Tax in Ireland: VAT, income tax, company tax, capital gains
23%
A 23% VAT with reduced 13.5% and 9% rates for fuel, tourism and some services. The rate is verified against Office of the Revenue Commissioners on 19 August 2026; the top personal income-tax rate is 40% (2026 tax year, Revenue Commissioners (revenue.ie)), and the headline company tax rate is 12.5% (OECD Corporate Tax Statistics).
VAT in Ireland
EU value-added system; typically filed every two months.
- Standard rate
- 23%
- Local name
- VAT — Value Added Tax
- Type
- VAT
- Reduced rates
- 13.5%, 9%
- Registration threshold
- EUR 85,000 goods / 42,500 services
- Filing
- Bi-monthly
- Authority
- Office of the Revenue Commissioners
- Current rate since
- 1 January 2000
Introduced 1 November 1972
Ireland introduced VAT on 1 November 1972, two months before joining the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973 — accession was conditional on adopting a harmonised VAT system. It replaced the existing Turnover Tax and Wholesale Tax with a single value-added tax, set at an oddly precise 16.37% standard rate (the awkward figure arose because VAT applies to the pre-tax price, so nominal rates had to be higher to raise the same revenue as the old taxes).
What it replaced: Turnover Tax and Wholesale Tax (two separate older expenditure taxes)
Income tax in Ireland
The top personal income-tax band is 40% for the 2026 tax year (shown as 40% + USC/PRSI in the rates table, which includes levies).
Company tax in Ireland
The headline corporate income tax rate is 12.5%. In effect since 1 January 2026.
Indicative only: confirm with Ireland's national tax authority. OECD 2026: central statutory CIT 12.5%, combined (central+sub-central) 12.5%
Capital gains tax in Ireland
- Shares
- 33% flat CGT rate for most gains (including listed shares).
- Property
- 33% flat CGT rate.
- Holding period
- None (no short/long-term distinction).
Did you know? Ireland tax facts
When a Subway franchisee tried to claim its sandwich rolls were zero-VAT 'bread', Ireland's Supreme Court ruled the rolls are legally not bread at all.
In Bookfinders Ltd v The Revenue Commissioners [2020] IESC 60 (29 September 2020), the court applied the statutory definition that capped sugar (with fat and bread improver) at 2% of the weight of the flour in the dough; Subway's dough had about 10% sugar, so the rolls fell outside the definition of 'bread' and could not be zero-rated.
Source: BAILII – Bookfinders Ltd v Revenue Commissioners [2020] IESC 60 ↗Ireland's standard VAT rate once reached as high as 35%.
Revenue's historical-rates record shows the standard rate peaked at 35% from 1 March 1983 until 1 May 1987 (during the early-1980s fiscal crisis) before falling back, eventually settling at 23%, where it remains today.
Source: Revenue Commissioners – Historical VAT rates ↗Ireland's very first VAT standard rate in 1972 was a bizarrely precise 16.37%, not a round number.
VAT launched on 1 November 1972 at a 16.37% standard rate as Ireland prepared to join the EEC, replacing the older Turnover Tax and Wholesale Tax. The odd figure came from applying the new tax to the pre-tax price so it raised the same revenue as the taxes it replaced.
Source: Revenue Commissioners – Historical VAT rates ↗An adult with small feet can be charged 23% VAT on the same shoes a child gets tax-free.
Children's personal footwear is zero-rated only up to roughly the average foot size for children under 11 (about size 5½ / continental 38). Footwear above that size, or adult footwear of any size, is taxed at the standard 23% rate — so an adult with small feet pays VAT on shoes a child would get tax-free.
Source: Revenue Commissioners – VAT and Footwear (Tax and Duty Manual) ↗Whether your medicine is VAT-free in Ireland can depend on which end of you it goes in.
Medicine for human oral consumption is zero-rated, while many non-oral medicines and medical products are charged at the standard 23% rate (with limited exceptions such as certain hormone and nicotine replacement therapies).
