Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2026
188. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department has carried out analysis into persons that ultimately benefit from the renters’ tax credits when no ban on rent increase is in place. [68627/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn the first instance, policy responsibility for the regulation of rents lies with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am advised by the Minister that the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, provides for a national rent control and significantly strengthens security of tenure for tenants. The new national rent control limits rent increases to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index up to a maximum of 2%.
The 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.
A review of the RTC was carried out by my department and published in October 2025. It provides analyses of the credit, including of its beneficiaries, and is available at the following link:
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-finance/press-releases/the-department-of-finance-publishes-the-first-review-of-the-rent-tax-credit/
