The Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation have published the Fiscal Monitor for April 2026 which confirms an exchequer deficit of €4.7 billion in the first four months of 2026. This compares to a surplus of €2.8 billion recorded for the same period last year.Although the underlying Exchequer balance fell by €4.2 billion (excluding Apple State Aid receipts), this decline is primarily attributable to transfers to the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.Total tax receipts collected to the end of April were €28 billion. While this represents a €0.6 billion decrease compared with the same period last year, if the once off receipts arising from the Apple case are excluded, total tax receipts were up on last year by €1.1 billion.Income tax receipts collected to the end of April 2026 were €12.4 billion which was an improvement of €0.7 billion (5.7 percent) on the same period in 2025.Corporation tax receipts of €0.5 billion were collected in the month of April which was an increase on the same month last year by €0.4 billion. On a cumulative basis, receipts of €3.5 billion were marginally higher than the same period in 2026, by €0.3 billion.As April is a non- VAT due month, receipts were modest at €0.2 billion, representing a €48 million decrease compared with the same month last year. On a cumulative basis, VAT receipts of €8.3 billion to the end of April are ahead of last year by €0.4 billion. Commenting on the figures, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris said:“Today’s Exchequer returns are encouraging, highlighting Ireland’s economic resilience during a period of deep global uncertainty. Employment is at record levels, and the income tax returns reflect a strong labour market. Overall tax revenues for April amounted to €5.3 billion, up by almost 8% on the same period last year, reflecting strong income tax, VAT and corporation tax growth for the year to date. These strong revenues provide us with the firepower necessary to support people throughout the coming months”

Revenue published its 2025 Annual Report last week together with a number of research and statistical papers. The report confirms that in 2025, Revenue collected a total of €157 billion, including €34.9 billion collected on behalf of other government departments, agencies, and EU Member States. Timely compliance rates remained strong in 2025, reaching 99 percent for large and medium cases and 93 percent for all other cases, marking a second consecutive year of improvement.The report also outlines that the top decile of workers paid 59 percent of all income tax collected and 62 percent of all Universal Social Charge (USC) collected. The income earned by the top decile represents about 39 percent of all income earned. This reflects the highly progressive nature of Ireland’s income tax system but also our disproportional reliance on high income earners. The concentration of income tax receipts from high income earners needs to be considered as part of a broader recalibration of income tax in Ireland. With almost 30 percent of workers contributing very little to the overall tax take, the Government should consider options to broaden the tax base to ensure we can sustain our tax revenues in a less favourable economic environment.Some more highlights from the report are included below:Interventions: During the year, 237,550 audit and compliance interventions were completed yielding €734 million. In addition, 189 tax avoidance cases were completed with a yield of €41.7 million. A provisional statistical report – Karshan Settlement Opportunity – was also released which outlined that Revenue received relevant submissions from 286 employers with total tax adjustments of circa €26.7 million that involve over 6,600 employees.Debt Management: On 31 December 2025 there were 18,653 phased payment arrangements (PPAs) in place, covering debt of almost €1 billion. This included €708 million of debt included in the Debt Warehouse Scheme. As of 31 December 2025, €251 million of warehoused debt was deemed uncollectable for reasons such as liquidation, examinership and bankruptcy, while €32 million is subject to debt collection.Compliance: The report outlines that 4.5 million electronic returns were filed and almost 16.5 million transactions were processed across all online platforms. The report notes that 6.7 million payroll submissions were successfully filed, alongside 13.5 million declared reportable benefits. Revenue’s statistical report on Income Tax 2025: Insights on PAYE Taxpayers includes further statistics relating to the ERR submissions.Correspondence and Helplines: During 2025 Revenue dealt with over 4.5 million items of correspondence and answered over 1.8 million telephone calls from taxpayers and tax agents. The ‘Hold my Place in Queue’ feature which was introduced in 2024 was expanded across the customer service case base in 2025, and over 27 percent of calls to the PAYE helpline during 2025 were handled by this facility. Promoting tax awareness: The public repository of Tax and Duty Manuals (TDM’s) which set out the rules and guidelines on a wide range of tax and duty matters was referenced in the report, noting there were 1,359 TDM’s issued as of 31 December 2025.VAT Modernisation: The report includes an article on VAT Modernisation (page 42) which provides a summary of the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package and outlines details of the planned phased rollout in Ireland.Property taxes: Another article in the report (page 22) provides information regarding the 2025 Local Property Tax (LPT) revaluation which resulted in 1.5 million LPT returns being filed. Ninety percent of the returns were filed online, with 80,000 returns submitted on 3 November alone. In addition, Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) was charged for the first time during 2025 and over 2,100 RZLT returns were filed in respect of this initial charging period, with associated liabilities of €49.2 million being paid. The full list of statistical analysis and research reports published alongside the Annual Report is:Corporation Tax: 2025 Payments and 2024 ReturnsValue Added Tax: Payments and Returns 2025Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) 2025Illegal Tobacco Product Research Surveys 2025Customs Duties in 2025Income Tax 2025: Insights on PAYE TaxpayersReview of Income Tax ReturnsBudget 2025 Compliance MeasuresKarshan Settlement OpportunitySurvey of Customs Community 2025

