The Full Tax Picture

Tax on wages and salaries paid by employees and the self-employed.

Every PAYE worker contributes directly. The standard rate is 20% up to €44,000 and 40% above that. Tax credits reduce the bill — the average worker gets €4,000 in personal and PAYE credits.

Tax on the profits of companies operating in Ireland.

Ireland's 12.5% rate has attracted hundreds of multinationals. But over 60% of receipts come from roughly 10 companies — making this Ireland's biggest single fiscal concentration risk.

Value Added Tax charged on most goods and services at the point of sale.

VAT is embedded in almost every purchase. The standard rate is 23%. Reduced rates apply to food (0%), tourism and hospitality (9%), and some services (13.5%). It is Ireland's third-largest tax.

Pay Related Social Insurance — contributions from employees, employers, and the self-employed.

PRSI goes into the Social Insurance Fund — a separate ring-fenced fund that pays for pensions, jobseekers, illness benefit, maternity, and other social payments. It does not go into general government spending.

Duties on fuel, carbon, alcohol, tobacco, and vehicle registration.

Excise is a behaviour tax — it is meant to discourage consumption of things with social or environmental costs. In practice, most of it goes into the general exchequer rather than being ring-fenced for related programmes.

Tax on profits from selling assets such as shares, property (non-primary residence), and businesses.

CGT is charged at 33% on gains. The annual exemption is €1,270. Revenue from CGT is sensitive to equity and property market conditions — it fell sharply after the 2008 crash.

Duty on property transactions and share transfers.

Residential property stamp duty is 1% up to €1m and 2% above. Commercial property carries a 7.5% rate. Bulk purchase of homes by large investors attracts a 15% rate introduced to slow investor activity.

Tax on inheritances and gifts above threshold amounts.

CAT is 33% on amounts above group thresholds — €400,000 from a parent, €40,000 from a grandparent, €20,000 from others. Ireland's thresholds are among the highest in the EU, meaning most family inheritances are tax-free.

Annual vehicle tax paid by vehicle owners, based on engine size or CO2 emissions.

Motor tax revenue goes to the Local Government Fund, which is distributed to local councils. It is one of the few taxes with a direct, ring-fenced destination.

Annual tax on residential property based on self-assessed market value bands.

LPT is collected by Revenue but 80% is retained by the local authority where the property is located. The remaining 20% is redistributed to less well-funded councils. Rates were recalibrated in 2022.

Tariffs on goods imported from outside the European Union.

Customs duty is set at EU level — Ireland does not control the rates. All customs revenue is passed to the EU budget, and Ireland receives a 25% handling fee back. The net amount retained by Ireland is smaller than the headline figure.

Includes sugar tax, betting duty, financial levies, and various minor taxes.

This catch-all includes the sugar-sweetened drinks tax (SSDT), betting duty, bank levies, and other minor revenue streams. Individually small, but they reflect government attempts to use tax to shape behaviour.