Some €4.2bn was collected in Value Added Tax (Vat), which was up by €0.1bn on the same month last year. January is usually the strongest Vat month of the year, as it takes in the Christmas trading period of November and December.
A 3.3pc increase on January 2025 reflects the fact that most traders had a solid performance during their busiest period, with consumer confidence remaining strong. The Department of Finance said that the annual growth figure is skewed by a technical factor, and really stands at 6pc.
Income tax receipts of €3bn were recorded last month, which was €30m or 1pc up year-on-year. This follows a year of stable growth in employment. The jobless rate in January was 4.7pc, according to figures published earlier by the Central Statistics Office. This was down from a recent peak of 5pc in July.
Corporation tax was down by €32m in January to €58m, but it is not an important month for this heading, and the year-on-year comparison is skewed by the Apple payment of back tax following a European Court decision.
This also interferes with comparisons of the Exchequer surplus, which was €0.1bn in January, down €3.5bn from January 2025, when the Apple payment was still coming in. When that is discounted, the Exchequer balance was down €1.8bn, but this was due to money being put into the State’s long-term savings accounts.
Tax revenues overall in January came in at €8.5bn, which was 0.6pc or €48m up on the same month last year, again when the Apple tax payment is excluded.
This trend is critical to watch as we see continued focus on unemployment figures
Daryl Hanberry, Deloitte Ireland’s Head of Tax & Legal, said that in terms of the two key metrics, income tax shows some cause for concern while growth in Vat remains strong.
“Income tax receipts were up €30m, or 1pc, compared to January 2025. This follows modest growth of 0.3pc in December and an overall 4.3pc increase in 2025,” Mr Hanberry said. “This trend is critical to watch as we see continued focus on unemployment figures, which may influence spending decisions in the Government’s next budget.”
Total expenditure, meanwhile, was €11.8bn. Gross voted expenditure of €9.7bn was up 5.1pc year-on-year. This is line with the promise made by Finance Minister Simon Harris to limit annual increases in public spending to 6pc per annum for the next five budgets. The promise was made in a medium-term fiscal plan the Department of Finance sent to Brussels late last year.
Non-voted expenditure in January was €2.1bn, which was €1.6bn up on the previous year due to the transfers into the long-term savings funds.
Excise duty receipts of €0.5bn were down by €37m on last year, while stamp duty of €158m was down €8m, and acquisitions tax was down by €6m to €24m. Capital gains tax receipts, at €110m, were down by €107m.
Mr Hanberry noted that capital taxes have started slowly, despite a strong year in 2025. “Deloitte has called for changes in the Capital Gains Tax rate to stimulate growth and we will see over the coming months whether the lack of change to the rate in this area will have a negative impact on activity and Exchequer receipts.”
Commenting on the figures, Mr Harris said: “Vat receipts in January – which capture the Christmas period – were solid, pointing to the underlying strength in our economy. Income tax growth was slightly lower, which may in part reflect more taxpayers claiming reliefs.
“More broadly, our labour market remains in good shape, with average wage growth of around 4pc to 5pc in recent quarters and wages continuing to rise at a level well above inflation.”
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