Budget 2027 was announced on Tuesday 6 October 2026. The headline is a €1.3 billion income tax package, but the tax book also changes Capital Gains Tax, exit tax on ETFs, inheritance tax thresholds, Help to Buy, VRT and the Rent Tax Credit. This guide lists each change with its figures and start date, and points to the free calculator that runs it on your own numbers. All figures come from the Department of Finance's Budget 2027 tax book and the Minister's statement.

Income tax, USC and credits: from 1 January 2027

  • The standard rate band, the amount taxed at 20%, rises by €2,500: €46,500 for a single person, €55,500 for a married couple with one income, €50,500 for a single parent with the Single Person Child Carer Credit.
  • Two-income couples get €55,500 plus up to €37,500 for the lower earner, so €93,000 at most. The lower earner's income caps the increase.
  • The Personal, Employee and Earned Income credits each rise by €125 to €2,125. The married credit rises by €250 to €4,250 and the Home Carer Tax Credit by €100 to €2,050.
  • The USC 2% band now ends at €30,300 instead of €28,700. The rates (0.5%, 2%, 3%, 8%) and the €13,000 exemption are unchanged.

What it's worth: a single employee on €50,000 pays €750 less income tax and €16 less USC, €766 a year. So does a single employee on €75,000, because anyone above €46,500 gets the same €500 from the wider band and €250 from the credits. A couple earning €50,000 each saves €1,500 in income tax and €32 in USC. Lower earners gain less: at €30,000 the saving is €250 in tax and €13 in USC.

Run it: the Budget 2027 calculator compares today's rules with 2027 for your salary, including couples, the Home Carer Credit and rent. To see the same comparison for last year's Budget, use the 2025 vs 2026 calculator. For a full breakdown at one salary, use the Irish income tax calculator.

Renters: Rent Tax Credit up to €1,150

The Rent Tax Credit rises from €1,000 to €1,150 for a single claimant and from €2,000 to €2,300 for a jointly assessed couple, for the 2027 and 2028 tax years. It is worth 20% of rent paid, so you reach the cap at €5,750 of rent a year for one person. The Budget 2027 calculator has a rent field that adds the new credit. For earlier years you can still claim back to 2022: the unclaimed credits calculator adds up rent, remote working and medical expenses.

Investors: CGT 31% and exit tax 35%

  • Capital Gains Tax falls from 33% to 31% for disposals on or after 7 October 2026. The €1,270 annual exemption stays. Development land remains at 33%.
  • Exit tax on Irish and equivalent offshore funds and ETFs, and on life assurance policies, falls from 38% to 35% from 1 January 2027. There is no annual exemption on exit tax.
  • A new Irish Investment Account opens on 1 July 2027: €50,000 tax-free, a flat 1% on value above that, a €12,000 yearly contribution limit, and no CGT, exit tax or deemed disposal inside it.

What it's worth: on a €10,000 gain from shares, CGT is now €2,706 instead of €2,881, a saving of €175 after the exemption. On a €10,000 ETF gain, exit tax is €3,500 instead of €3,800, a saving of €300.

Run it: the CGT calculator nets gains and losses and applies the exemption. The ETF vs shares vs pension calculator compares the same money across the three regimes, and the deemed disposal calculator shows what the 8-year rule costs an ETF at the new 35% rate. Both now default to the 2027 rates. The Investment Account is not modelled yet.

Inheritance and gifts: higher CAT thresholds

The lifetime tax-free thresholds rise for gifts and inheritances received on or after 7 October 2026: Group A (child from a parent) from €400,000 to €420,000, Group B (siblings, nieces, nephews, grandchildren) from €40,000 to €44,000, and Group C (everyone else) from €20,000 to €22,000. The 33% rate is unchanged. A child inheriting €500,000 with no earlier benefits now pays €26,400 instead of €33,000. The inheritance and gift tax calculator applies the new thresholds, the €3,000 small gift exemption and agricultural or business relief.

Home buyers: Help to Buy up to €35,000

The maximum Help to Buy refund rises from €30,000 to €35,000 from 7 October 2026. The other limits stay: 10% of the price of a new build, or the Income Tax and DIRT you paid in the previous four years, whichever is lowest. To reach the new maximum you need a new home priced at €350,000 or more and at least €35,000 of tax paid. The home buying costs calculator works out stamp duty, Help to Buy and First Home Scheme equity together, and the rent vs buy calculator tests whether buying beats renting over your time horizon.

Drivers: VRT up one point from 1 January 2027

Category A VRT rates rise by 1 percentage point on every CO2 band above 80 g/km. Bands for 0–80 g/km are unchanged, and the relief of up to €5,000 on electric cars is extended to 31 December 2028. For a car with an OMSP of €20,000 and emissions of 120 g/km, the rate goes from 16% to 17%, which adds €200. The VRT calculator has a registration-year switch so you can compare a 2026 and a 2027 registration.

Changes we haven't modelled yet

  • The Standard Fund Threshold valuation factors for defined benefit pensions change from 1 January 2027, but the new factors arrive with the Finance Bill.
  • Rent a Room relief rises from €14,000 to €16,000, and the microgeneration exemption from €400 to €600.
  • The minimum wage rises to €14.94 an hour and the employer PRSI threshold from €552 to €600 a week.

The tax measures are legislated in the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, so details can still shift. The calculators will follow any change to the figures above.

Which calculator should you start with?

Frequently asked

When do the Budget 2027 income tax changes start?

On 1 January 2027, so they apply to your 2027 pay. The CGT, CAT and Help to Buy changes start earlier, on 7 October 2026.

Did the USC rates change?

No. Only the top of the 2% band moved, from €28,700 to €30,300, so a full-time worker on the new minimum wage stays out of the 3% band.

Why is my saving different from the Department of Finance's tables?

The Department blends PRSI across the calendar year, so its net change includes the PRSI rises that were legislated earlier. The Budget 2027 calculator holds PRSI at 4.35% in both columns to show the Budget alone. Income Tax and USC match the Department's tables.

Do my calculations leave my device?

No. The calculators run in your browser and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

Try it with your own numbers. Free, runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

Open the Budget 2027 Calculator → See all 26 calculators →

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