Dear Reader

Welcome to the Budget 2026 edition of the Money Mentor newsletter, brought to you by Vantage Financial Planning, your trusted partner in navigating today’s shifting financial landscape.

A Budget of Restraint and Frustration

Budget 2026 arrived with more of a thud than fanfare. While the Government boasts of record surpluses and fiscal prudence, many taxpayers feel left behind. Despite billions in corporate and income taxes, essential public services, housing, healthcare, childcare, and transport remain under intense pressure.

The result? A growing sense that Ireland’s prosperity is not being shared fairly.

At a Glance: Ireland’s 2026 Budget

• Total package: €6.1bn in current spending, €2bn in capital projects, and €1.3bn in permanent tax changes
• Total Expenditure (Voted): €117.8bn — €62.4bn for services & welfare, €36.3bn for pay/pensions, €19.1bn for investment
• Non-Voted Expenditure: €15.9bn (debt interest, EU contributions)

​​The Budget in Brief 2026 outlines Ireland’s spending and taxation plans for the year, focusing on strengthening public services, advancing infrastructure, supporting families, and addressing climate goals.

Economic and Fiscal Outlook

• Economic growth: Real GNI* expected to remain strong through 2028.
• Inflation: Gradual easing; around 1–2% from 2026 onward.

• Employment: 2.8 million people employed; unemployment projected around 4–5%.
• Wages: Real wages are rising again after inflationary pressures, with growth projected through 2028

Revenue Sources

• Main taxes for 2026:
  • Income Tax €38.8 bn
  • Corporation Tax €34.0 bn
  • VAT €23.3 bn
  • Other (Excise, Capital Gains, etc.) €13 bn combined

Growing emergence and dependence on corporation tax revenue above and concentration of corporation tax revenue highlighted below:

Public Services and Social Spending

Key investments include:

• Housing: €2.9 bn for social homes and acquisitions.
• Health: +220 acute beds, +280 community beds, +1.7 m Home Support hours, expanded respite and day services.
• Education: +1,717 SNAs, increased school capitation, and new DEIS supports.
• Childcare: Over 285,000 children to benefit from the National Childcare Scheme.
• Social protection:
  • +€10 weekly increase to most welfare payments.
  • Carer’s Allowance thresholds raised to €1,000 (single) / €2,000 (couple).
  • Child Support Payment up €8–€16 per child.
  • Working Family Payment thresholds +€60/week

Infrastructure and Development

• National Development Plan (NDP): €275.4 bn over 10 years (2025–2035), with €102.4 bn in the next five years.
  • €24bn for transport (Metrolink, regional routes)
  • €12bn for water services
  • €3.5bn for ESB/EirGrid equity
• Challenges: Slow infrastructure delivery due to regulatory, planning, and capacity issues, a targeted reform plan is due November 2025.

Climate and Environment

• Funding allocation (€1.1 bn total):
  • €566 m for energy efficiency.
  • €350 m for social protection supports.
  • €173 m for greener farming.
  • €25 m for EVs, greenways, and peatlands rehabilitation
• Carbon tax: +€7.50 per tonne to €71, rising to €100 by 2030.

Key Tax Measures

• 9% VAT retained on gas/electricity until 2030.
• New 9% VAT on food, catering, and hairdressing (from July 2026).
• Research & Development tax credit raised to 35%.
• Entrepreneur relief lifetime limit increased to €1.5 m.
• Rent Tax Credit extended to 2028.
• Cigarette excise up by €0.50/pack.
• USC middle threshold raised by €1,318

Other Highlights

• €1.4 m to establish a National AI Office.
• Increased funding for Enterprise Ireland, IDA, and apprenticeships.
• 1,000 Garda trainees to be recruited.
• €11.5 m for Domestic and Gender-Based Violence initiatives.
• €30 m boost to Ireland’s overseas aid budget

External risks, particularly US trade tariffs and geopolitical fragmentation, pose challenges:

It’s estimated that around 65 million people worldwide claim Irish ancestry largely due to the Irish famine from which we still haven't recovered population wise 180 years later.

