From 1 January 2026, employees aged over 22 who earn €20,000 or more annually and are not currently contributing to a retirement savings plan through payroll will be automatically enrolled in the state-sponsored MyFutureFund scheme. The Government confirmed an allocation of €154 million in Budget 2026 to fund its contributions to the new MyFutureFund scheme. The Department of Social Protection has issued a press release providing details of upcoming free information webinars being run in November which will provide details and guidance to employers.

The Department of Finance published additional reports on Budget Day 2026 providing a review of various taxation measures. These included a Funds Review Implementation Plan, a report on the Use of Carbon Tax Funds, a review of the Foreign Earnings Deduction and a review of the Special Assignee Relief Programme.

As part of the Budget 2026 publications, the Department of Finance has published the first review of the Rent Tax Credit. Introduced in the Finance Act 2022, the Rent Tax Credit (RTC) has been reviewed using administrative data from its initial years of operation, 2022 and 2023. The review presents early findings and draws preliminary conclusions on the credit’s effectiveness and value for money. Some of the main findings from the review include: The most represented cohorts among RTC claimants are young adults between 21 and 40 years old, residents in Dublin, and single persons, 7 per cent of taxpayer units claiming the RTC had an income over than €100,000 in 2022, and The estimated cost for 2024 and 2025 of the credit is approximately €350 million in each year, which would make the RTC one of the top ten costing tax expenditures for 2024.

Following an announcement made on Budget Day, the Department of Finance has published an Action Plan for the reform of Ireland’s Taxation Regime for Interest. The Action Plan was designed considering the feedback received during the comprehensive public consultation on the tax treatment of interest in Ireland which was launched in September 2024. The responses to the public consultation outlined the need for a fundamental overhaul of the existing framework governing the taxation and deductibility of interest. The Action Plan outlines a phased approach for implementing reforms aimed at creating a more streamlined system that enhances Ireland’s competitiveness while safeguarding the tax base. A feedback statement will be issued in November, which will focus on the underlying framework for the taxation and deductibility of interest in Ireland. The responses will inform legislative changes in Finance Bill 2026 and further reform areas will be addressed in subsequent phases.

In case you missed it last week, you can find our full coverage of Budget 2026 in our Special Budget 2026 Tax Newsletter which issued last week following the announcement of this year’s package. You can also find more information on all-things Budget in the Institute’s Budget 2026 Hub.

The Institute recently provided feedback to Revenue regarding the following issues identified with the treatment of employer PRSA contributions on the 2024 Form 11: Revenue guidance on completing the 2024 Form 11 on page 46 directs the taxpayer to include details of the employer PRSA contribution in line 239 of the 2024 Form 11 rendering it taxable income. This treatment is no longer applicable since 1 January 2023. Revenue’s Return Preparation Facility (RPF) and online Form 11 is aggregating the employer’s PRSA contribution with the employee’s PRSA contribution when computing the tax relief. This treatment is no longer applicable since 1 January 2023. Following our engagement, Revenue has issued updated guidance on the Income tax return form 2024 which includes  a direction in paragraph 8 for the taxpayer to leave the employer’s PRSA contribution box blank on the 2024 Form 11. This ensures that the employer’s PRSA contribution is not aggregated with the employee’s PRSA contribution when computing the tax relief. Revenue has also informed us that the Guide to Completing 2024 Pay & File Self- Assessment Return will be updated regarding these issues. In addition, the updated guidance provides information for non-resident landlords when making a claim for Residential Premises Rental Income Relief (RPRIR). Details are also included in the guide on the changes to PRSI contributions for those aged sixty-six and over, including details on how to claim an exemption for PRSI on the 2024 Form 11.

During his Budget 2026 address, Minister Donohoe announced that Revenue will begin a gradual introduction of electronic invoicing (e-Invoicing) and real time reporting for businesses trading cross-border with other EU businesses. Following this announcement, Revenue has published a paper outlining details of its preparations for implementing the European Union's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) requirements. From July 2030, businesses that trade cross border must adopt these new e-Invoicing systems to retain access to zero percent VAT arrangements that support single market trading. Revenue will roll out the adoption of the directive in phases, starting in November 2028 with large VAT-registered corporates being required to implement mandatory e-Invoicing and real time reporting for domestic business-to-business (B2B) transactions. From November 2029, under phase two, mandatory e-Invoicing and real-time reporting for domestic B2B transactions will be extended to all VAT-registered businesses who engage in cross-border EU B2B trading. Finally, under phase three, from July 2030, mandatory e-Invoicing and real-time reporting will apply to all cross-border EU B2B transactions across all member states.     From November 2028, all businesses must have the capability to receive e-Invoices in the required structured format, even if they are not yet mandated to issue them under the phased rollout. Under ViDA, suppliers must issue e-Invoices within ten days of the transaction and digitally report specified data to their national tax authority. The new system will eliminate the reporting requirement of the monthly VIES returns, further reducing the administrative burden for businesses. Revenue has confirmed that all stakeholders will receive support throughout the transition, with additional opportunities for engagement as the reforms evolve, undergo testing, and are implemented. The Institute, under the auspices of CCAB-I had responded to the public consultation on Modernising Ireland's Administration of VAT – Real-time Digital Reporting and Electronic Invoicing in January 2024 and continues to engage with Revenue on the matter via the TALC forum.

