The Finance Bill 2025, published on 10 October 2025, gives legislative effect to the measures announced in Budget 2026 and introduces a series of refinements across Ireland’s tax system. The Bill largely builds upon reforms introduced in the last couple of years while advancing specific updates in several areas - including personal taxation, business incentives, housing, pensions, and environmental levies.
From a personal taxation perspective, there were fairly minimal changes in comparison to some previous years. These included a small adjustment to the USC thresholds, and extensions to reliefs such as the Rent Tax Credit and Mortgage Interest Tax Relief.
For businesses, the Bill reinforces Ireland’s position as a competitive and transparent jurisdiction. The increase in the R&D Tax Credit rate to 35%, refinements to the participation exemption, and technical alignment of the Pillar Two and Country-by-Country Reporting regimes demonstrate Ireland’s continued commitment to innovation and international compliance and are welcome.
On the domestic front, the Bill provides measures aimed at supporting the housing market, including the extension of property-related reliefs, the continuation of the Living City Initiative, and targeted stamp duty and cost-rental exemptions. Meanwhile, significant progress has been made in advancing pension reform through the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System, which will begin operation in late 2025.
The VAT measures mentioned in the Finance Bill focus on certainty, extending the 9% rate on gas and electricity to 2030 and maintaining reduced VAT rates for hospitality and essential goods. Environmental taxation continues to evolve, with updates to carbon and vehicle reliefs that align Ireland more closely with EU climate policy.
We have summarised the key measures under the following headings:
For further detail on any of these measures and how they impact you and your business please contact your usual RBK tax contacts.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information within this publication is correct at the time of going to print, RBK do not accept any responsibility for any errors, omissions or misinformation whatsoever in this publication and shall have no liability whatsoever. The information contained in this publication is not intended to be an advice on any particular matter. No reader should act on the basis of any matter contained in this publication without appropriate professional advice.
Author: Richard McAufield
