many do. Even without a treaty, Irish domestic law generally exempts non-residents from CGT on shares traded on a recognized stock exchange, so the practical result is usually the same.
Irish Capital Gains Tax on the Sale
Ireland taxes capital gains at a flat 33%.1Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the Disposal of an Asset There is no reduced rate for longer holdings. A gain built over two months is taxed the same as one built over twenty years.
Every individual gets a personal exemption of €1,270 per year, and only the gain above that is taxed.1Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the Disposal of an Asset Clear €5,000 in profit and you owe 33% of €3,730, which is €1,230.90. The exemption covers your total gains for the whole year, not each sale separately, and unused amounts cannot be carried forward.
Working Out the Chargeable Gain
Your taxable gain is the sale proceeds minus your adjusted cost basis. Stockbroker fees, settlement charges, and other buying and selling costs come off the gain.1Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the Disposal of an Asset Stamp duty paid on the original purchase counts too; Ireland charges 1% on transfers of Irish shares, and that amount goes into your cost basis.3Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Stamp Duty and Shares, Stocks and Marketable Securities Keep every contract note.
Shares picked up through a dividend reinvestment plan need special care. Each batch has its own purchase date and price, and each acquisition is a separate cost basis entry. You cannot average the lot when you sell.
Payment Deadlines
Ireland splits the year into two CGT payment windows:
- Gains made between January 1 and November 30 must be paid by December 15 of the same year.
- Gains made in December must be paid by January 31 of the following year.
These deadlines apply regardless of when you file your return.4Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the Disposal of an Asset – When and How Do You Pay and File CGT Late payments accrue daily interest.
The return itself is filed on Form CG1 if you do not normally submit an annual tax return, or in the capital gains section of Form 11 if you are self-assessed.5Revenue Commissioners. Form CG1 Capital Gains Tax Return and Self-Assessment PAYE taxpayers filing a paper Form 12 can report gains there. Submissions go through Revenue’s Online Service (ROS) or the myAccount portal, depending on your taxpayer category. The form asks for gross proceeds, adjusted cost basis, and the chargeable gain.
US Capital Gains Tax on the Sale
Because the treaty shields US residents from Irish CGT, the whole tax bill sits under the American system. Rates depend on how long you held the shares.
Shares held more than one year qualify for long-term capital gains rates.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses For the 2026 tax year:
- 0% on taxable income up to $49,450 (single) or $98,900 (married filing jointly).
- 15% on taxable income from $49,451 to $545,500 (single) or $98,901 to $613,700 (married filing jointly).
- 20% on taxable income above $545,500 (single) or $613,700 (married filing jointly).
Shares held for one year or less are short-term, taxed at your ordinary federal income tax rate, which can reach 37%.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses The holding period starts the day after you bought and includes the day you sold.
High earners face an additional 3.8% net investment income tax. It applies when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1411 – Imposition of Tax These thresholds are fixed in statute and not adjusted for inflation. The 3.8% is charged on the lesser of net investment income or the amount by which income exceeds the threshold.
Reporting the Sale
Report the sale on IRS Form 8949. Long-term disposals go in Part II, short-term in Part I.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949 List a description of the shares, the buy and sell dates, the proceeds, and your cost basis. Totals from Form 8949 carry to Schedule D of your Form 1040.
Kerry Group trades in the US as a sponsored American Depositary Receipt under the ticker KRYAY, with each ADR representing one ordinary share.9OTC Markets. KRYAY – Kerry Group plc Overview If your broker reports the sale on a 1099-B, proceeds arrive in dollars. If you hold ordinary shares directly on a European exchange, you convert both the purchase price and the sale price into dollars yourself.
Currency Conversion
The IRS requires the spot exchange rate on the date of each transaction. Convert the euro purchase price using the rate on the day you bought, and the sale price using the rate on the day you sold.10Internal Revenue Service. Yearly Average Currency Exchange Rates No specific source is mandated, but the rate must be a consistent, published one. Currency movements between your buy and sell dates can raise or lower the taxable gain independent of the share price. Someone who bought when the euro was strong and sold when it was weak could end up with a smaller dollar gain, or even a loss, even after a rise in the euro-denominated share price.
When Irish Tax Has Been Paid
The treaty means most US residents will have no Irish CGT to credit. If Irish tax was charged for any reason, you claim a foreign tax credit on Form 1116 to offset your US liability.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1116 Capital gains sit in the passive category income basket. If total creditable foreign taxes for the year are $300 or less ($600 for married filing jointly), you can skip Form 1116 and claim the credit directly on Form 1040.
The Wash Sale Rule for US Sellers
US investors selling Kerry Group shares at a loss need to watch the wash sale rule. Buy substantially identical shares within 30 days before or after the sale and the IRS disallows the loss.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1091 – Loss From Wash Sales of Stock or Securities The disallowed loss is added to the cost basis of the replacement shares, so it is not gone forever, but you cannot deduct it in the current year.
The rule reaches across any account you control, including your spouse’s accounts and tax-deferred accounts like IRAs. Selling in a brokerage account and repurchasing through a retirement account triggers the same disallowance. Irish tax law has no equivalent, so this trap is unique to US investors.
Inherited Kerry Group Shares
If you inherited the shares, your cost basis is generally the fair market value on the date the previous owner died. This stepped-up basis can dramatically reduce or eliminate the taxable gain. Inherited shares are also treated as long-term holdings for US capital gains purposes regardless of how long the deceased held them, so they qualify for the lower long-term rates from day one.
The Irish treatment mirrors the concept. Capital Acquisitions Tax may have applied to the inheritance itself, and the CGT cost basis is set at the market value on the date of death. Record that price. Without it, establishing the correct basis years later is difficult.