Ireland

Individual - Other tax credits and incentives

Last reviewed - 12 August 2020

Personal tax credits

The main personal tax credits are as follows:

Tax credits	2021 (EUR)
Single person with no dependent child	1,650
Married or in a civil partnership	3,300
Widowed person or surviving civil partner with no dependent child	2,190
Widowed person or surviving civil partner bereaved in year of assessment	3,300
Single parent with dependent child (including single person child carer credit) (1)	3,300
Widowed person or surviving civil partner with dependent child - first year after bereavement (including single person child carer credit) (2)	5,250
Incapacitated child	3,300
Married couple or civil partnership - home carer (3)	1,600
Blind person’s tax credit:
Single, married, or in a civil partnership (one spouse blind)	1,650
Married or in a civil partnership (both blind)	3,300
Dependent relative	245
Age tax credit:
Single, widowed, or surviving civil partner	245
Married or in a civil partnership	490
Employee (PAYE) tax credit	1,650
Earned (self-employed) income credit	1,650
Medical insurance	Standard rate (i.e. 20%)
Dental insurance	Standard rate (i.e. 20%)
Certain fees for third level colleges	Standard rate (i.e. 20%)
Maximum relief (4)	7,000
Local authority service charges	0
Qualifying health expenses (no excess) (5)	Standard rate (i.e. 20%)

Notes

With effect from 1 January 2014, available for the principal carer of the child only.
Reducing credit available for subsequent years.
Where carer’s income exceeds EUR 9,200, the tax credit is reduced by one-half of the amount of the excess.
The first EUR 3,000 paid for full-time courses and the first EUR 1,500 paid for part-time courses is disregarded in calculating the relief.
Expenses paid to nursing homes that provide 24-hour nursing care are tax relieved at the marginal tax rate.

Mortgage interest tax relief

Relief continues to be available to existing recipients on a tapered basis. Relief is granted at source at 20%, and qualifying interest applies at the following rate:

	2020
Qualifying interest	25%

There are interest ceilings dependant on whether the individual is a first-time or a non-first-time buyer, as shown below:

First-time buyers

Interest ceiling	2020 (EUR)
Single (unmarried or not in a civil partnership)	2,500
Married (in a civil partnership, widowed or a surviving civil partner)	5,000

Non-first-time buyers

Interest ceiling	2020 (EUR)
Single (unmarried or not in a civil partnership)	750
Married (in a civil partnership, widowed or a surviving civil partner)	1,500

No relief will be available from 1 January 2021.

Special assignment relief programme (SARP)

SARP for those employees who arrive in Ireland between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2022

The relief is available for a maximum of five consecutive tax years, both to Irish domiciled and non-Irish domiciled individuals who are required by their existing employer organisation to come to Ireland between 2012 and 2022 to work here for a minimum period of 12 months. The individual can be engaged under an Irish or non-Irish employment contract.

Qualifying individuals will be entitled to exclude 30% of employment earnings over EUR 75,000 from the charge to Irish tax. There is a maximum income limit of EUR 1 million, upon which relief may be claimed.

In addition, qualifying individuals are entitled to receive tax-free payment or reimbursement of the reasonable costs of one return trip to their 'home' country and school fees (up to EUR 5,000 per annum) for each child, subject to restrictions. The relief may be claimed up-front by way of a payroll deduction or by way of a repayment after the tax year end. Either way, advance approval by the Irish Revenue is required.

For the tax years 2015 to 2022, in order to qualify and claim SARP relief, the individual must:

have a 'base salary' of at least EUR 75,000
be tax resident in Ireland (the individual can also be resident elsewhere)
have been non-resident in Ireland for the five years immediately preceding the year of arrival, and
have been employed on a full time basis by a 'relevant employer' for the entire six months immediately prior to arrival.

For the tax year 2015 and subsequent tax years, there is no restriction on the performance of duties outside the state by an individual.

The relevant employer must be incorporated and resident in a country with which Ireland has either a DTT or an exchange of information agreement. The employer must certify to the Revenue Commissioners, within 90 days of the date the individual arrives in the state, that the qualifying conditions have been met.

There are differing conditions in relation to what is included as earnings both for the base salary and the income to which the 30% is applied. Certain other reliefs (e.g. for non-Irish workdays) cannot be claimed in conjunction with SARP relief. The relief also imposes certain reporting obligations on employers.

It should be noted that while the income is relieved from tax, it is not relieved from the USC or PRSI (where applicable).