Source: Revenue Commissioners – VAT treatment of Human Medicines (Tax and Duty Manual) ↗Ireland's headline corporation tax rate on trading income is 12.5% — and in 2017, 80% of all Irish corporation tax was paid by foreign multinationals, according to the Revenue Commissioners.
Wikipedia: Ireland has a 'low headline rate of corporation tax at 12.5% (for trading income)'; '80% of 2017 Irish corporate tax was paid by foreign multinationals'.
Source: Wikipedia — Taxation in the Republic of Ireland · checked 10 October 2026 ↗Irish income tax has just two bands, 20% and 40% — but since 1 January 2011 the Universal Social Charge, which replaced both the income levy and the health levy, is charged on top.
Wikipedia: there are '2 tax brackets, 20% (the standard rate) and the balance of income at 40% (the higher rate)'; the USC 'replaced both the income levy and the health levy' and applies 'since 1 January 2011'.
Source: Wikipedia — Taxation in the Republic of Ireland · checked 10 October 2026 ↗
More stories, for every country that has one, on the tax facts page.
Ask your AI assistant about tax in Ireland
The figures on this page are callable by any MCP-compatible assistant through the free Tax MCP. Add https://taxmcp.ai2fin.com as a custom connector in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own agent — no login, no API key — then ask:
- “What is the VAT rate in Ireland, and what is the source?”
- “Estimate income tax in Ireland on EUR 60,000 for 2026.”
- “What is the company tax rate in Ireland and how is it sourced?”
Connect in three steps, and what a connected answer looks like: Tax MCP.
Ireland, answered
Questions about tax in Ireland
- What is the VAT rate in Ireland?
- The standard VAT (Value Added Tax) rate in Ireland is 23%, verified against Office of the Revenue Commissioners on 19 August 2026. Reduced rates of 13.5% and 9% apply to some categories. EU value-added system; typically filed every two months.
- What is the top income tax rate in Ireland?
- The top personal income-tax band in Ireland is 40% for the 2026 tax year, verified against Revenue Commissioners (revenue.ie) on 6 October 2026. The free income-tax calculator on this site works through the bands below it, and shows the rate table it used.
- What is the company tax rate in Ireland?
- The headline corporate income tax rate in Ireland is 12.5%, as published by OECD Corporate Tax Statistics (checked 6 October 2026, verification pending). Indicative only: confirm with Ireland's national tax authority. OECD 2026: central statutory CIT 12.5%, combined (central+sub-central) 12.5%
- How is capital gains tax charged in Ireland?
- In Ireland, gains are taxed at their own rate, separate from income, verified against Revenue Commissioners (Ireland) on 6 October 2026. On shares: 33% flat CGT rate for most gains (including listed shares). Holding period: None (no short/long-term distinction).
- Can an AI assistant look up tax rates for Ireland?
- Yes. The free Tax MCP at https://taxmcp.ai2fin.com gives Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP-compatible agent the same sourced figures as this page: the VAT rate, an income-tax estimate, the company tax rate, the capital gains rule and a side-by-side comparison with other countries, each answer citing the authority and the date it was checked. Add the endpoint as a custom connector; there is no login or API key.
Sources
- Office of the Revenue Commissioners
- Revenue Commissioners (revenue.ie)
- OECD Corporate Tax Statistics
- Revenue Commissioners (Ireland)
- BAILII – Bookfinders Ltd v Revenue Commissioners [2020] IESC 60
- Revenue Commissioners – Historical VAT rates
- Revenue Commissioners – VAT and Footwear (Tax and Duty Manual)
- Revenue Commissioners – VAT treatment of Human Medicines (Tax and Duty Manual)
- Wikipedia — Taxation in the Republic of Ireland
Last checked 10 October 2026. General information computed from published government rates, not tax advice. Check the linked authority or a registered adviser before relying on a figure.
See every rate side by side in the tax rates table, put Ireland next to another country in the comparison tool, or read the tax facts.
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