VAT rates in Ireland in 2026

Exempt supplies, such as most lettings of property, carry no VAT and do not allow the supplier to reclaim VAT on related costs.

• 23%: the standard rate, for most goods and services not listed elsewhere, including alcohol.
• 13.5%: the reduced rate, which includes building and construction services, subject to the two-thirds rule.
• 9%: the second reduced rate, which since 1 July 2026 includes food service and hairdressing.
• 4.8%: the livestock rate.
• 0%: zero-rated supplies, such as goods exported outside the EU.
• 4.5%: the flat-rate addition for unregistered farmers from 1 January 2026.

The Government reduced the rate for food businesses and hairdressers from 13.5% to 9% from 1 July 2026. Hotel accommodation was not included. Restaurants, cafés, takeaways serving hot food and salons should have changed their tills, price lists and invoice templates on that date, and their books should show both rates for 2026.

Revenue publishes a searchable VAT rates database that lists goods and services alphabetically with their rate and the legal reference. Use it rather than lists in blog posts, including this one, because rates for individual items change in Budgets. Where a supply mixes goods and services, as in many building jobs, special rules such as the two-thirds rule decide the rate.

The standard rate was cut to 21% from 1 September 2020 and returned to 23% on 1 March 2021. The farmers’ flat-rate addition changes almost every year, from 5.1% in 2025 to 4.5% in 2026. Accounting software has to apply the rate in force on the date of each supply, not today’s rate, or past periods will not reconcile.

Zero-rated and exempt supplies both show no VAT on the invoice, but they are treated very differently. A zero-rated supplier can reclaim VAT on its costs; an exempt supplier generally cannot. Lettings of residential property, for example, are exempt and cannot be opted into VAT, so a landlord of homes charges no VAT on rent and reclaims none on repairs.

Each transaction in HelloBooks carries an Irish rate: 23%, 13.5%, 9%, 4.8% or 0%, or an exempt or reverse-charge treatment. AI proposes the rate from the supplier, the description and your history, and a person confirms it. The VAT3 boxes are then totalled from those codes.