Ledger v2026.10.8
The PIA rules ledger
Every rule written into the Finance Bill or proposed for Ireland's Personal Investment Account, with its status, its source and the date it last changed. Versioned so you can cite it, open so anyone can use it.
Updated 2026-10-20
Where the rules stand today
1
Law today
20
In the Bill
2
Proposed
1
Undecided
1
Excluded
The rules are in the Bill, but not yet law. The Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, published on 19 October 2026, sets them out in section 26, where the account is called the individual investment account. It must pass the Dáil and Seanad before it is signed, so details can still change.
Open questions
The points Budget 2027 left unsettled, and where each one stands now that the Bill is published. A query marked prepared has been written but not yet sent; asked means it is with the body shown and a reply is outstanding. Answers quote the Bill as published and could change before it becomes law.
- OQ-01Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Is the account valued every day, with the 1% charge based on the average of those daily values?
It decides whether someone who moves money in or out during the year is charged on a spike, an average, or a single snapshot.
Answer: Yes. The account is valued at close of business each day, and the 1% applies to the yearly average above €50,000.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747Q(4)–(5)
- OQ-02Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Which period does that average cover — the calendar year or the account year — and how is the part-year from 1 July 2027 treated?
A first year of only six months could otherwise be charged as if it were a full one.
Answer: The calendar year. The average counts only the days the account was open, so a part-year is averaged over those days. The €50,000 threshold is not reduced for a part-year.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747H(1) 'relevant day' and s.747Q(5)
- OQ-03Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Does the full €12,000 contribution limit apply in 2027, even though accounts open on 1 July?
It is the difference between saving €12,000 and €6,000 in the launch year, which changes every first-year projection.
Answer: As drafted, yes. The limit is €12,000 for each calendar year, and section 26 has no lower figure for 2027. This could still change as the Bill goes through the Oireachtas.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747H(1) 'contribution limit'
- OQ-04Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Can existing shares, funds or ETFs be transferred into the account without being sold, and would a transfer count against the annual limit?
This is the largest 'can I actually use this' question. Transferring in kind would avoid a taxable sale; counting the transfer against the €12,000 limit would make it useless for anyone with existing savings.
Answer: Not in kind. Money paid in is used by the provider to buy investments, and the Bill only allows investments to move as they are between two account providers. To move existing holdings, you would sell them outside the account (paying any tax due) and pay in the cash, within the €12,000 limit.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747L(2)(c) and s.747W(6)
- OQ-05Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Can a life-assurance policy hold the account, or must it sit with a MiFID-authorised firm or fund manager?
Several brokers describe offering the account through a life company. If a life wrapper cannot hold it, those descriptions point at something that will not be permitted.
Answer: Insurance companies can offer the account, and insurance-based investment products can be held in it. Personal portfolio life policies are excluded.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747H(1) 'eligible account provider' and 'eligible investment'
- OQ-06Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
How and when does a provider deduct and pay the charge, and what does the account holder see?
Readers comparing a PIA against a savings account need to know whether the charge leaves the account, or arrives as a separate bill.
Answer: The provider works out the tax for each calendar year and takes it from the account, or collects it another way if you agree. Providers report to Revenue by 31 March and make their return by 14 April after each year. What statements must show is left to regulations.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747Q(6) and s.747T
Affects: PIA-018
- OQ-07Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
What happens if someone stops being Irish tax resident during a year, or dies — does the account close, and is a charge due?
Emigration and death are common enough that providers cannot build terms, or savers plan, without a published answer.
Answer: If you leave Ireland, the account stays open but you cannot pay in until you return. When someone dies, the account can stay in place for a limited period while the estate is settled, under its own rules, before it is closed or paid out.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747M and s.747Y
- OQ-08Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Is the €12,000 limit checked centrally by Revenue, or by each provider?
One account per person makes this a question of enforcement rather than of firm behaviour, and it decides whether an accidental breach is possible.
Answer: Your provider applies it, based on your declaration, and reports your contributions to Revenue each year. Anything paid in over the limit is taxed at 1% a month until it is taken out.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747O, s.747R and s.747T
- OQ-09Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Are interest and dividends inside the account reported to Revenue at all, given DIRT, exit tax and deemed disposal do not apply within it?
