Being a farmer

There are different roles involved in owning or working on a farm.

If you’re just getting into farming, there are grants and courses to get you started.

If you’re already working in farming, there are a variety of supports available, including farming grants and payments and social welfare supports.

You have a number of responsibilities if you own and run a farm, like paying taxes. You also have specific responsibilities if you employ people on your farm.

If you want to retire from farming, you should consider all your options, such as planning for farm inheritance so you can pass your farm on to your successor.

This page has information about the supports you can get at the different stages of your farming life, as well as your responsibilities, especially if you are employing people on your farm.

Farming is a varied career and lifestyle. As well as it being your job, you may also be a business owner, employer and caretaker of the land. And you may have to work unsociable hours, depending on the type of farming you do.

If you are starting out farming, you may be:

• Inheriting a farm from a relative
• Buying a farm
• Working on someone else’s farm

If you are in school and thinking about a career in farming, you should talk to your school guidance counsellor about courses.

You can also contact Teagasc or the universities that offer farming courses to find out about farming courses and apprenticeships.

You could also consider working on a farm as a seasonal worker, for example, during the summer holidays. This is a great way to get experience on a farm to see if you enjoy it, before you sign up to a course or apprenticeship.

Getting a herd number

If you are going to keep animals on your farm, you may need a herd number. These are issued by your Regional Veterinary Office (RVO) and help to manage diseases in animals.

You also need a herd number to qualify for many of the farming grants and schemes. However, scheme entitlements do not automatically transfer when you change the name on a herd number. You need to transfer any entitlements separately.

You will need a herd number if you have:

• Cows
• Sheep
• Goats

To qualify for a herd number, you must meet certain criteria. For example, you must be over 18 and your land must be properly fenced.

Getting a herd number means you are responsible for the care of the animals under that herd number. You are seen as the herd keeper; though you do not have to own animals or land to have a herd number.

Applying for a herd number

To apply for a herd number, you must:

• Complete a ER1: Disease Eradication Schemes From (doc)
• Send it to your local Regional Veterinary Office (RVO)

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has more information on applying for a herd number (doc).

Gov.ie also have more information on herd numbers.

There are lots of farming courses if you are interested in farming or are already farming and want to upskill or learn about a new area.

You may also need to complete a farming course to access some farming schemes and payments, such as the Organic Farming Scheme.

Many farming courses are run by Teagasc while others are run by third-level colleges, sometimes in partnership with Teagasc.

There are grants to help you with the cost of studying, including:

• The Teagasc Student Maintenance Grant Scheme
• The Student Grant Scheme

There are also farming apprenticeships if you are interested in getting practical farming experience.

You can find out more about farming education, grants and supports.

There are a number of grants and schemes you can get to subsidise your income, help modernise your farm and make it more sustainable.

Most schemes have their own qualifying criteria and application process. However, you can apply for some of the schemes when you apply for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS).

BISS is the main EU support for farmers. It provides income support for farming sustainably and aims to ensure farmers can make a living from farming.

Some of the schemes may be closed to new applicants or closed for the year. However, you should know the terms and conditions of any scheme you are claiming to make sure you are following the scheme rules.

You can read our page on Farming grants and schemes for more information.

There are additional supports for young farmers, including the:

• Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CIS-YF). This is a payment which supports young farmers who are under 40.
• National Reserve: Young Farmer category. This provides financial support to farmers who are under 40 and are setting up a farm for the first time.

To qualify for both of these young farmer supports, you must:

• Be under 40 years old
• Have completed a recognised course in agriculture at Level 6 or equivalent on the National Framework of Qualifications
• Submit a valid BISS application

These young farmer supports are connected to your BISS application.

Both schemes are currently closed to new applicants but are expected to open again in 2025.

Young Trained Farmer Relief

The Young Trained Farmer Relief means you pay no stamp duty when agricultural land is transferred to you, if you meet certain criteria.

To qualify, you must:

• Be under 35
• Have a relevant agricultural qualification
• Have submitted a business plan to Teagasc
• Be registered for income tax
• Be the head of the farm holding

You must also intend to:

• Spend at least 50% of your normal working time farming the transferred land for at least 5 years from the date of transfer
• Keep ownership of the land for at least 5 years from the date of transfer

There is a limit on the amount of relief that can be claimed.

You can read more information about the Young Trained Farmer Relief on revenue.ie (pdf).

Succession Farm Partnerships

A Succession Farm Partnership is an income tax incentive to encourage experienced farmers to form partnerships with young, trained farmers and then transfer ownership of their farm business to them.

The incentive is worth an annual tax credit of €5,000 for up to 5 years.

To qualify for this incentive, you must meet certain criteria, including that, at least one successor is under 40 years old and has an agricultural qualification.

For more information on Succession Farm Partnerships, see Farm succession planning (pdf).

There are some social welfare payments for farmers that you may be able to get depending on your situation:

• Farm Assist – a means-tested social welfare payment for farmers with a low income
• The Rural Social Scheme for low-income farmers, fishermen and fisherwomen. This scheme gives you a ‘top-up’ payment on your social welfare payment in return for providing services that benefit your community.

Other social welfare supports

You may also qualify for other social welfare supports which are not specifically for farmers, such as:

• Fuel Allowance
• Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
• Jobseeker’s Benefit
• Jobseeker’s Allowance

You can find more information about these payments in our Social Welfare section.

Before hiring workers for your farm

Before you hire anyone to work on your farm, you need to be clear about why you are employing them. You also need to be sure that your business needs additional labour and that you can afford to pay for them.

Teagasc has a guide that gives advice on the hiring process: Teagasc Farm Labour Manual – Best Practice in Recruiting and Managing Employees.

