December is typically a quieter month in the Exchequer calendar following the critical announcement of November’s figures, which give us the clearest indication of the country’s overall fiscal health. However, it is a very interesting month to allow us to see the final annual results in comparison to prior year. 2025 tax collections hit a new record for the 5th year in a row, €8.6 billion ahead of 2024.
Interestingly the biggest year on year % increases came from the capital taxes of Capital Gains Tax and Capital Acquisitions Tax. This shows an increase activity in 2025 on M&A transactions, property transactions and succession planning. We would expect this pattern to continue in 2026 especially given improvements to entrepreneurs relief.
When you exclude Apple case payments from 2024 and 2025 results, corporation tax receipts finally broke the €30bn mark for the calendar year 2025. It was just shy of this target in 2024 when you omit the €11bn one off Apple payment from the €40bn collected. This demonstrates the continued resilience of Irish businesses in the face of global uncertainty and sets us up well heading into 2026.
Income tax receipts were marginally ahead of 2024, with a 4.3% increase being recorded. The increase in the average wage and general wage inflation largely offset the potential impact of the slight uptick in the unemployment rate has had in recent months. VAT receipts increased slightly by 5.1% in 2025 as consumer spending remained solid despite cost-of-living worries. In 2026, it will be intriguing to see what impact the introduction of the 9% VAT rate for hospitality businesses has on consumer spending, including during traditionally quieter periods.
Source: Government press release
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