It determines what a statement will show and whether a holder must declare anything themselves.
Answer: They are exempt and you do not declare them. The provider reports the account's value and contributions to Revenue each year. No interest may be paid on cash in the account.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747L(2)(f), s.747P, s.747Q(9) and s.747T
- OQ-10No answer yet
Will a version of the account be opened to under-18s?
Parents saving for children are the group most likely to ask, and the initial scheme is for adults only.
Affects: PIA-021
- OQ-11Answeredanswered 2026-10-20
Is there a monthly contribution limit, or only the €12,000 annual maximum?
Some coverage reported a monthly cap, so a saver budgeting by direct debit needs to know which applies.
Answer: Only the annual limit. Section 26 sets no monthly limit.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747H(1) and s.747L(2)(d)
Affects: PIA-011
- OQ-13No answer yet
Will the date the account opens be 1 July 2027, as announced?
The Bill allows accounts from 1 January 2027 at the earliest, but the section only starts on a date the Minister sets by order.
Affects: PIA-001
- OQ-14No answer yet
How will cash and foreign-currency holdings be valued, and what must statements show?
The Bill leaves these details to regulations Revenue has not yet published, and they affect how the daily value is worked out.
- OQ-15No answer yet
Can a money market fund be held inside the account?
No interest may be paid on cash in the account, so savers parking money between investments will look for a cash-like fund instead.
Answer: Not settled. The Bill does not mention money market funds. UCITS funds are eligible unless they are personal portfolio or structured funds, and many money market funds are UCITS, but no guidance confirms they are allowed, and each provider will decide what it offers.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747H(1) 'eligible investment' and s.747L(2)(f)
- OQ-16No answer yet
Will people be allowed to hold more than one account in future?
One account per person means choosing a single provider for every investment you hold in the account.
Answer: Not under the Bill as drafted. s.747L(2)(a) allows one account at a time, with a short overlap only during a transfer. Nothing in section 26 commits to changing that.
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, s.747L(2)(a) and s.747O
Affects: PIA-020
Timeline
- PIA-001Proposedchanged 2026-10-20
The account is intended to open on 1 July 2027. The Bill lets registered providers operate accounts from 1 January 2027 at the earliest, with the start date set by ministerial order.
1 July 2027 is the Government's stated launch date (Budget 2027). Section 26 itself comes into operation on a day the Minister for Finance appoints by order; s.747L allows accounts on or after 1 January 2027.
- PIA-002In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
The account is legislated for in section 26 of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, which inserts a new Part 27A (sections 747H to 747AA) into the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Its legal name is the individual investment account.
PIA·IE keeps the name PIA, the term most readers search for. The Bill was published on 19 October 2026 and must pass both Houses before it is signed.
Taxation
- PIA-003In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Tax is charged each year on the value of the account, not on gains from individual sales. Income, profits and gains inside the account are otherwise exempt.
s.747P and s.747Q. The charge is a form of income tax called 'investment account tax'.
- PIA-004In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
The account is valued at close of business each day. The yearly charge uses the average of those daily values across the days the account was open in the calendar year.
s.747Q(5): average value = sum of daily market values ÷ number of days the account was open in the year of assessment. Cash in the account counts towards the value.
- PIA-005In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
The tax is 1% of the average account value above €50,000.
s.747Q(4) and (7). Published in the Bill; not law until the Bill is passed and signed.
- PIA-006In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
No tax is due when the average account value is €50,000 or less.
s.747Q(4): the chargeable amount is the average value minus €50,000, and is zero if that is negative. An average of €52,000 gives €20 of tax.
- PIA-007In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Deemed disposal, exit tax and capital gains tax do not apply to investments held inside the account.
s.747P(1) exempts income, profits and gains in the account except for the investment account tax itself.
- PIA-008In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
No further tax arises when you sell inside the account or withdraw, and losses inside the account cannot be used against other gains.
s.747P(1)(b): no loss is treated as arising on a disposal inside the account.
- PIA-009In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Outside the account, deemed disposal remains and exit tax on funds and ETFs falls from 38% to 35%.
Section 29 of the Bill replaces 38 per cent with 35 per cent across the fund and life-policy exit-tax sections, generally for events on or after 1 January 2027. The Bill does not remove the eight-year rule.
