Inversión3 min de lectura
Deposits, State Savings, ETFs and shares: how each is taxed
The same return can be taxed very differently depending on where your money sits. Here is how each option is treated in Ireland.
Por Irish Fintax Actualizado el Este artículo está escrito en inglés.
En esta página
Two people can earn exactly the same return and pay very different amounts of tax. In Ireland it is the wrapper, meaning the type of account or product the money sits in, that decides the tax, not the asset inside it.
The wrapper decides the tax, not the asset.
| Where the money sits | How the return is taxed |
|---|---|
| Irish bank deposits | DIRT at 33%, taken off at source |
| State Savings | Tax-free |
| Irish and EU funds and ETFs | Exit tax at 38% (35% from 1 January 2027, announced in Budget 2027 and subject to the Finance Bill), plus a deemed disposal every 8 years |
| Shares you own directly | CGT at 31% on gains above €1,270 a year (33% before 7 October 2026); dividends taxed as income |
| Investment Account (planned, from 1 July 2027) | 1% a year on the account's average value above €50,000; no tax on gains, dividends or withdrawals |
| Pensions | Relief going in, tax-free growth, taxed when you take the money out (apart from a tax-free lump sum within limits) |
Deposits: DIRT
Interest on an Irish deposit account has Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) of 33% taken off before you receive it, and for most people that is the end of it. Interest from an account abroad is not taxed at source, so you have to declare it yourself.
State Savings: tax-free
Savings bonds, savings certificates and the National Solidarity Bond from State Savings are free of tax and guaranteed by the State. Their rates look lower than many investments, but because no tax comes off, they compare better with a deposit than the headline figure suggests.
Funds and ETFs: exit tax and the eight-year rule
Most Irish and EU funds and ETFs fall under their own regime. Gains are taxed at 38% (cut from 41% on 1 January 2026), and Budget 2027 brings the rate down to 35% from 1 January 2027, subject to the Finance Bill becoming law. Losses cannot be set against other gains. On top of that, every eight years you are treated as if you had sold and bought back, and tax is due on the growth so far even though you have sold nothing. This is called a deemed disposal.
Shares: capital gains tax
Shares you own directly fall under capital gains tax instead: 31% on gains above the €1,270 you can make tax-free each year (33% on disposals before 7 October 2026), and losses can be set against gains. Dividends are taxed as income.
The new Investment Account
Budget 2027 announced an Investment Account that providers plan to offer from 1 July 2027. You can pay in up to €12,000 a year. Instead of tax on gains, dividends or withdrawals, there is a tax of 1% a year on the account's average value above €50,000, which your provider works out and pays for you. The rules are in the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, which is still going through the Dáil, so they could change before they become law. To see what the tax would come to on your own figures, try the Investment Account calculator.
Compare options side by side, by return after tax, in the personal investment planner. It shows the risk, how quickly you can get your money back and the tax treatment for each one.
Solo información general, no asesoramiento financiero, fiscal ni jurídico. Los tipos y las normas cambian y tu situación importa, así que consulta con Revenue o con un asesor cualificado y regulado antes de tomar una decisión importante.
Revisado por Arif Bhuiyan, FCA, ACA, MBA, MSc y un grupo de profesionales de las finanzas con sede en Irlanda que quieren hacer más fácil la educación financiera para las personas en Irlanda.
