VAT Rates Ireland 2026

Value-Added Tax (VAT) is a consumption tax charged on most goods and services supplied in the Republic of Ireland, collected at each stage of the supply chain and ultimately borne by the final consumer. Irish VAT rates are set nationally by the Minister for Finance through the annual Budget and Finance Act, administered by the Revenue Commissioners, and applied uniformly across the State — there is no regional or local variation. Ireland operates a multi-rate system, with several rates running side by side depending on the nature of the goods or service. Understanding which VAT rate Ireland applies to a given transaction is essential for correct pricing, invoicing, and compliance. The rates below reflect the position for 2026, including the changes that took effect from 1 July 2026.

Standard VAT Rate in Ireland: 23%

The standard VAT rate in Ireland is 23%, and it is the default rate that applies to any supply not specifically assigned to a reduced, zero, or exempt category. This is the current VAT rate Ireland charges on the broadest range of goods and services in the economy.

Items and services taxed at the 23% standard rate include:

• Electronics — computers, phones, televisions, and household appliances
• Furniture — sofas, tables, beds, and general home furnishings
• Professional fees — legal, accountancy, consultancy, and most advisory services
• Adult apparel — clothing and footwear for adults
• Gasoline (petrol) and diesel — road fuels
• Alcohol, soft drinks, and bottled water
• Cosmetics, toiletries, and most non-essential consumer goods
• Motor vehicles and their parts

If a business is uncertain which rate applies, the 23% standard rate is the fallback unless the supply is clearly listed elsewhere in Revenue's VAT rates database. If your business turnover is nearing the mandatory limits, make sure to check our guide on the VAT Thresholds Ireland.

Reduced VAT Rate: 13.5%

The reduced rate of VAT in Ireland is 13.5%, a middle tier that applies to a defined list of goods and services, many of them labour-intensive or connected to property and energy.

The 13.5% reduced rate covers:

• Building and construction works — the supply and installation of fixtures under a construction contract, along with general repair, maintenance, and renovation of property
• Fuel and heating — heating oil, solid fuels such as coal and peat, and related heating supplies
• Domestic energy — supplied outside the temporary 9% arrangement where applicable
• Short-term tourist accommodation — hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, and holiday lettings
• General services such as routine repair of movable goods, and certain agricultural and veterinary services

Notably, hotel and short-term accommodation remains at 13.5% even after the July 2026 hospitality changes, so a hotel stay and a restaurant meal within the same hotel can now attract two different rates.

Second Reduced VAT Rate: 9%

The second reduced rate of 9% applies to a targeted group of goods and services. The most significant recent development is the permanent reduction, effective 1 July 2026, of VAT on restaurant and catering services, hot takeaway food, and hairdressing services from 13.5% to 9%. This was announced in Budget 2026 to ease cost pressures in the hospitality and personal-services sectors and applies with no scheduled expiry date (domestic gas and electricity is also 9%, see our VAT on Electricity Ireland page).

The 9% second reduced rate covers:

• Restaurant dining, catering, and hot takeaway food (from 1 July 2026)
• Hairdressing services (from 1 July 2026)
• Newspapers and periodicals
• E-books and audiobooks
• Cinema, theatre, and certain live cultural admissions
• Gas and electricity (extended to 31 December 2030)
• Sporting facilities, green fees, and gym or sports-club subscriptions
• The sale of completed apartments (8 October 2025 to 31 December 2030)

Important exclusions apply: alcohol, soft drinks, and bottled water served alongside a meal remain at the 23% standard rate, and hotel accommodation stays at 13.5%. Where a single package combines items at different rates — for example, dinner with wine — the price must be fairly apportioned.

Livestock and Agricultural Flat Rate: 4.8%

Two distinct figures apply in the agricultural sector, and they are frequently confused.

The 4.8% super-reduced VAT rate is a genuine VAT rate that applies to the supply of livestock — live cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, deer, and horses normally intended for use in the preparation of foodstuffs or in agricultural production — by a VAT-registered business. This rate is long-standing and, unlike other rates, Ireland is not required to review it annually under the EU VAT Directive.

Separately, the flat-rate addition is part of the Flat-Rate Scheme for farmers, an administrative simplification for farmers who are not registered, and not required to register, for VAT. Rather than entering the VAT system, these unregistered farmers add and retain a percentage — the flat-rate addition — on the price of agricultural goods and services they supply to VAT-registered businesses such as marts, co-ops, and processors. This compensates them for the VAT they cannot reclaim on their farming inputs. The flat-rate addition is not a tax; it is an amount the farmer keeps. From 1 January 2026 the flat-rate addition fell from 5.1% to 4.5%, as announced in Budget 2026.

