The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) recently published its Spring 2026 Quarterly Economic Commentary, highlighting a higher inflation outlook, driven mainly by the potential effects of the conflict in the Middle East. The ERSI notes that the uncertainty the conflict has created has already weakened the global outlook and increased the risk of renewed, sustained inflationary pressures in Ireland and internationally. On a more positive note, the report outlines that the economy performed strongly in 2025, with exports rising by 9.6 percent, even though growth slowed as the year went on. Modified domestic demand grew by 4.9 percent over the year. Despite the inflationary pressures linked to the Iran crisis, the ESRI expects the domestic economy to continue expanding in 2026 and 2027, with forecasted MDD growth of 2.1 percent in 2026 and 2.8 percent in 2027. While recent international events are shaping short‑term economic considerations, the ESRI cautions that there are still important longer‑term risks to Ireland’s economic success. These include the highly concentrated nature of Ireland’s tax revenues, the imbalance in productivity and performance between foreign-owned and domestic firms, ongoing budgetary overruns and the continued challenge of addressing infrastructure deficits, especially regarding housing. Towards the end of 2025, labour‑market data suggested some softening, with one area of concern being an apparent rise in youth unemployment.

HMRC has recently published for technical consultation draft secondary legislation for the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). This includes some of the CBAM administrative requirements, including those on embodied emissions and the monitoring and verification of emissions data. The consultation is open for responses until 21 May 2026. By way of reminder, the UK CBAM is a new tax which aims to ensure that highly traded carbon intensive goods imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to that paid by manufacturers producing the same goods in the UK. Currently, UK manufacturers are subject to carbon pricing for direct emissions under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.  The UK’s CBAM is due to commence from 1 January 2027 and will apply to goods from the following industrial sectors: aluminium,  cement,  fertiliser,  hydrogen, and  iron and steel.  

Revenue has updated its guidance on Revised Entrepreneur Relief to reflect the Finance Act 2025 amendment increasing the lifetime limit on capital gains qualifying for the relief to €1.5 million with effect from 1 January 2026. The content of the guidance has also been restructured with additional examples provided on the relief.

In this week’s detailed miscellaneous updates which you can read more about below, the April 2026 Employer Bulletin and the most recent Agent Update have both been published by HMRC. Other updates to be aware of this week are as follows: HMRC has advised that new VAT registrations may not appear on HMRC’s Check a UK VAT number online service from 9am today, Monday 20 April, until 5pm Friday 24 April 2026, From 1 April 2026, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) ceased to exist independently and is now providing its services as part of HMRC. A Press Release has been published explaining this which also advises that the VOA’s customer helpline and online contact form continue to be available as normal, Until 15 June 2026, the Scottish Government is consulting on proposals relating to its communications to taxpayers, HMRC recently published a new online tool Tell HMRC about loans that participators have repaid in full. The tool can be used by company officers, participators in close companies and authorised agents, A HMRC webinar being held on 23 April 2026 which will examine statutory maternity and paternity pay is still open for registrations, The deadline for submitting and paying the annual tax on enveloped dwellings for the return period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 is 30 April 2026, The latest schedule of HMRC Talking Points live and recorded webinars for tax agents are available for booking. Spaces are limited, so take a look now and save your place, and finally, Check HMRC’s online services availability page for details of planned downtime and the online services affected. April 2026 Employer Bulletin The April edition of the Employer Bulletin brings you all the latest HMRC updates and guidance to support employers, payroll professionals, and agents. Included in this edition are important updates on: key dates and processes for reporting benefits in kind, Real Time Information submission problems: incorrect handling of payroll ID, the removal from April 2026 of employee tax relief for non-reimbursed homeworking expenses, the official rate of interest from 6‌‌‌ April 2026, and Statutory Sick Pay changes from April 2026: what employer’s need to know. Agent Update 142 Agent Update: Issue 142 is available now. Get the latest guidance and information on the following in this edition: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, Corporation Tax late filing penalties – temporary delay to notices, and the tax rules for non-UK domiciled individuals have changed.

