The rate today
Revenue’s second reduced rate page lists “the supply of electricity” and “the supply of gas used for domestic or industrial heating or lighting, whether in gaseous or liquid form” at 9%, with a footnote: the second reduced rate applies for the period from 1 May 2022 to 31 December 2030. The database entries for electricity, natural gas and bottled gas all read “second reduced rate” and note that the reduced rate applied before 1 May 2022.
So on a bill dated in 2026: 9%. On a bill dated before May 2022: 13.5%. If you are checking old bills for a VAT3 return, the date decides.
How a temporary cut became a 2030 rate
The 9% rate on energy started on 1 May 2022 as a temporary cost-of-living measure and has been extended several times since. Budget 2026, delivered in October 2025, extended it again, and Revenue’s Budget 2026 summary states: “The application of the second reduced VAT rate of 9% to gas and electricity supplies is extended until 31 December 2030.” That is the date Revenue now publishes on its rates pages. It could be extended again or allowed to lapse in a future Budget, which is why our weekly check watches that page.
What counts as gas for the 9% rate
Piped natural gas for your home or business, and bottled gas used for heating or lighting. Revenue lists four exclusions that stay at the standard rate:
- vehicle gas (autogas),
- liquefied petroleum gas for use as a propellant,
- gas for welding or cutting metal,
- gas sold as lighter fuel.
Camping gas has its own entry in the database. If you buy gas for anything other than heating or lighting, check the entry before assuming 9%.
Fuels that are not at 9%
| Fuel | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 9% | Second reduced rate page; database |
| Natural gas, bottled gas (heating or lighting) | 9% | Second reduced rate page; database |
| Home heating oil (kerosene) | 13.5% | Database: heating oil, reduced rate |
| Solid fuel: coal, turf, briquettes | 13.5% | Database: solid fuel, coal and turf, all reduced rate |
| Petrol | 23% | Database: petrol, standard rate |
The result is that a household heating with oil pays 13.5% on the fuel while the neighbour on gas pays 9%. Both pay 9% on electricity. For the 13.5% fuels use the 13.5% calculator.
Reading the VAT on your bill
Energy bills show a subtotal before VAT, a VAT line at 9%, and the total. To check it: divide the total by 1.09 for the net and subtract for the VAT. A bill of €327.00 is €300.00 net plus €27.00 VAT. If your supplier shows the VAT as a percentage of the total, it should read about 8.3%, because 9/109 of the gross is VAT, not 9% of it. The reverse VAT calculator explains the arithmetic.
Businesses: reclaiming and the reverse charge
A VAT-registered business reclaims the 9% on its electricity and gas through the VAT3 return like any other input, as long as the supply is for the business. If you work from home, only the business share can be claimed. The VAT3 guide shows where the figure goes.
Revenue’s page on gas and electricity also describes a reverse charge for wholesale supplies of gas or electricity and for gas and electricity certificates. Under it the recipient, not the supplier, accounts for the VAT. That is a trading-market rule and does not touch ordinary customer bills, which always carry the 9% on the invoice.
Every Irish rate side by side is on the VAT rates page, and the 9% calculator lists everything else at the second reduced rate.