Because the livestock rate (4.8%) and the flat-rate addition (4.5%) now differ, non-registered farmers selling livestock can face a small shortfall — a point of ongoing debate within the sector.

Zero Rate: 0%

Zero-rated goods are taxable supplies on which VAT is charged at 0%. This distinction matters: because they are still taxable (just at a 0% rate), businesses making zero-rated supplies can reclaim the VAT they incur on their own costs and inputs.

Goods and services at the 0% zero rate include:

• Basic foodstuffs — bread, milk, butter, tea, coffee, vegetables, and most staple groceries
• Books and printed booklets (physical books; note e-books are 9%)
• Oral medicines prescribed for human consumption
• Children's clothing and footwear — sized for younger children
• Certain medical devices and aids for people with disabilities
• Exports of goods to outside the EU

VAT Exempt Goods & Services

VAT exemption is fundamentally different from zero-rating, and the distinction has real financial consequences. An exempt supply is outside the scope of VAT altogether: no VAT is charged to the customer, and — crucially — the business making the exempt supply generally cannot reclaim the VAT it pays on its own purchases and overheads. By contrast, a zero-rated business charges 0% but can still recover its input VAT. In short, zero-rating is favourable to the supplier; exemption is not.

Common VAT-exempt goods and services in Ireland include:

• Financial services — banking, lending, and most transactions in money
• Insurance — insurance and reinsurance services
• Education — recognised school and university education and certain vocational training
• Medical services — professional medical care provided by doctors, dentists, and other registered health professionals
• Certain letting of residential property, betting and lotteries, and specified cultural and charitable activities

Because exempt businesses absorb their input VAT as a cost, VAT recovery and partial-exemption calculations become important for organisations that make both taxable and exempt supplies.

VAT on Services in Ireland

The service VAT rate in Ireland depends on the nature of the service — most professional and consumer services fall under the 23% standard rate, while specific categories such as construction (13.5%), hairdressing (9% from July 2026), and education (exempt) follow their own rules. Beyond the rate itself, VAT on services in Ireland is heavily shaped by place of supply rules, which determine in which country the service is deemed to be supplied and therefore where VAT is due.

For cross-border business-to-business (B2B) services, the general place-of-supply rule locates the supply where the customer is established. This triggers the reverse charge mechanism: instead of the supplier charging VAT, the business customer self-accounts for VAT in its own country, simultaneously declaring and (where entitled) reclaiming it on the same return. It is critical to verify the formatting of cross-border VAT numbers using our VIES VAT Checker before zero-rating supplies. This removes the need for foreign suppliers to register in the customer's country and is central to intra-EU trade in services.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) services follow different rules, often taxed where the supplier is established, with important exceptions for digital, telecommunications, and broadcasting services (taxed where the consumer is located) and services connected to land (taxed where the property is situated). Businesses trading services across borders should confirm the correct place-of-supply treatment before invoicing, as errors are a common source of assessments.

VAT on Food in Ireland

VAT on food in Ireland is one of the most intricate areas of the system, because the rate turns not just on what the food is, but on how and where it is sold. Three broad tiers operate at once:

• Zero-rated (0%) — basic groceries. Most staple, uncooked, or cold food bought for home consumption is zero-rated: bread, milk, vegetables, tea, coffee, flour, and similar staples. This keeps essential grocery shopping free of VAT.
• 9% — restaurant, catering, and hot takeaway food. From 1 July 2026, food supplied in the course of a restaurant, catering, or hot takeaway service is charged at 9%. The defining factor is that the food is prepared and supplied for immediate consumption as a service, rather than sold as a cold grocery item.
• 23% — alcohol, soft drinks, and confectionery. Alcohol, soft drinks, bottled water, and many confectionery and snack items are always standard-rated at 23%, even when served with an otherwise 9% meal.

The practical difficulty arises at the boundaries. A cold sandwich taken away may be zero-rated, while the same sandwich heated becomes a 9% hot takeaway supply. A meal deal combining a 9% hot food item with a 23% soft drink is a mixed supply requiring apportionment. Food businesses need to map each product line carefully to the correct rate to stay compliant. Non-EU visitors who purchase take-home items may reclaim this VAT via the VAT Refund Ireland Retail Export Scheme.

Frequently Asked Questions