VAT calculator Ireland: add or remove VAT at 23%, 13.5% or 9%.

Value-Added Tax is a tax on consumption collected in stages. Every VAT-registered business charges VAT on what it sells, reclaims the VAT on what it buys, and pays Revenue the difference through a VAT3 return. The consumer at the end of the chain carries the whole tax; the businesses along the way are collectors. A shop that buys stock for €100 plus €23 VAT and sells it for €150 plus €34.50 VAT pays Revenue €11.50: the VAT on its margin.

Ireland runs five rates and one exemption. The rate depends on what is sold, not on who sells it or who buys it. Most goods and services are at the 23% standard rate. Two reduced rates, 13.5% and 9%, cover named categories such as building work, hospitality and energy. A 4.8% rate applies to livestock. The zero rate covers staples: most food, books, children’s clothes and oral medicines. Exempt activities, such as medical care, education, insurance and residential rent, sit outside the system altogether, which means those businesses charge no VAT but reclaim none either.

The rates and the lists change at Budget time, usually in October, with most changes taking effect on 1 January. Some measures start mid-year: the return of restaurants and hairdressers to 9% on 1 July 2026 is the current example. The table below gives each rate with its effective dates from Revenue’s current-rates table.

The receipts above add VAT to a €100 net price: the invoice you would send. The tables below do it both ways.

Now the reverse: a €100 gross price with the VAT already inside it, such as a shop receipt. Notice that the VAT at 23% is €18.70, not €23, because the tax was charged on the smaller net figure.

A few real-world shapes. A consultant invoices €2,400 net at 23%: VAT €552, total €2,952. A plumber’s bill of €681 including 13.5% VAT is €600 net and €81 VAT. An electricity bill of €218 including 9% VAT is €200 net and €18 VAT. A €14.99 paperback contains no VAT at all. The calculator handles all of these; type the figure you have and pick the rate.

Registration is compulsory once your turnover, excluding VAT and measured over a calendar year, exceeds the Revenue thresholds. For 2026 those are €42,500 for services and €85,000 for goods, the same figures that took effect on 1 January 2025. The goods threshold also applies where 90% or more of turnover is from goods. Two smaller thresholds exist: €10,000 for distance sales and digital services sold into Ireland from other EU countries, and €41,000 for acquisitions of goods from other EU states. The VAT threshold page works through how turnover is measured and what is left out.

Below the threshold, registering is optional. It usually makes sense if your customers are VAT-registered businesses, because you can reclaim the VAT on your own costs and they can reclaim what you charge. It rarely makes sense if you sell to the public, because your prices go up by 23% overnight. Once registered, you file a VAT3 return, normally every two months, and an annual Return of Trading Details. Our registration guide covers TR1, TR2 and the two-tier system, and the VAT3 guide lists every 2026 due date.

A VAT invoice has to show the net amount, the rate applied, the VAT amount and the gross total, alongside your VAT number, the customer’s details, an invoice number and the date. Those first four numbers are exactly what the calculator prints on its receipt. If you sell at more than one rate on the same invoice, each rate needs its own line with its own VAT figure; a restaurant bill with food at 9% and wine at 23% is the everyday example.

Two habits save trouble. Quote and invoice in net figures with the VAT shown separately, so business customers can see what they reclaim. And check a new customer’s VAT number before you zero-rate an intra-EU sale; our VAT number check validates the format instantly and links to VIES for the registration status. If you need to produce the invoice itself, we also built a free Irish invoice generator that lays out all of the required fields.