Contributions
- PIA-010In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Contributions are capped each calendar year, and money you withdraw does not free up room under the cap.
s.747L(2)(d): contributions in a year of assessment, 'without regard to any amounts withdrawn', may not exceed the contribution limit.
- PIA-011In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
The contribution limit is €12,000 per calendar year, with no minimum contribution.
s.747H(1) defines the limit as €12,000 in respect of a year of assessment. Section 26 sets no separate figure for 2027 and no monthly limit.
- PIA-012Proposedchanged 2026-10-20
No minimum holding period — money can be withdrawn at any time.
Section 26 sets out no lock-in period. Individual providers may still set their own terms.
Source: Department of Finance — Roadmap for retail investment and savings (31 Aug 2026)
- PIA-021Undecidedchanged 2026-10-20
Whether a version of the account will be opened to under-18s. The initial scheme is for adults; a children's account has been described as a possible future step.
The Bill limits the account to people aged 18 and over. No children's version is in it.
Source: Department of Finance — Roadmap for retail investment and savings (31 Aug 2026)
- PIA-023In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Money paid in above the €12,000 limit is taxed at 1% a month until it is withdrawn.
s.747R. The charge applies from the month the limit is passed, whether or not the account is over €50,000, and withdrawals reduce the oldest excess first.
- PIA-025In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Only money can be paid in. Existing shares, ETFs or funds held elsewhere cannot be moved into the account; they would have to be sold first and the cash paid in, within the €12,000 limit.
s.747L(2)(c): contributions are used by the provider 'solely to acquire eligible investments'. The only route for investments to move in as they are is a transfer from another individual investment account under s.747W(1). Selling outside the account first may trigger exit tax or CGT.
Eligible assets
- PIA-013In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Eligible investments are shares and bonds traded on an EEA regulated market or an equivalent non-EEA exchange, EU-authorised UCITS funds (including UCITS ETFs), and insurance-based investment products.
s.747H(1) 'eligible investment'. Personal portfolio funds, structured UCITS and personal portfolio life policies are excluded. Non-UCITS funds, such as US-domiciled ETFs, are not on the list.
- PIA-014Excludedchanged 2026-10-20
Derivatives, crypto-assets and other assets outside the eligible list cannot be held in the account.
s.747N: a provider holding an ineligible investment without reasonable excuse faces a €3,000 penalty per account per year and must remove it.
- PIA-015In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Cash in the account is only there to be invested, and no interest may be paid on it.
s.747L(2)(c) and (f). Cash still counts towards the daily value used for the 1% charge.
Providers
- PIA-016In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
Banks, life and insurance companies, MiFID investment firms, UCITS fund managers and EEA firms passporting into Ireland can all offer the account, once registered with Revenue.
s.747H(1) 'eligible account provider' and s.747I registration. Firms authorised under the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 are also on the list.
- PIA-017In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
You can move the account to another provider. Investments move as they are only if both providers agree; otherwise they are sold and the cash is moved.
s.747W(1): a transfer is from one individual investment account to another provider's; it is not a route for investments held outside the account. Your contributions and valuation history for the year travel with the account.
Administration
- PIA-018In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
The provider works out the tax, takes it from the account (or another way, with your consent) and pays Revenue. You do not file a tax return for it.
s.747Q(6) and (9), s.747T: providers notify Revenue by 31 March and make their return by 14 April after each year.
- PIA-019Law todaychanged 2026-10-20
Irish fund and ETF gains outside a PIA remain subject to deemed disposal every eight years. Exit tax is 38% until 31 December 2026; deposit interest remains subject to 33% DIRT. The standard capital gains tax rate on shares and other assets is 31% for disposals on or after 7 October 2026.
Today's baseline. The cut to 35% exit tax from 1 January 2027 (s.29) and the 31% CGT rate (s.36) are written into the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 and become law when it is signed.
Source: Statement by Minister Harris on Budget 2027 — Dáil Éireann, carried live by RTÉ (6 Oct 2026)
- PIA-020In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
One account per person, in your sole name, for Irish-resident individuals aged 18 and over with a PPS number. If you close your account, you cannot open another in the same calendar year.
s.747H(1) 'qualifying individual', s.747L(2)(a) and (4), and the opening declaration in s.747O. A false declaration is an offence.