Last week, the Government agreed a new package of fuel measures to support the transport, farming and fisheries sectors which include reductions in excise duty on diesel, petrol and marked gas oil.  The reductions will take effect from midnight, Tuesday 14 April 2026 and run until 31 July 2026. The measures are in addition to the €250 million in targeted supports previously allocated to assist those experiencing real and immediate financial pressure. As part of the ongoing engagement with the European Commission, the measures announced by Government include the following: Excise on diesel to be reduced by a further 10 cent (VAT inclusive), bringing the total reduction on diesel to 32 cent (VAT inclusive), Excise on petrol to be reduced by a further 10 cent (VAT inclusive), bringing the total reduction on petrol to 27 cent (VAT inclusive), Excise on marked gas oil (green diesel) to be reduced by a further 2.4 cent (VAT inclusive), bringing the total reduction on green diesel to 7.4 cent (VAT inclusive), the overall reductions include the already announced NORA levy reduction, and  the planned increase in carbon tax, scheduled for May 1st, will be deferred until the Budget. This will impact green diesel and non-propellant fuels such as kerosene heating oil, natural gas and solid fuels. The Government plans to establish a new Road Transporters Support Scheme (RTSS) to support the haulage and coach sector. In addition, a comprehensive €100 million Fuel Subsidy Support Scheme was announced to assist farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers facing unprecedented increases in fuel costs. Following the announcement, Revenue updated its Excise Duty guidance on Energy Products and Electricity Taxes to reflect these changes. The guidance on the relief for increase in carbon tax on farm diesel has also been revised to reflect an extension of relevant existing rates and to include a step-by-step guide on how claim relief for carbon tax on farm diesel under section 664A TCA 1997.  

The Living City Initiative is a scheme of property tax incentives covering various reliefs aimed at the regeneration of certain areas. The scheme offers relief from income tax or corporation tax for qualifying expenditure on the refurbishment and/or conversion of buildings located in Special Regeneration Areas (SRAs). Last week the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, signed orders to formally designate five additional towns, Athlone, Drogheda, Dundalk, Letterkenny and Sligo under the Initiative.  In addition, Revenue has published updated guidance on the Living City Initiative and has also published new guidance on different elements of the relief including,  owner occupier residential relief and commercial, rented residential and living over the shop elements of the relief. The guidance includes details of the Finance Act 2025 amendments to the Living City Initiative which took effect from 1 January 2026 and include: The introduction of section 372AAE into the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, which provides for a new living over the shop element to the scheme. Relief is available in respect of the conversion or refurbishment of certain commercial or industrial properties (which were rateable premises) into residential units. An amendment to the pre-1915 building age requirement that applied to the owner occupier and rented residential elements of the scheme, to provide that residential premises built before 1975 in Special Regeneration Areas will be eligible for relief. Confirmation that relief for qualifying expenditure on the rented residential, commercial and living over the shop elements of the scheme is allowed over two years at a rate of 50 percent per annum. Provision for up to a maximum of €300,000 in tax relief per undertaking over a rolling 3-year period for the rented residential, commercial and living over the shop element of the scheme and thereby removing the limit of €200,000 per project. The removal of the restriction on the rented residential and commercial elements of the scheme which required three times the amount of a grant received or receivable to be deducted from qualifying expenditure. It now instead provides that the amount of the grant received is to be deducted. The removal of the restriction on property developers or connected parties claiming relief in certain circumstances.  

In this week’s cross-border 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. And finally the Government’s Borders Directorate Communications Team has sent an email about changes to the process for returning consignments rejected at EU Border Control Posts which come into effect from today, Monday 20 April 2026. The email also includes suggested actions to take. Miscellaneous guidance updates and publications This week’s miscellaneous guidance updates and publications are as follows: Amend or cancel a Customs Declaration Service import declaration, Report a problem using the Customs Declaration Service, The Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, Customs declarants and declaration volumes for international trade in 2025, Method 1 - Transaction value, Advance valuation rulings, Customs valuation, Reference Document for The Customs (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, UK import trade in goods by country of origin and country of dispatch, 2024, Amend or cancel non-special procedure supplementary declarations, External temporary storage facilities codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service, and Internal temporary storage facilities (ITSFs) codes for Data Element 5/23 of the Customs Declaration Service.