The Institute recently responded to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee inquiry into ‘Draft Finance Bill 2025-26’ which closed last week. The submission focused solely on the draft Finance Bill clauses which will restrict the scope of agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) from April 2026 and the disproportionate economic impact of these, especially in Northern Ireland (NI). The Institute is calling again for the Government to reframe this draft legislation ahead of April 2026, or alternatively, that the Government exclude NI from these changes. The Institute is scheduled to deliver oral evidence to this Committee in the Palace of Westminster next Monday 20 October. Our full response to this call for evidence will be published in due course in the Tax Representations section of our website, once the Committee has published its final report. The Institute’s response follows on from ongoing lobbying earlier this year when we wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and responded to the related consultation. You can read more about the Institute’s work in this space since the Autumn Budget 2024 announced these changes via various stories in Chartered Accountants Tax News at the following links: https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/News/institute-meets-hmrc-to-discuss-the-autumn-budget-2024, https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/News/institute-tells-government-to-reframe-its-proposed-policy-changes-on-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief, https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/News/treasury-responds-to-institute-on-inheritance-tax-reliefs, https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/News/l-day-confirms-changes-to-key-inheritance-tax-reliefs-will-proceed-as-planned, and https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/News/institute-meets-with-local-government-to-discuss-april-2026-restrictions-to-iht-reliefs.

Last week the Institute was represented at an event in London ‘Remote work across borders: Navigating the legal and regulatory maze’ which discussed the complexity of working cross-border from a wide range of angles, including tax. In attendance was the Institute’s UK Tax Manager, Leontia Doran. Leontia was accompanied by Rose Tierney, the Institute’s representative from the NI Tax Committee and Tax Committee South cross-border and remote/hybrid working sub-group which was established in September 2024. Rose, a leading and well-known expert on this issue, co-authored the 2024 LEEF report commissioned by the ESRI ‘A study into the current conditions of the island of Ireland labour market, and challenges and opportunities for effective operation for workers and businesses across the island.’ Rose’s comments at the recent Centre for Cross-Border Co-operation all island labour market conference also featured widely in the media. At the event, Rose participated in a panel discussion with other experts. This included Bill Dodwell, former Director of the Office of Tax Simplification and now a non-Executive Director on HMRC’s Board, in addition to representatives from the ATT, the CIOT and other specialists. The panel discussed a range of case studies and the issues arising from modern working practices. The aim of the event was to highlight how wide ranging and complex the issues are from a tax, legal, finance, HR, data protection, insurance, and compliance perspective. The event has made clear that there is a need for the UK Government to recognise the complexities and consider policy changes to support cross-border working in a way that both embraces modern working practices and positively impacts the UK labour market and economy. Plans are also being developed to form a UK wide working group to lobby Government, in which the Institute is aiming to be a participant. What was also clear from the event is that these issues come into even sharper focus for cross-border workers on the island of Ireland. In effect, the issues that these workers have been facing for many years are now being faced by mobile employees across the globe. The Institute’s cross-border and remote/hybrid working sub-group comprises employment tax specialists in both the UK and Ireland and was set up last year to discuss and take forward the complex issues which arise from cross-border and remote/hybrid working on the island of Ireland. As part of its initial work, three key issues identified by the working sub-group featured in a recent letter by the Institute to HMRC’s new CEO JP Marks.

In this week’s miscellaneous updates: The latest HMRC Stakeholder Digest from 2 October is available, HMRC is holding a range of webinars for employers, these include a webinar later this month looking at phones, internet and homeworking expenses, and another in December which will examine expenses and benefits for employees with more than one workplace, HMRC’s Guidelines for Compliance team has published Help with Freeports — GfC14, and The Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Act 2025 has received Royal Assent. This legislation allows councils in Wales to introduce an overnight visitor levy and requires the registration of all visitor accommodation providers in Wales.

In this week’s cross-border developments and trading corner, we bring you the latest guidance updates and publications. The most recent Trader Support Service bulletin is also available as is the latest Brexit and Beyond newsletter from the Northern Ireland Assembly EU Affairs team. HMRC has also sent more communications on the move to ICS2 and how to prepare, with documents specifically tailored to hauliers and carriers, intermediaries and agents and traders. Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications This week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows: Getting a customs guarantee, Check if you need a customs guarantee, Transit newsletters — HMRC updates, Section 21 — imports, Moving licensed goods into or out of Northern Ireland, Apply for a manual release of certain plant, animal and food products, Maritime ports and wharves location codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service, and List of customs training providers.

Chartered Accountants Ireland has responded to the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB’s) request for information on the post-implementation review of IFRS 16- Leases. IFRS 16 came into effect in January 2019 and the IASB, in line with their due process procedures, are conducting a review of the standard to assess whether it is broadly working as intended for investors, companies, auditors and regulators. In its response to this request for information, the Institute’s Financial Reporting Technical Committee noted that IFRS 16 was “operating well for the vast majority of leases and that it has led to an improvement in financial reporting”. The Committee also highlighted some areas where the requirements of IFRS 16 remain unclear and where clarifications and additional guidance would be beneficial. Some of these areas include. Clarification in relation to some sale and leaseback scenarios, including sales in a corporate wrapper. Clarification regarding lessor accounting, including some scenarios where inappropriate accounting outcomes might arise. The impact that inflation may have on discount rates used, which is of particular relevance in today’s environment. Interaction between IFRS 9 and IFRS 16. Clarification regarding “in-substance fixed payments”, including the need for guidance regarding assets that generate nature-dependent electricity. The treatment of non-monetary consideration for leases (such as rental payments being based on potential produce from leased land).