The European Commission has extended the deadline to respond to its Call for Evidence for an impact assessment on the Omnibus on Taxation to Monday 30 March 2026.

The Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation have published the Fiscal Monitor for February 2026 which confirms an Exchequer deficit of €1.8 billion to the end of February 2026. This compares to a surplus of €3.2 billion recorded for the same period in 2025. While a decline of €2.0 billion was recorded in the underlying Exchequer balance (after receipts from the Apple State Aid case are excluded), this reduction is mainly due to transfers to the Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. Overall tax receipts collected to the end of February 2026 were €13.6 billion. While this was €1.6 billion lower than the same period last year, if the once off receipts arising from the Apple case are excluded, then total tax receipts were up on last year by 1.1 percent. Income tax of €2.9 billion was collected in February 2026, 10.3 percent ahead of February 2025. On a cumulative basis, income tax receipts of €6.0 billion were 5.4 percent ahead of the same period last year. Corporation tax receipts for February 2026 were €0.8 billion which is expectedly on the lower end given that February is not generally a significant month for corporation tax payments. February is also a non-VAT due month and receipts of €0.5 billion only were received in the month. Importantly, on a cumulative basis, VAT receipts of €4.7 billion are ahead of last year by €0.2 billion. Commenting on the figures, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris said: “Today’s figures confirm that, despite external headwinds, the domestic economy grew strongly last year, with Modified Domestic Demand expanding by almost 5 per cent for the year as a whole. While the headline figures may somewhat overstate the economy’s underlying growth, I am encouraged that consumer spending grew by a solid 3 per cent last year. This reflects rising real incomes and the strength of our labour market, with a record 2.83 million people in employment at the end of 2025. While today’s figures are positive and reflect the resilience of the Irish economy, we cannot become complacent. Indeed, recent developments clearly illustrate that uncertainty is likely to be a feature of the economic landscape for some time”.

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT) has released the concluding statement of the PCT Tax and Development Conference held recently in Tokyo. The PCT is a joint initiative of the International Monetary Fund, the OECD, the United Nations and World Bank Group to strengthen collaboration on domestic resource mobilization.

Last week the Institute responded to the HM Treasury ‘Call for Evidence: Tax Supports for Entrepreneurs’, which was launched on Autumn Budget Day last November. We thank members for their feedback on this important issue. In our submission, the Institute highlights how the draft Finance (No. 2) Bill clauses implementing the Autumn Budget 2025 changes to the various limits for several of the UK’s tax advantaged venture capital schemes would exclude specified Northern Ireland (NI) companies due to EU State Aid rules. The submission also highlights that there is a need for a wider review of how the UK tax system could better support all entrepreneurs, and not just those investing in high growth companies. A specified NI company is currently defined in the Finance (No. 2) Bill as a company that has its registered office in NI which carries on a trade involving a trade in goods, or the generation, transmission, distribution, supply, wholesale trade, or cross-border exchange of electricity. As a result, these NI companies will be unable to benefit from the increased scheme limits from April 2026. This divergence in UK tax policy means that companies in NI who are excluded are being disadvantaged when seeking external finance compared to their competitors across the remainder of the UK for no objective reason other than their location. To level the playing field, the Government needs to take the necessary steps to resolve this issue and enable the April 2026 changes to apply to all companies in NI via discussions through the existing UK-EU structures which underpin the Windsor Framework, followed by an application for State Aid approval.

In Irish news, a delegation from the Institute recently met with the Department of Finance to discuss the Interest Review and Revenue has provided details of upcoming ROS updates. In UK news, the Institute has responded to HM Treasury’s Call for Evidence on Tax Supports for Entrepreneurs and this week’s miscellaneous updates highlights upcoming HMRC webinars. In International news this week, the European Commission has launched a public consultation on GBER. Ireland 1. Representatives from the Institute met last week with the Department of Finance to discuss our response to the Phase One Interest Review Feedback Statement.  2. Revenue has published details of planned ROS updates in March and April. UK 3. Read the Institute’s response to HM Treasury’s Call for Evidence on Tax Supports for Entrepreneurs. 4. This week’s miscellaneous updates include details of upcoming HMRC webinars. International 5. The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a draft new General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). Keep up to date with all the latest Irish, UK, and international tax developments through Chartered Accountants Ireland’s Tax Newsletter. Subscribe to the Tax News by updating your preferences in MyAccount.    

