Budget 2024

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year – no, Santa isn’t on the way down the chimney just yet, it’s Budget announcement time. Budget 2024 was announced on October 10th with slightly less fanfare and dramatic predictions preceding this year’s announcement.

As always, we have compiled the main points which may be of interest to you, your business, and your clients from this year’s Budget announcement.

 

Business Owners and Entrepreneurs:

  • €250 million package announced for SMEs to moderate the impact of high energy costs.
  • Research and Development tax Credit to be increased to 30%.
  • Employment Investment Scheme claim amount doubled to €500,000.
  • Key Employee Engagement Programme extended into 2025.
  • An increase in Minimum Wage.
  • The tapering mechanism applied to benefit in kind relief for electric vehicles is being enhanced by extending the current Original Market Value deduction of €35,000 until the end of 2025, which in addition to the €10,000 above, means a deduction of up to €45,000 on the OMV.

Tax:

This year’s Budget announcement included quite a significant tax package (worth €1.3billion to be precise) which will be welcome news to all workers. The key points of this included:

  • Companies that are part of groups with revenues of €750M and above liable to tax @ 15%
  • An increase in tax credits by €100 to €1,875.
  • An increase in the ceiling for USC by €2,840 to €25,760.
  • An increase to the Standard Rate Band by €2,000 to €42,000.
  • A change in the higher rate of USC will reduce by 0.5% to 4%.
  • There will however be phased increases in PRSI.

 

Mortgages and Housing:

A new once-off scheme will give certain homeowners who have seen a sharp increase in their interest rates 20% tax relief on the increased amount paid in 2022 compared to 2023. This is set to benefit up to 160,000 homeowners.

 

Housing:

  • Rental tax credit to be increased from €500 to €750 – also applicable to parents paying for student children in full-time accommodation.
  • Landlords to benefit from a tax break which will rise each year they stay in the market until 2027.
  • Help to Buy Scheme extended to the end of 2025.
  • There will be a €250 million package for small and medium firms designed to help with the costs of doing business. It is intended to be less cumbersome than previous schemes designed to moderate the impact of high energy costs, and it is expected businesses will receive a once-off grant worth up to 50 per cent of their rates.

This year’s Budget also included a heavy focus on the area of Climate Change as well as the announcement of a new savings fund called the “Future Ireland Fund” which will utilise some corporate tax receipts.

We hope this breakdown has been informative for you and we look forward to sharing more in the coming days.