- PIA-024In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
If you stop being Irish resident, you keep the account but cannot pay in or move it to another provider until you return.
s.747M. You must tell your provider. Payments made while non-resident are refunded, apart from a 30-day grace period.
- PIA-026In the Billchanged 2026-10-20
No joint accounts. Each account is held in one person's sole name, so a couple would hold one account each, each with its own €50,000 threshold and €12,000 limit.
s.747L(2)(a) ('held in the sole name of, a qualifying individual') and the opening declaration in s.747O, which confirms the holder 'is aware that it is not permitted to hold the account jointly with another person'.
Use the data
Open JSON API
The full ledger is served at /api/public/pia-rules — no key, CORS open, cached for five minutes. Each response carries the ledger version, the status counts, every rule with its source, the open-questions register, and the full revision history.
Licensed CC BY 4.0. Cite as: PIA·IE Rules Ledger v2026.10.8, personalinvestmentaccounts.ie/rules.
curl https://personalinvestmentaccounts.ie/api/public/pia-rules
Revision history
v2026.10.8 · 2026-10-20
Transfers, joint accounts, cash and money market funds, cited to section 26.
- Added PIA-025: only money can be paid in; existing investments must be sold first (s.747L(2)(c), s.747W(1)).
- Added PIA-026: no joint accounts (s.747L(2)(a), s.747O).
- PIA-017 note clarifies that transfers are only between individual investment accounts.
- Added OQ-15 (money market funds) and OQ-16 (more than one account), both still open.
v2026.10.7 · 2026-10-20
Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 published: the account's rules are now written into section 26.
- New status 'In the Bill' for rules written into the published Bill but not yet law. PIA-002 to PIA-011, PIA-013, PIA-015 to PIA-018 and PIA-020 moved from proposed to In the Bill, citing Part 27A sections.
- PIA-004 now states the method: close-of-business daily values, averaged over the days the account was open in the calendar year.
- PIA-013 and PIA-016 rewritten from the Bill's lists of eligible investments and eligible providers, which include banks and insurance companies.
- Added PIA-023 (1% a month on contributions above €12,000) and PIA-024 (no contributions while non-resident).
- PIA-001 stays proposed: 1 July 2027 is the stated launch date, but the Bill leaves commencement to ministerial order and allows accounts from 1 January 2027.
- OQ-01 to OQ-09 and OQ-11 answered from the Bill text. Added OQ-13 (commencement date) and OQ-14 (valuation regulations). OQ-10 (under-18s) stays open.
v2026.10.6 · 2026-10-15
Firm-specific entries moved out of the ledger and onto the provider tracker.
- PIA-022 (An Post tender) and OQ-12 (whether An Post will offer the account) withdrawn. The ledger records scheme rules only; individual firms' plans are tracked on the provider tracker, where An Post Money remains listed as considering.
- Ids PIA-022 and OQ-12 are retired and will not be reused.
v2026.10.5 · 2026-10-08
Administration queries folded into the Department of Finance submission.
- OQ-06 to OQ-09 (deduction and remittance, residency and death, limit checking, reporting inside the account) now sit with the Department of Finance rather than the Revenue Commissioners, which has no public policy address for questions of this kind.
- A single six-point query was prepared on 8 October 2026 covering valuation and averaging, the launch-year limit, transfers in, eligible provider types, how the charge reaches the holder, and leaving the charge base, with a request that the administration points be forwarded to Revenue if that is the better route.
- No rule changed status and no calculator maths changed. Answers will be recorded against the relevant entry and the register row will move to answered.
v2026.10.4 · 2026-10-08
Open-questions register added to the ledger.
- Added an open-questions register (OQ-01 to OQ-12) covering the valuation basis, the launch-year contribution limit, transfers in, provider eligibility, and administration mechanics.
- Queries prepared on 8 October 2026 to the Department of Finance (valuation, period, 2027 limit, transfers, eligible provider types) and to the Revenue Commissioners (deduction and remittance, residency and death, limit checking, reporting).
