Ireland has the distinct and rather unenviable title of being the only country in the world to impose a credit card stamp duty.

Stamp duties are a form of tax that governments levy on certain legally binding documents. They’re known as stamp duties because in the past, a physical stamp was attached or impressed upon the document, to signify that stamp duty had been paid.

Often, stamp duties are attached to things such as wills and conveyancing documents, but in Ireland, they’re also attached to credit card accounts.

In Ireland stamp duty is payable at a rate of €40 per year on every credit card account. Even though one credit card account may have two or more cards attached to it, only one stamp duty applies per account. For example, a joint credit card account between you and your partner may have two separate cards in your individual names – but only one stamp duty will be payable per year.

The stamp duty will be levied at the same time each year, at a time advised by your bank. If you transfer your credit card account, a refund of stamp duty can be obtained via your new account provider.

Credit card stamp duty is a huge source of revenue for the Irish government. According to the Irish Banking Federation (IBF), in 2007, more than 2.3 million credit cards were in use in Ireland, up from 1 million a decade earlier. This accounts for all cards including secondary cards and joint accounts, so stamp duty would not apply on all accounts. Assuming that just 25% of those cards belong to the primary account holder, at €40 per year, that equates to €23 million in credit card stamp duty income per year.

The stamp duty that is levied on credit cards is distinct from the stamp duty that is imposed upon plastic cards, such as debit laser cards and ATM cards. Stamp duty on these cards is payable annually at a rate of €10 on every debit laser card or ATM card, or €20 annually on every combined Laser/ATM card.

Unlike with most credit card offers, stamp duty on debit laser cards and ATM cards is charged for each and every card on your account. If you have a card for yourself, an additional card for your husband, and a third card for your son or daughter, stamp duty would be levied three times per year.