Irish tax takes up 6% in first 7 months of year after jump in income tax, VAT

A jump in income tax and VAT receipts in July has pushed Ireland's year-to-date tax take 6% higher than the ​same period last year when the one-off proceeds of Apple ‌back taxes are excluded, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

While a surge in corporate tax mainly paid by a small number of U.S. multinationals has ​driven Ireland's overall revenues to record levels in each of ​the past five years, July is not a major month ⁠for the payment of corporate tax.

The treasury collected €1.3 billion in corporate ​tax in July, up 5% year-on-year. Company payments are up by ​a similar amount year-to-date following strong returns in June when around one-fifth of the year's total is usually paid.

The finance ministry said that around €1.1 billion of the corporate ​tax collected in July related to payments made under the new ​15% top-up rate for larger companies, introduced as part of an overhaul of ‌global ⁠tax rules for multinationals.

The other two main tax categories, income tax and VAT, registered annual growth of 12.7% and 17.5% respectively in July, among the highest monthly jumps in each category in 2026. The VAT ​figure was flattered ​by timing ⁠issues, the finance ministry said.

Income tax is now up 7% so far in 2026, while VAT is ​almost 10% higher.

Ireland's booming tax take has contributed to ​significant budget ⁠surpluses in recent years, while at the same time funding big spending increases on services and capital projects. Government expenditure was 7.4% higher ⁠at the ​end of July.

The finance ministry forecast in April ​that it would run a general government surplus of €9.2 billion or 2.5% of modified ​gross national income this year.

-Reuters