Chartered Accountants Ireland has reacted to today’s Spring Forecast by urging the UK Government to address the tax barriers that are hampering business growth. The Institute is highlighting the urgent need for UK business tax policy to be revamped so that economic growth is stimulated, the tax system is simplified, and the burden of tax on entrepreneurial investments is reduced.  These recommendations formed the basis of the Institute’s response to HM Treasury’s Call for Evidence on Tax Supports for Entrepreneurs which closed last week. Chartered Accountants Ireland is the largest professional body on the island of Ireland and represents over 5,500 members in Northern Ireland.  UK Tax Manager with Chartered Accountants Ireland, Leontia Doran said   “As expected, today’s Spring Forecast contained no tax policy changes, however the Government cannot stand still in harnessing the talents and skills of the entrepreneurs and small businesses that are the heartbeat of the UK economy.  “In recent years, entrepreneurs have seen the value of their business eroded with higher taxes and employment costs. This leaves less money available to invest back into those businesses for their growth mission. For those selling their business, higher exit taxes means that there is less in their pocket for them to reinvest in other businesses. This will be further compounded by tax rises due to take effect from next month, including the reduced benefit of key Inheritance Tax reliefs.  “The Government recently consulted on how it can better support those investing in high growth companies. We urge the Government to launch a wider review of how the UK tax system can truly deliver a strategic long-term plan for entrepreneurial growth and investment.”    Northern Ireland businesses excluded from improved finance options from April 2026  In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the UK Government announced a series of increases to take effect from April 2026 to several of the UK’s venture capital schemes that provide smaller companies with access to finance and which provide a range of beneficial tax reliefs to the equity investor making these riskier investments.  However, the draft legislation for these changes means that certain Northern Ireland companies will not be able to take advantage of the increased thresholds for these finance schemes.  Doran noted  “We are concerned that the regional impact of UK tax policy has been ignored when it comes to Northern Ireland. For EU State Aid reasons, the Finance Bill specifically excludes Northern Ireland companies who trade in goods or electricity from benefiting from the increased limits which will be available when seeking external finance.  “This divergence in UK tax policy places these companies at a competitive disadvantage compared to similar businesses across the rest of the UK for no reason other than their location. This further hampers their growth and ultimately that of the wider economy.  “The Government needs to begin discussions on this issue as soon as possible via the existing UK-EU structures that underpin the Windsor Framework. This will likely require an application for State Aid approval.”   Northern Ireland Corporation Tax rate reduction  Specific policy measures are still needed to unlock Northern Ireland’s economic potential and its dual market access. As part of this, in 2026 the Institute has continued its campaign for a reduced rate of corporation tax more closely aligned with that across the rest of the island.   Cróna Clohisey, Director of Members and Advocacy, Chartered Accountants Ireland said  "The Chancellor spoke today about economic growth for all parts of the UK. Reducing the corporation tax rate for NI would grow the NI economy and ultimately increase the overall tax take from businesses and employees by attracting higher value FDI, which would support the creation of better jobs and opportunities for all businesses and citizens. Ireland’s successful industrial strategy was not the result of a single policy decision and certainly did not start with a big leap. That vision persisted and grew over the long term. We believe that Northern Ireland now needs that same clarity of purpose — and we call on the UK Government to share and support that vision.   “In the longer term, the gains for Northern Ireland would set a real benchmark for what can be achieved with ambitious tax policies. This is something that we know our members want and which we continue to advocate for in 2026.”   