Being an employer

If you are employing people to work on your farm, you must know your responsibilities as an employer and make sure your workers get their basic employment rights.

For example, you must:

• Pay at least the minimum wage and provide your workers with payslips
• Make sure your workers get a written statement with the terms and conditions of their employment
• Make sure your workers get the correct breaks, rest periods and annual leave
• Ensure your workers’ safety, health and welfare at work, as far as is reasonably practicable
• Keep records of the wages you’ve paid, working hours and other information
• Deduct the correct amount of tax, PRSI and Universal Social Charge from your employees’ wages and send it to Revenue

If you employ someone aged between 14 and 18, they are considered a ‘young worker’ and have specific rights and protections. You can find out more about rights of young workers.

If you need advice and support on employment matters, you should contact the Workplace Relations Commission.

You are taxed on the profits you make from your farm business and on any other income you have. Farm profit is the income you earn from farming less your allowable farming expenses. You are responsible for keeping records and for assessing the amount of tax due each year.

If you are farming as an individual, you have to pay income tax on your profits. If you are farming through a company, you have to pay Corporation Tax (CT) on your profits.

You must pay and file your income or corporation tax return each year before the deadline using the Revenue Online Service (ROS).

Universal Social Charge

The Universal Social Charge is a tax on income. You must pay it if your gross income (your income before tax) is more than €13,000 per year. Farm-related capital allowances are deductible, for example, money spent on buying or maintaining farm buildings.

Find out more about the current rates of USC and exempted income.

PRSI for farmers

If you are a self-employed farmer, you pay Class S PRSI. When you pay PRSI, you build up entitlements to social insurance benefits.

Class S contributions cover you for a limited number of payments. In general, they do not cover you for any short-term payments including illness and disability payments.

If you satisfy all the other conditions, Class S contributions mean you can get:

• Maternity Benefit
• Adoptive Benefit
• Paternity Benefit
• Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension
• State Pension (Contributory)
• Treatment Benefit Scheme
• Invalidity Pension

When you are self-employed, you register for self-assessment with Revenue and you are automatically registered for PRSI. When you submit your annual tax return, Revenue will let you know if you have to pay PRSI.

If you do not have to pay PRSI, you may be able to pay voluntary contributions to maintain your social insurance record.

You can read more about the current rules and rates for Class S PRSI. The Department of Social Protection (DSP) also has a useful leaflet on PRSI for the Self-Employed.

If your spouse or partner is helping you on the farm, they are eligible to make PRSI contributions and to gain PRSI benefits. You can read more about employing family members and PRSI.

Tax reliefs and allowances for farmers

There are many tax reliefs and allowances for farmers which may help to reduce the amount of tax you pay.

Income from long-term leasing

If you lease land on a long-term lease, the income you get from this may be exempt from tax up to a certain threshold. To qualify, the lease must be in writing and for 5 years or more. Leases between close relatives do not qualify for the relief. For more information, see leasing farm land on revenue.ie.

The Succession Farm Partnership Scheme

The Succession Farm Partnership Scheme is a tax incentive for entering an approved partnership with your successor which involves transferring of at least 80% of the farm assets to them.

Capital Acquisitions Tax Agricultural relief

Agricultural property that is given as a gift or inherited can have its market value reduced by 90% for tax calculation purposes. The person getting the property must either be an active farmer or someone who is leasing out the property on a long-term basis for agricultural use to active farmers.

You can read Revenue's guidelines on the relief (pdf) for more information.

Farm Succession Planning

Farm succession planning is the process of planning how you will transfer your farm to another person when you retire or step back from farming. The plan covers how you will transfer ownership of the farm, but can also involve transferring skills, knowledge, and labour.

This can be a complex process, so you need to plan it carefully to avoid family disputes and ensure you maximise any incentives.

You should also give yourself plenty of time to make the plan, as issues such as paying into a pension for your retirement need to begin well before transferring your farm.

Get advice

You should talk to your farm advisor first. They have a good understanding of how your farm business works and have experience of other farm transfers so can help with the process. They will also let you know how the transfer will affect any schemes and at what stage you will need a solicitor and accountant.

Talk to your family

You should also make sure you include the whole family in the process. It can be helpful to have an open discussion about who wants what before you make a plan. More than one child may want to inherit the farm while in certain situations, none of your children may want it.

If you are transferring the farm to one child, you may want to make other arrangements for your other children to make sure they all benefit. For example, giving a child who is not getting the farm a site or financial help.

Plan for your retirement

You will need to consider how you will manage financially when you transfer the farm. For example, will you be old enough to get the old-age pension or a private pension, or will you still get an income from the farm? You may also need to consider housing arrangements if you are currently living on the farm.

There are different steps involved in inheriting a farm.

You can transfer your farm while you are alive, or you can arrange to have it transferred after you die. To do this, you will need to make a will.

If you don’t make a will, your assets will be shared out following the standard rules. These rules state:

• Your spouse gets two thirds of your assets
• Your children get a third

This may not suit you if for example, you are planning to transfer your farm to a child.

Visit our page on ‘Making a will’ to find out more about how to make a will, and what happens if you don’t make one.

What should I do if I inherit a farm?

If you inherit a farm, you may have to pay Capital Acquisitions Tax and Stamp Duty. There may be different tax reliefs available to you to reduce these taxes. See Farm transfer and taxes for more information.

You may also have to:

• Change the registration details of the herd
• Manage any outstanding payments from schemes and transfer scheme entitlements

Find out more about how to plan for farm inheritance.

A farm advisor can give you advice on different farming topics. You can find a list of farm advisors on gov.ie.

Teagasc has more information on being a farmer, including information on grants, schemes, education and more.

Revenue.ie has more information on tax reliefs for farming.

Teagasc has a useful guide to transferring the family farm (pdf).