Minimum wage 

• The national minimum wage will increase by 79 cents to €14.94 per hour from 1 January 2027.

Income tax 

• Income tax rates will remain the same at 20% and 40%, but there will be increases to tax credits and changes to the income tax bands in 2027.

• The standard rate tax band (the amount you can earn before you start to pay the higher rate of tax) will be increased by €2,500 to €46,500 for a single person, with proportionate increases for married couples and civil partners.

The following tax credits will increase by €125 to €2,125:

• Personal Tax Credit
• Employee Tax Credit
• Earned Income Tax Credit

USC

• The 2% rate band limit for USC will increase to €30,300 (from €28,700).

PRSI

• The weekly income threshold for the higher rate of employer’s PRSI will increase from €552 to €600 per week to ensure that there is no incentive to reduce the working hours for a full-time employee on the increased minimum wage from 1 January 2027.

Supports for people seeking employment

• The Community Employment (CE), Tús and Rural Social Scheme top up payment will increase by €2.50 to €35. This is in addition to an increase of €10 for most weekly social welfare payments.

• The wait time to requalify for Tús will decrease from 3 to 2 years.

• The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) uplift will increase by €25 to €140.

Supports for people with disabilities

• The minimum working hours needed to qualify for the Wage Subsidy Scheme for people with disabilities will reduce from 15 to 8 hours per week, in April 2027.

• The number of hours available under the Work and Access Communication/Irish Sign Language (ISL) Grant will increase.

Supports for business

Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit

• The first-year payment threshold will increase from €87,500 to €105,000.

• The existing limits on scope for subcontracting to third-level institutions and third parties will increase, from 15% to 20% and from €100,000 to €200,000.

Investment reliefs and incentives

The following reliefs and incentives will be extended (subject to the adoption of revisions to the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) which are due to be implemented by 1 January 2027):

• Employment Investment Incentive
• The Start-Up Capital Incentive
• The Start-Up Relief for Entrepreneurs
• The Relief for Investment in Innovative Enterprises, also known as Angel Investor Relief