How much can a grandchild inherit tax free?

Usually €44,000 in total, for benefits taken on or after 7 October 2026. A grandchild receiving from a grandparent is in Group B.

That is one lifetime total, not an amount for each grandparent. Everything you have received in Group B since 5 December 1991 counts against it, from any grandparent and also from brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles.

When a grandchild takes Group A

You take the Group A threshold of €420,000 if, on the date of the gift or inheritance, you are under 18 and your parent who was the grandparent's child has died. The same applies to a minor child of the civil partner of that deceased child. In the calculator, choose grandparent and tick the box that appears.

An illustration

This example is ours, not Revenue's. A grandmother leaves her grandson €60,000 on 7 October 2026. He is an adult and has had no earlier benefits in Group B.

As the inheritance is above 80% of the threshold, he must also file an IT38 return.

Gifts from grandparents while they are alive

The first €3,000 from each grandparent, each calendar year, is exempt and does not count against your threshold. With four grandparents, that is up to €12,000 a year. See the small gift exemption. If the grandparent dies within two years of giving it, the gift is treated as an inheritance, but the small gift exemption still applies to it. It does not apply to anything left to you in a will.

A grandparent receiving from a grandchild

This is Group B as well. Revenue puts grandparents and other lineal ancestors in Group B.