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What is a Personal Investment Account?
A proposed Irish account for holding investments under one simpler tax system. Here is the plain-English version, without pretending the undecided details are settled.
Updated 10 September 2026
The short answer
A Personal Investment Account, or PIA, is intended to let Irish residents hold eligible investments through an authorised provider. Instead of taxing each fund sale and applying deemed disposal every eight years, the proposal uses an annual charge on average account value above a tax-free threshold.
Still a proposal
What changes
| Today | Inside the proposed PIA |
|---|---|
| Most funds and ETFs face 38% exit tax | No separate 38% charge on each sale |
| Deemed disposal every eight years | No deemed disposal inside the account |
| Tax follows gains and disposals | Annual charge based on account value above a threshold |
| Investor often handles reporting | Provider intended to operate the tax |
What could be held
The roadmap expects listed shares and bonds, retail funds and ETFs, and insurance-based investment products to qualify. Crypto-assets and derivatives are excluded. Cash is intended only for transactions, not as a deposit substitute.
Why it matters
Ireland’s current treatment makes diversified funds unusually complex for ordinary investors. The PIA is intended to simplify administration and allow investments to be changed inside the account without creating a tax event on every sale.
That does not make investing risk-free. Account values can fall, and an annual value-based charge may still arise in a year when returns are weak, depending on the final rules.
What happens next
Budget 2027 is expected to set the three missing numbers: the annual tax rate, tax-free threshold and contribution limit. The following Finance Bill must provide the legislation. Providers can then publish their own fees and launch dates.
Track each point in the rules ledger or see which firms have spoken publicly in the provider tracker.
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. Final PIA rules — the contribution limit, the tax-free threshold and the flat rate — are due to be confirmed in Budget 2027 and the related Finance Bill. Figures cited are from the Department of Finance roadmap, Revenue, Skatteverket, GOV.UK and the IRS.