- No rule changed status. Answers will be recorded against the relevant entry and the register row will move to answered.
v2026.10.3 · 2026-10-06
CGT start date confirmed; calculator fee basis documented.
- PIA-019 updated: the CGT cut to 31% applies to disposals on or after 7 October 2026, as confirmed in Budget 2027 documentation and Revenue-aligned reporting.
- Calculator: the 0.25% ongoing-costs assumption is now explained and sourced on the page (app-first brokers €0 to traditional platforms ~1%/yr, plus fund running costs).
v2026.10.2 · 2026-10-06
Capital gains tax cut recorded; sources moved to the published Budget speech.
- PIA-019 updated: standard CGT outside the account reduces from 33% to 31% (start date to be confirmed in Budget documents).
- Budget 2027 entries now cite the published Statement by Minister Harris on gov.ie, which also confirms dividend withholding tax will not apply inside the account.
v2026.10.1 · 2026-10-06
Budget 2027 set the PIA's headline tax rules, contribution limit and intended launch date.
- PIA-001: intended launch set for 1 July 2027.
- PIA-005 and PIA-006: 1% annual tax on account value above a €50,000 threshold.
- PIA-011: €12,000 maximum annual contribution and no minimum contribution.
- PIA-018: providers handle PIA tax calculation, reporting and payment.
- PIA-009 and PIA-019: exit tax outside the PIA reduces to 35% from 1 January 2027; deemed disposal remains.
v2026.09.5 · 2026-09-29
Market development added: An Post's tender for a retail investment partner.
- PIA-022 added (undecided): An Post tender 0044 for a retail investment proposition partner; PIA participation not confirmed.
v2026.09.4 · 2026-09-24
Eligibility corrected, timing and deemed disposal notes added after a media and Oireachtas review.
- PIA-020 corrected: the Department of Finance states one account per person, for tax-resident adults aged 18+ with a PPSN (now proposed).
- PIA-001 note: reported launch timing varies between early and summer 2027; no date confirmed.
- PIA-002 note: legislation referred to as the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026.
- PIA-009 note: the Minister signalled possible deemed disposal progress in Budget 2027; still undecided.
v2026.09.3 · 2026-09-13
Launch timing wording tightened and a children's account entry added.
- PIA-001 updated: the account is briefed as expected to be up and running early in 2027, still with no confirmed opening date.
- PIA-021 added: whether a version of the account will be opened to under-18s (undecided).
v2026.09.2 · 2026-09-03
Exit tax baseline corrected to 38% following Budget 2026.
- PIA-019 updated: fund and ETF exit tax is now 38%, reduced from 41% in Budget 2026.
- PIA-009 wording updated to reference the 38% rate.
v2026.09.1 · 2026-09-03
Ledger established from the Department of Finance roadmap.
- Created 20 entries covering timeline, taxation, contributions, eligible assets, providers and administration.
- Recorded the current 38% exit tax / 33% DIRT position as the confirmed baseline (PIA-019).
Frequently asked
What is the PIA rules ledger?
A versioned public record of every rule proposed or confirmed for Ireland's Personal Investment Account. Each entry has a stable identifier, a status (law today, in the Bill, proposed, undecided or excluded), the date it last changed and the primary source it comes from.
What has actually been confirmed about the PIA?
The Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, published on 19 October 2026, writes the rules into section 26: 1% a year on the average daily account value above €50,000, a €12,000 limit per calendar year, and providers handling the tax. The Bill is not yet law. The planned launch date is 1 July 2027.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes. The full ledger is published as JSON at /api/public/pia-rules under CC BY 4.0. Cite it as the PIA·IE Rules Ledger with the version number shown at the top of this page.
How often is the ledger updated?
Whenever a rule changes. Every change is recorded in the revision history at the bottom of this page with a new version number, so you can see exactly what moved and when.
Cite this page
Journalists, advisers and researchers are welcome to reuse this material under CC BY 4.0. Please use this attribution:
PIA·IE, "PIA rules ledger", updated 2026-10-20, https://personalinvestmentaccounts.ie/rules
Ledger version 2026.10.8. Quote the rule identifier (e.g. PIA-004) so readers can check the entry as it stood.
Data requests, chart files and comment: press@personalinvestmentaccounts.ie.
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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.