Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2026
250. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the total annual cost to the Exchequer of the rental tax credit in 2024 and 2025; the projected cost in 2026; the number of people claiming rent tax credit in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51296/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Rent Tax Credit (RTC) was introduced by the Finance Act 2022 and may be claimed by taxpayer units in respect of qualifying rent paid in 2022 and subsequent years to end-2028. A taxpayer unit is either an individual with any personal status who is singly assessed or a couple in a marriage or civil partnership who have elected for joint assessment, in which case they are counted as one taxpayer unit.
The value of the credit for 2022 and 2023 was €500 for a singly assessed individual and €1,000 for a jointly assessed couple. For later years, the value of the credit increased to €1,000 for a singly assessed individual and €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple.
The extent to which a taxpayer unit benefits from a tax credit, through a reduced tax liability and/or receipt of a refund for overpayment of a tax liability, is determined by their gross tax liability and the use of other tax credits and reliefs. Taxpayers who claim the RTC may not benefit from this credit as a result of other reliefs, deductions and tax credits already reducing their net tax liability to nil.
It should be noted that, PAYE taxpayers have four years after the year end in which to file a F12 tax return and make a claim for credits and reliefs to which they are entitled.
379,020 taxpayer units claimed the RTC for 2024, with 335,030 of these taxpayer units benefitting from it, resulting in an estimated cost of €363 million.
These numbers include both PAYE and self-assessed taxpayer units.
Data on claims by self-assessed taxpayers are not yet available for 2025 and 2026 as the filing deadline in relation to 2025 is in November 2026 and in relation to 2026 is in November 2027. As a result, information on the total cost of this credit for 2025 and 2026 will not be available until mid-2027 and mid-2028 respectively, once returns are processed and the data is available for analysis.
The following RTC statistics for 2025 and 2026 refer only to claims by PAYE taxpayer units. Revenue further advises that 303,590 taxpayer units have claimed the RTC for 2025, with a total credit claim value of approximately €315 million. 68,260 taxpayer units have claimed the RTC for 2026. The data represents the 2025 and 2026 claims as of 15 June 2026.
The Budget 2026 Tax Policy Changes document sets out an estimated Exchequer cost of the RTC of €350 million for 2026.