Last week, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach (“the Joint Committee”) published its report following the conclusion of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Finance (Tax Appeals and Fiscal Responsibility) Bill 2024. The Institute gave evidence in March as part of this process where we expressed our unequivocal support for the right to elect for a private hearing at the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC). We also outlined our grave concerns that the proposals would risk undermining the spirit of voluntary compliance that underscores our entire self-assessment model. We were invited to give evidence following our earlier submission to the Joint Committee in December of last year.The main recommendation of the Joint Committee to the Tánaiste (in his capacity as Minister of Finance) is to preserve the existing right of the taxpayer to request a private hearing at the TAC. In Section 2 of the report under the heading “Recommendations”, it states that the Joint Committee “strongly recommends that the Minister for Finance makes no change to the existing provisions in respect of public or private TAC hearings”. As part of this, the Joint Committee has also recommended assessing the degree to which the proposals would make the Irish tax system more punitive compared to our European peers. The Joint Committee has also made a series of secondary recommendations, which include requests for further clarification on broader constitutional and procedural concerns should the Tánaiste progress the proposals in their current iteration. These secondary recommendations regarding the matter of taxpayer privacy are as follows:Significant clarifying detail should be provided in relation to the criteria which would determine when an Appeals Commissioner would grant a private hearing.The Department of Finance should explore how the default constitutional requirement for public hearings could be satisfied while also preserving taxpayer privacy.An alternative dispute resolution mechanism should be introduced which would precede recourse to the TAC.The Joint Committee has also made additional recommendations in relation to the following matters:Addressing concerns around the publication of the appellants’ details and whether this is a proportionate interference with their privacy rights.Addressing the risk that determinations might disclose information which would be deemed private in other contexts.Introducing a requirement making it mandatory for evidence to be given under an oath or affirmation. Addressing concerns about the financial resources of the TAC,  when compared to appellants with substantially more financial resources.Mandating the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to produce official fiscal forecasts and expanding their endorsement function to policy costings. The Institute will continue engaging with government and other stakeholders throughout the summer as this matter continues to progress through the Oireachtas.

HMRC has asked us to share the below message about a growing area of confusion affecting some VAT‑registered businesses and their agents. HMRC is increasingly seeing VAT returns incorrectly submitted after the statutory due date when the 7th of the month falls on a weekend. In these cases, some taxpayers (or their agents) are relying on third‑party websites and AI which erroneously state that HMRC allows VAT returns to be submitted on the next working day if the statutory deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Unfortunately, this is incorrect and is resulting in late returns and late payments which is leading to late submission penalty points and late payment penalties.  HMRC is planning to share more information on this in May’s Agent Update but has asked us to share the below ahead of this.  “Key messages  An increasing number of businesses and agents are submitting late VAT returns where the statutory due date falls on the weekend. They incorrectly think that the return can be submitted on the next working day. This is incorrect and results in late submission points or penalties. VAT return submission deadlines are fixed in law and do not move when they fall on a weekend. VAT returns can be submitted at weekends. If a business cannot submit at the weekend, it should submit before the due date. Agents should review any of their external guidance or website content and correct it where it suggests that VAT returns can be submitted on the next working day.”The Institute reiterates the importance of members and businesses ensuring they only utilise reliable sources of information when assisting taxpayers with compliance work. Filing tax and VAT returns late based on erroneous information and guidance not only results in the taxpayer incurring penalties and interest, but it also damages the client relationship and undermines the important role that tax agents play in driving compliance with UK tax legislation. 

