VAT in Ireland in 2026

Consultoria EHERO

6 minutos de lectura

In Ireland, VAT is called Value-Added Tax —VAT— and, in Irish, Cáin Bhreisluacha. It has a standard rate of 23%, a reduced rate of 13.5%, a second reduced rate of 9%, a 4.8% reserved for the sale of live livestock, and a zero rate that applies to children’s clothing, books, and basic food. These are set by section 46 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010, and the zero-rated and reduced-rate products are listed in schedules 2 and 3.

Rate	Percentage	Applies to
General (standard rate)	23 %	By default: adult clothing and footwear, stationery, alcohol, chocolate and sweets, and everything not included in the lists for the other rates
Reduced (reduced rate)	13,5 %	Cakes, sponge cakes and biscuits without chocolate coating or decoration, food supplements, child car seats, condoms and other non-oral contraceptives, and tourist accommodation
Second reduced (second reduced rate)	9 %	Printed or digital magazines, gas and electricity until the end of 2030 and, from 1 July 2026, restaurant services, catering, hot takeaway food and hairdressing
Livestock (livestock rate)	4,8 %	Sale of live livestock: cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, deer and horses for agricultural or food use
Zero (zero rate)	0 %	Children’s clothing and footwear up to the size of a 10-year-old child, basic food, printed or digital books and newspapers, audiobooks and oral medicines for human use

Rates verified on 11 September 2026 against Revenue’s “Current VAT rates” table, the Irish tax authority (revenue.ie).

The zero rate, and the change on 1 July 2026

What sets Ireland apart is its zero rate, which applies to products that in Spain are taxed between 4% and 21%: children’s clothing and footwear up to the size of a 10-year-old child —as long as they are sold by size or age—, basic food, printed and digital books, and oral medicines for human use. Once the distance-selling threshold is exceeded, those products go to Ireland at 0%.

Bread that meets the legal definition is taxed at 0%, but garlic bread can be taxed at 13.5%; cakes and biscuits at 13.5%, and if the biscuit is covered or decorated with chocolate, at 23%. One rate per country is not enough: it has to be assigned product by product.

The year’s change came on 1 July 2026: restaurant services, catering, hot takeaway food and hairdressing dropped from 13.5% to 9%, with no end date in the law. Alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and bottled water remain at 23%. It has little effect on a goods store, but it makes previous tables obsolete.

Which VAT you charge customers in Ireland if you sell from another EU country

This is the part no rate table covers, and usually the real question. The rate you charge does not depend only on the destination: it depends on how much you sell to consumers in other EU countries.

Below €10,000 a year in distance sales to the rest of the EU — added up across all countries, not country by country — you charge your own country’s VAT.
Above that €10,000 you charge the destination VAT: 23% as the standard rate in Ireland, or the reduced rate that applies to the product. You declare it through the One Stop Shop (OSS) in your own country, with no need to register in the destination country.

The threshold adds up all your B2C sales to other EU countries plus digital services, and the switch does not wait for next year: the very sale that crosses the threshold already carries the destination rate.

Selling to a business with a valid EU VAT number is a different story: the sale goes without VAT because the customer accounts for it in their own country, but you have to check that number in VIES and keep proof of the check.

How to set this up in WooCommerce

WooCommerce includes country-based rates, but it does not distinguish rates within a country by product class or monitor the threshold for you. There are three things you need to set up:

A tax class for each rate you use, assigned product by product and not at store level.
VAT number validation at checkout against VIES for business customers, so VAT is not charged when the transaction is under the reverse charge mechanism.
Control of the €10,000 threshold, because the day it is exceeded the rates change immediately across all countries at once.

All three are covered by EHERO Woo VAT, which we built precisely because these are the three points where stores selling to the rest of the European Union break down.

Selling to other EU countries from WooCommerce?

EHERO Woo VAT applies each country’s rate product by product, checks VAT numbers against VIES at checkout and keeps an eye on the €10,000 threshold for you.

See EHERO Woo VAT →

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard VAT rate in Ireland in 2026?

23%. It is the standard rate and applies to everything not listed under the 13.5%, 9%, 4.8% or zero rate. Between September 2020 and February 2021 it was temporarily reduced to 21%, so any table from that period is outdated.

Does a customer in Northern Ireland pay Irish VAT?

No. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and applies UK VAT, with a standard rate of 20%. What separates it from Great Britain is that, for goods, it still follows EU VAT rules: your shipments there count toward the €10,000 threshold and, once exceeded, carry UK VAT. Services are not included in that regime.

I sell to Ireland from another EU country — which VAT do I charge?

Your own country’s VAT while your distance sales to the whole EU stay below €10,000 a year. Once you cross that threshold, the destination VAT (23% standard rate), declared through the One Stop Shop.

Do I have to register for VAT in Ireland?

Not if you only ship from your own country: that is what the One Stop Shop is for. You do if you store goods there — for example with Amazon’s fulfilment network — because stock held in the country creates a registration obligation regardless of how much you sell.