Revenue has notified the Institute of several ROS updates to be implemented in March and April to the ROS Form 11 2025 and the Employer PAYE/PRSI/USC (PREM) registration which we have outlined as follows: ROS Form 11 2025 The issue which is preventing the Age Tax Credit from appearing on the Notice of Assessment (NOA) is to be resolved this evening, Monday 2 March, along with other minor form enhancements. Widowed Person/Surviving Civil Partner credit (with dependent child(ren)): Currently, there is an issue where the credit is calculating at €1,875 instead of the correct €2,000. A fix is scheduled for 20 April 2026 and Revenue will update and correct any impacted returns submitted prior to that date. A temporary workaround is available for hardship cases which require a resolution before the fix date in April. Other 2025 Form 11 final enhancements on 20 April will include: Sports Body Donations Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) Medical partnership declaration (section 1008A TCA 1997) Field to capture the value of exempt profits under section 216F TCA 1997 (certain musical instruments) CGT panel – additional text and a validation change. PREM registration PREM registration backdating changes will take effect this evening, Monday 2 March and it is expected that most taxpayers will not be impacted. In future, a taxpayer will only be able to backdate a PREM registration by one period via ROS. Revenue has informed us that if backdating is needed for more than one period, the taxpayer will be required to: proceed to register on ROS, i.e. the 1st of the current period, follow up via MyEnquiries outlining, the date they wish to backdate the registration to, the reason they require backdating of the registration, including the first employees’ commencement date, advise if making a voluntary disclosure has been considered in dealing with the retrospective element of the registration.

Revenue has published a further warning of fraudulent emails, SMS (text messages) and phone calls seeking personal information from taxpayers. Revenue has updated its website to highlight recent fraudulent emails claiming that taxpayers are ‘due an audit’ and directing them to click a link to schedule the audit by a specified date. Taxpayers who have provided Revenue account details in response to an email, SMS or phone call are advised to reset their password immediately. Taxpayers are advised to contact their bank or credit card provider if they have provided bank or card details.

Revenue has updated its guidance on the Fisher Tax Credit providing details on how to claim the credit during the relevant tax year through MyAccount or by completing an income tax return after the end of the year. A link to the guidance on provisions relating to residency of individuals has also been included.

Revenue has published new guidance outlining the rules for determining when an interest in a life assurance policy is deemed to become an interest in possession for the purposes of Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT).  The relevant rules as set out in section 41 CATCA 2003 together with details of the changes introduced by Finance Act 2025 are included in the new guidance. Finance Act 2025 introduced a new subsection 1(A) to section 41 CATCA 2003 to provide that, where a person, having received a gift or inheritance of an assurance policy, disposes of their interest in the policy before it matures or is surrendered for consideration, a charge to CAT will arise at the time of the disposal. The new subsection applies from 1 January 2026.

Revenue has updated the stamp duty manual providing guidance on the application of Consanguinity Relief. This relief provides for a one percent reduced rate of stamp duty on the conveyance and transfer of land between certain related parties. The updated guidance outlines that to qualify for the relief, the entire beneficial interest in the land must be transferred between related parties.

Revenue has issued a reminder that the deadline for filing the annual share related returns for 2025 is 31 March 2026 and has also updated its website to provide relevant tips and recommendations.  New versions of the relevant share scheme returns are now available and employers and trustees are advised to ensure the new version of the forms are used when completing and uploading details in respect of the return year 2025. The updated forms ESA, RSS1, ESS1 and KEEP1 have been annualized to allow for the new reporting year, 2025 and all cells that relate to “market value” data have been modified to allow entry and display of up to five decimal points. The following changes have been made to Forms SRSO1 and ESOT1: References to 2024 have been replaced with 2025. Reference to 31 March 2025 has been replaced with 31 March 2026. The .pdf files now contain free-text editable text fields. Some formatting and layout changes have been made to reflect latest accessibility guidance. Some linguistic changes were made to the Irish version of both returns to ensure they align with current Revenue Irish style guidance. In respect of the Form SRSO1 - a formatting error has been resolved on page 4 of the return. The text ‘4. Continued’ has been removed and the text ‘Replacement Options Exercised’ has been reformatted as a subheading rather than a main heading. This change applies to both the English and the Irish version of this return. In the reminder, Revenue outlined that failure to make a return by the due date may attract penalties.