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👩‍💼 For Employees & Households

Tax bands frozen, meaning more workers slip into higher brackets (“stealth tax” effect):

• Single: €44,000
• Married (1 income): €53,000
• Married (2 incomes): €88,000

Tax credits: Single €2,000 | Married €4,000 | Home Carer €1,950

USC 2026:​
0.5% to €12,012 • 2% to €28,700 • 3% to €70,044 • 8% above that
(Self-employed 3% surcharge over €100,000 remains)

Pensions

• Standard Fund Threshold: Rising from €2m → €2.2m (2026), reaching €2.8m by 2029
• Auto-Enrolment “My Future Fund” launches Jan 2026:
  • Employees aged 23–60 earning €20k+ auto-enrolled
  • Contributions: start at 1.5%, rising to 6% by 2035
  • Employers match; State adds €1 for every €3 contributed
  • Employer contributions exempt from USC; death benefits paid tax-free to estate

Savings & Investments

• Exit Tax cut from 41% → 38%, a modest win for long-term investors.
• 1% Stamp Duty exemption on shares in Irish-listed SMEs (<€1bn) extended to 2030.
• A “Retail Investment Roadmap” will simplify savings taxation and boost domestic capital markets.

🏠 Housing & Property

The housing crisis remains Ireland’s Achilles heel. Budget 2026 introduces limited but helpful extensions:

• Rent Tax Credit: Extended to 2028 (€1,000 single / €2,000 couples)
• Mortgage Interest Relief: Extended to 2027 (max €1,250 in 2026, €625 in 2027)
• Help-to-Buy Scheme: Extended to end-2029
• Derelict Property Tax: Replacing Sites Levy by 2028 (~7% of land value)
• VAT on new apartments: Cut from 13.5% → 9% (until end-2030)
• Cost-rental developments: Exempt from corporation tax on rental income

🏢 For Business Owners & Employers

Billed as an “enterprise budget,” 2026 focuses on steady growth rather than major new incentives.

Key Changes

• R&D Tax Credit: Increased from 30% → 35%, with higher payment thresholds and simplified claims.
• Entrepreneur Relief: CGT 10% up to a €1.5m lifetime limit (up from €1m).
• KEEP Scheme: Extended to 2028.
• SARP: Extended to 2030; minimum qualifying salary €125,000.
• Foreign Earnings Deduction: Expanded to include the Philippines and Turkey.
• Accelerated Capital Allowances for energy efficient assets extended to 2030.
• Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) reliefs on company cars to phase out gradually by 2028.

🧓 Welfare & Social Supports

• State Pension (Contributory): €299.30 per week
• Invalidity Pension: €259.50 per week
• Qualified Child Increase: +€8 (under 12), +€16 (over 12)
• Carer’s Allowance income disregard: €1,000 (single) / €2,000 (couple)
• Fuel Allowance: Up €5 to €38/week
• Double Christmas payment confirmed for Dec 2025

These supports soften inflation’s effects but offer little real income uplift for most families.

📊 Economic Outlook: Fragile Strength

Ireland remains one of Europe’s strongest economies:

• Employment: 2.8 million
• Public debt ratio: 58.6% of GNI*
• Budget surplus: €5.1bn (1.4% of GNI*)
• Corporate tax windfalls: €18.7bn

Risks: Global trade tensions, US tariffs, housing supply, and overreliance on multinationals.

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Please reach out if you would like to discuss any of the above in further detail.

🚀 Thrilled to share some exciting milestones on Ripple’s (https://www.ripplemoney.io/) journey!
​
We’ve successfully completed our third €10k Innovation Voucher with Enterprise Ireland. Even more exciting, Ripple has just secured approval for its fourth and final co-funded €20k Innovation Voucher. This phase will focus on:
​
🎨 Refining the initial design of key screens, especially the dashboard, through simple and intuitive data visualisation.
🧪 Building a clickable prototype for A/B testing with potential customers, iterating based on feedback.
🗺️ Creating a front-end to back-end infrastructure and process roadmap
🎥 Producing employer and employee user journey demo videos.
​
All with one clear goal: to secure letters of intent and set the stage for a successful pre-seed start fund application, unlocking two tranches of €50k convertible loan note funding.
​
This will bring us closer to building Ripple into the employee personal finance co-pilot of the future.

If you found this newsletter helpful, feel free to share it with family, friends, colleagues, or peers. And if there’s a personal finance topic you’d like us to cover, I’d love to hear from you.

Kind regards,

Ken Mason CFP®

Certified Financial Planner™

Tel: (01) 539 2670

Mobile: 083 803 2008

Email: ken.mason@vantagefp.ie

Vantage | Master Your Money, Your Way

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