Guides
Irish investment tax, in plain English
Ireland's tax rules have kept a generation of savers in deposit accounts. These guides explain each rule that matters, what the 2027 Personal Investment Account changes, and how the same problem was solved elsewhere.
Using the €1,270 CGT exemption to fund a PIA
Use it or lose it by 31 December. Shares vs ETFs, spouse rules, bed and breakfasting, the four-week rule, and selling in stages to fund a PIA.
Move current investments to a PIA, or keep them separate?
Holdings can't transfer in. What selling costs, how to phase share sales with the €1,270 CGT exemption, and when keeping separate makes sense.
PIAs for couples: one account each
No joint or married accounts. Each partner opens their own, with their own €50,000 threshold and €12,000 yearly limit — and why balance between the two matters.
Moving your existing investments into a PIA
Only cash goes in, only PIA-to-PIA transfers, one account each and no joint accounts. How long it takes to move savings in at €12,000 a year.
Cash in a PIA: no interest, and money market funds
The Bill bans interest on cash in the account. Whether money market funds are allowed is not yet settled — what it says, and what idle cash gives up.
Savings vs a world ETF: the last ten years
Real Central Bank deposit rates against the MSCI World index in euro, 2016 to 2025, with DIRT, exit tax and deemed disposal taken off both sides — then what inflation, house prices and energy bills did to the cash.
PIA vs ETFs: who wins, and which claims don't add up
The first €50,000 in a PIA pays no tax, while ETF gains outside it face 35% exit tax and the eight-year rule. Above the threshold it turns on returns — worked examples for four kinds of saver, and the claims we've checked.
Deemed disposal in Ireland, explained
The eight-year rule that taxes gains you never cashed in — how it works, what it costs, and why it will not apply inside the PIA.
ETF tax in Ireland (2026 rules)
38% exit tax, no CGT offset, no loss relief. What you pay today on ETFs and funds, and what the roadmap signals for 2028.
Capital Gains Tax in Ireland
33% on shares and property (cut to 31% in Budget 2027), an allowance of €1,270 that has not moved in decades, and a payment deadline in mid-December — plus why funds are taxed on a different footing entirely.
DIRT vs investing: the cost of staying in cash
33% DIRT on deposit interest against real Irish rates — and what €20,000 sitting in a bank account gives up over a decade.
ISK, ISA and 401(k): how the PIA compares
Sweden's ISK, the UK's ISA and US retirement accounts — the design choices Ireland is borrowing, and the ones it is not.
Run your own numbers
Compare a Personal Investment Account against a deposit account and a standard fund over 10, 20 or 30 years — with real Irish rates.
Open the PIA calculatorInformation only, not financial or tax advice. PIA rules are as written in the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, published 19 October 2026, and are not law until the Bill is signed. Figures cited are from the Department of Finance roadmap, Revenue, Skatteverket, GOV.UK and the IRS.