Rate
50% a year over two years
This is a tax allowance, not a grant. It only helps if you have farm profits to set it against, and any grant you get, such as TAMS, is taken off the cost first.
Quick facts
- Rate
- 50% a year over two years
- Normal rate
- 12.5% a year over eight years (equipment)
- Safety kit dates
- 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2026, extended to 2029 in Budget 2027
- Slurry storage dates
- 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2029
- Limit
- €500,000 relief per person, each scheme
- Claim
- On your Form 11 or CT1
Who can get it — the full rules
You must be carrying on a trade of farming, as a sole trader, partnership or company, and own the item. For safety equipment, "The equipment must be owned by the business making the claim." For slurry storage, anything leased, let or hired does not qualify.
If you have let out your land, this is not for you. "A person who leases out their land cannot claim accelerated allowances under the scheme."
Farm safety equipment
"Once certified, the expenditure can be written off at a rate of 50% per annum over two years rather than at the normal rate of 12.5% per annum over eight years."
The items are set out in law. Examples include fixed sheep handling units, cattle crushes, calving gates, livestock monitors, farmyard floodlights and sliding doors on farm buildings. "The list of items qualifying for relief was expanded by Finance Act 2024 to include certain equipment qualifying for grants under the Targeted Modernisation Scheme (TAMS)."
The current rule covers spending from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2026. Budget 2027 says "Accelerated Capital Allowances for Farm Safety Equipment are extended to 31 December 2029, and 12 new items will be added to the eligible list – details to be announced shortly."
Slurry storage
Revenue's guide allows "qualifying capital expenditure incurred on the construction of slurry storage buildings and associated equipment to be written off at a rate of 50% per annum over a period of 2 years". Normally farm buildings take 7 years and equipment 8.
It covers tanks, stores, manure pits and collecting yards built to Department specifications, and storage tanks must be covered. Equipment can count too, such as "an automatic slurry scraper, or a simple slurry aeration system". "The expenditure must be incurred in the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2029."
How much it is worth
The allowance does not change what you spend. It brings the tax deduction forward, so you get the relief in two years instead of seven or eight. Each scheme has a limit of €500,000 of relief per person.
Grants come off first. For safety equipment, "any grants received (including those under TAMS) would be deducted from the qualifying expenditure." For slurry storage, only the net cost after any State or other grant qualifies.
How to claim
Buy or build the item first
For safety equipment, you apply for the certificate once the equipment has been acquired.
Get the Department's certificate for safety kit
Use the application form from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Keep the figures net of VAT
Only the VAT-exclusive cost is certified for safety equipment.
Claim on your tax return
Use the separate fields on Form 11, or on Form CT1 for a company.
Ask your accountant about your own case
Teagasc advises farmers to check with their accountant or tax adviser.
Things to watch
The safety scheme has a national cap. "The scheme is subject to an overall annual budget of €5 million (excluding VAT)." If that runs out, a certificate can be refused for that year.
The Budget 2027 extension still has to pass in the Finance Act. "The Finance Bill is due on 15 October, with Finance Act 2026 to be signed before Christmas."
Phone, forms and how long it takes
- Farm safety equipment scheme queries (DAFM)
- acafarmsafetyequipment@agriculture.gov.ie
- Certificate application form (safety equipment, after you buy it)
- Application Form
- Then claim on your tax return
- Form 11
From the official pages (gov.ie, revenue.ie), re-checked every night. Numbers and times can change, so check the official page before you send anything.
Common questions
What are accelerated capital allowances for slurry storage?
A tax write-off of 50% a year over two years on qualifying slurry storage built between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2029, instead of the usual 7 years.
What farm safety equipment qualifies for capital allowances?
Items listed in law, such as fixed sheep handling units, cattle crushes, calving gates, livestock monitors and farmyard floodlights. Budget 2027 says 12 new items will be added.
Has the farm safety allowance been extended?
Budget 2027 says it is extended to 31 December 2029. The current Revenue guidance still shows 31 December 2026 until the Finance Act passes.
Can I claim this and a TAMS grant?
Yes, but the grant is deducted from the cost before the allowance is worked out.