A new Directive aimed to harmonise certain aspects of insolvency rules within the EU has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union and is now in force. These new rules aim to make the EU more attractive to cross-border investors by reducing the difficulty of differing national insolvency rules. Each Member States has until 22 January 2029 to transpose the Directive into national law.

The European Commission have issued a call for views on draft delegated regulation for the VSME. Companies in the value chain of a company subject to mandatory sustainability requirements often face requests for information from their reporting business partner. These value-companies include those with fewer than 1 000 employees on average during the financial year. This initiative aims to help value-chain companies and companies not subject to mandatory sustainability reporting requirements disclose sustainability-related information, thereby reducing their reporting burden.The consultation period is 4 weeks and responses are due by 3 June. Commission adoption is planned by the end of Q2 2026. 

The European Commission have issued a call for views on the draft regulation for the Revised ESRS. The adoption of the revised European sustainability reporting standards represents a significant step towards simplifying sustainability reporting across the EU. Companies that remain within scope will benefit from clearer and more streamlined requirements, helping to reduce compliance burdens and costs while maintaining key policy objectives. The consultation period is 4 weeks and responses are due by 3 June. Commission adoption is planned by the end of Q2 2026. 

The Institute has published its Annual Report and Financial Statements 2025. The report can be accessed here.The report reflects on the first full year of Strategy27 which sets out the Institute's three strategic priorities:Educating: Inspiring the next generation of finance professionalsLeading: Guiding our members through changeDelivering for members: Supporting trusted business leaders.The report is published in advance of the Institute's AGM which takes place on Friday 29 May 2026.

In Irish news, Revenue has published its service delivery report for the first quarter of 2026, and the Visual Effects Uplift has been approved by the European Commission.  In UK news, HMRC has released further guidance on the new mandatory tax adviser registration which commences from 18 May 2026, and we remind readers that 31 May 2026 is the 2025/26 P60 deadline. In International news, the OECD publishes the Global Minimum Tax Implementation Toolkit.Ireland1. Revenue has released its Q1 2026 service delivery report, providing data and insights on real-time reporting. 2. The European Commission has approved the Visual Effects (VFX) Uplift for the Film Tax Credit.UK3. Read our reminder that mandatory tax adviser registration will commence from 18 May 2026.4. 31 May 2026 is the deadline for employers to distribute the 2025/26 P60s.International5. The Global Minimum Tax Implementation Toolkit has recently been published by the OECD.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. You can also read this week’s Cross-border developments and trading corner.  

Ahead of mandatory tax adviser registration (MTAR) commencing in two weeks’ time from 18 May 2026, HMRC has published further guidance on GOV.UK which focuses on the sanctions which HMRC have under this legislation. The Institute will be launching a guidance page on its website in the coming weeks to help members prepare for and implement this significant change. In the meantime readers should read previous articles in Chartered Accountants Tax News on MTAR from February 2026, March 2026, and in the February 2026 edition of tax.point.Members are advised to begin their preparations now for MTAR. Tax adviser firms should act as soon as possible to:Familiarise themselves with the legislation and monitor and assess HMRC guidance and information as and when it is published. This may necessitate appointing a specific team of individuals within the firm who will be responsible for implementing the legislation and ensuring it is complied with both at the time of registration and in the future,Identify who their relevant individuals are and how many the rules require them to include in their application,Determine their registration timeline,Audit, check, and document whether or not the firm and all relevant individuals meet the registration conditions and take remedial action where necessary, andEnsure that the risk of suspension/prohibition, including the impact of this on their clients, and how this would be managed is built into the firm’s contingency planning. The newly published sanctions guidance is as follows:What happens if you interact with HMRC when you are unregistered or suspended as a tax adviser, and If you disagree with HMRC's decision about your tax adviser registration.These pages complement previous guidance which is as follows:Who needs to register and by which date, andThe registration conditions tax advisers need to abide by.HMRC is working on publishing additional guidance, including a technical manual and an interactive tool to help agents check whether they need to register. These are expected to be published ahead of commencement on 18 May. 

The deadline for employers to provide employees with their P60 for 2025/26, either on paper or electronically, is Sunday 31 May 2026. The P60 summarises the employee’s total pay and deductions for the year. By that date, employers must give a P60 to all employees on payroll who were working for them on the last day of the tax year (5 April 2026). If an employer is exempt from filing payroll online, copies of P60s can be ordered from HMRC.  

Last month we asked members to share their views on two open consultations which will affect companies. Today we are issuing a reminder that the deadline for sharing your feedback is Friday 8 May 2026.