TaxSource Total is Chartered Accountants Ireland searchable, complete and freely available online tax resource. This excellent online resource has now been updated for Finance Act 2025. The legislation available includes the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the Stamp Duty Consolidation Act 1999, the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003, and the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010.  (Please note that previous users may need to clear their cache (Ctrl+F5) to enable access to the updated content.) 

The European Commission has published a study on wealth taxation  covering net wealth, capital and exit taxes to provide a better understanding of these taxes, their interrelation and consequences. 

The OECD has published the April 2026 Secretary-General Tax Report to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. The report outlines recent developments in international tax co-operation, including the implementation of the BEPS minimum standards, the global minimum tax framework, and tax transparency.

This week was the culmination of the Institute's representation in two awards competitions. At the Education Awards Chartered Accountants Ireland Skillnet was thrilled that the Professional Scepticism Virtual Reality Programme (VR) Training Programme won in the Excellence in Education by a Professional Body category. This award recognises the professional body in Ireland that best demonstrates excellence in the delivery and development of knowledge or skills in a profession.  Presenting the award, the judges noted: "This entrant secured the judges' attention through the world’s only professional-scepticism VR training programme. The immersive audit environments, real-time feedback, and evidence-based design provide a transformative learning experience. Adoption across multiple universities and professional contexts highlights its sector relevance, while student feedback reflects significant skills development and increased confidence in applying professional scepticism. This is a creative and engaging use of VR to enhance the learning experience for junior and trainee auditors." At the same event, the Institute was delighted to be shortlisted in the Best Online Education category. This category recognises the institution that demonstrates excellence in the development and integration of its online learning experience for its students. We were very proud to be shortlisted and congratulate the category winners, Flúirse. In addition, we were honoured to be finalists in the Overall Excellence category – a judges panel selection from winners of all 32 category winners on the night – which recognises exceptional achievement by a higher education institution in Ireland. We were privileged to have been considered and congratulate the category winner: Ulster University. Elsewhere, at the Business & Finance ESG Awards, we were very proud to have been shortlisted for the ESG Company Award (SMEs). This category recognises SMEs that excel in implementing ESG strategies, and that demonstrate commitment to sustainable practices. It was a competitive field and we warmly congratulate the category winners, GORM. The Institute is very grateful to all who contributed to the work on behalf of members and students which these accolades represent. 

Chartered Accountants Ireland has completed a wide‑ranging programme of member and stakeholder engagement across Australia, reinforcing the Institute’s commitment to supporting members living and working overseas while strengthening Ireland’s international economic and professional relationships.  The visit was led by Institute President Pamela McCreedy, joined by Global Member Manager Gillian Duffy, who represented the Institute across a series of high‑level engagements in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The programme highlighted the significant contribution made by the more than 1,600 Chartered Accountants based in Australia, working across all sectors of the economy and playing a vital role in strengthening links between Ireland and Australia.  Key engagements included meetings with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and The Ireland Funds Australia, as well as discussions with the Department of Foreign Affairs through the Consulate General of Ireland in Sydney. These conversations focused on trade and investment, talent mobility, and the skills and leadership needed to support Irish companies scaling internationally and multinational firms investing in Ireland.  A centrepiece of the visit was the President’s Dinner in Sydney, attended by over 200 members and guests from across the Irish–Australian business community, representatives from Ireland’s state agencies, professional bodies and partner organisations, as well as leaders from the Institute’s Australian member networks. Speaking on the night, President Pamela McCreedy reflected on the evolving role of Chartered Accountants and the importance of trust, transparency and professional judgement in establishing the profession’s position as a source of Trusted Business Leadership in Australia and globally. With a growing presence in Australia, Institute members continue to benefit from their community support offered by member chapters. She encouraged members to stay connected and to get involved.  During the member event in Melbourne, Pamela noted the strength of the Chartered community. From one of the newest of the Institute’s global member chapters in Brisbane through to its biggest in Sydney to her final engagement in Melbourne, she was reminded of the achievements and successes of peers and how experiences shape careers and whole communities.   Maintaining a visible and active presence across Australia enables Chartered Accountants Ireland to advocate effectively for members, contribute to international leadership and finance discussions, and deepen relationships with the organisations shaping Ireland’s global economic footprint. The visit also reinforced the Institute’s unique role as an all‑island professional body with members working across every sector of business worldwide.