Credit Card Stamp Duty

Historically, the stamp duty was the tax levied on all types of legal documents ranging from marriage licenses to checks and receipts.
 
    
In earlier days, a physical stamp had to be impressed upon the document to denote that the duty had been paid, hence the name stamp duty. Nowadays, the stamp duty is more commonly known as the transfer tax, and is mostly applicable to real estate properties, stocks, and shares. In Ireland, however, a stamp duty is still levied on financial cards such as debit cards, credit cards, checks, and ATM cards.

A credit card stamp duty is collected in Ireland from credit card account owners by the Revenue through financial institutions. It is normally charged to a bank or credit account once per annum. The credit card stamp duty is usually collected on the 1st of April and appears on the credit card statement of the same month. Unless the account is closed, the credit card stamp duty is collected in arrears.

The credit card stamp duty in Ireland costs 40 Euro per year per credit card account. So, even if there are multiple cards attached to a credit card account, only one stamp duty will be paid. Even a joint credit card account which has two separate credit cards in different names will be charged one credit card stamp duty.

Credit card account owners who plan to switch to another account within the same year or to a different institution should pay the credit card stamp duty to the old credit card issuer upon closing the account. The issuer will print it in your final billing statement and, upon payment, will issue a Letter of Closure confirming that you’ve paid the credit card stamp duty for the said period. You should keep this letter and present it to your new credit card Issuer to make sure that you will not be charged with a credit card stamp duty for the same period. Take note that only one copy of the Letter of Closure will be issued. This original copy is what your new institution will look for.

So long as a credit account owner lives within the state, regardless if his/her financial institution is beyond borders, s/he is liable for the credit card stamp duty. Card owners with lost or stolen credit cards, however, are not billed for the stamp duty on the replacement card.

It should be noted that the credit card stamp duty is different from the tax imposed on plastic cards like ATMs and debit cards.

Source: Credit Cards For People With Bad Credit Rating

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