Add or remove Irish VAT at the 23% standard, 13.5% or 9% reduced, or 0% zero rate.
Ireland's standard VAT rate is 23%. A 13.5% reduced rate applies to things like domestic fuel; a 9% rate applies to food/catering and hairdressing (since July 2026); some goods (exports, books, children's clothes, basic food) are zero-rated.
Illustrative estimate only, using simplified/rounded 2026 Irish tax figures — not tax advice. Always confirm with Revenue.ie or a licensed tax advisor.
Ireland's standard VAT rate is 23%, one of the higher standard rates in the EU, applied to most goods and services. A reduced rate of 13.5% covers items like most home heating fuels, restaurant and catering services, and certain construction services, while a special 9% rate applies to specific sectors including newspapers, e-books, and some tourism-related services — the exact rate a purchase falls under depends entirely on the category of goods or service, not the buyer.
A small number of goods, mainly certain food items, children's clothing and footwear, and oral medicines, are zero-rated, meaning no VAT is charged but the seller can still reclaim VAT on related costs. Businesses must register for VAT once turnover exceeds the relevant registration threshold, which differs for goods versus services.
Ireland applies different VAT rates to different categories of goods and services by design — the standard 23% rate is the default, while specific sectors like hospitality, construction, and publishing have reduced rates set by government policy, sometimes changed temporarily to support particular industries.
No — each EU member state sets its own VAT rates within broad EU minimum-rate rules, so Ireland's 23% standard rate differs from, for example, Germany's 19% or France's 20%, even though all follow the same general VAT framework.
Generally, VAT is charged at the rate of the seller's country for consumer purchases within the EU under current rules, though thresholds and specific rules for distance selling can shift where VAT is actually due depending on the seller's registration and turnover.
Businesses with turnover below the VAT registration threshold are not required to register or charge VAT, though they also cannot reclaim VAT on their own purchases — some small businesses register voluntarily anyway if most of their customers are VAT-registered businesses that can reclaim it.