Is there an Irish equivalent of an ISA?

There is now. The Budget documents name it the Investment Account; press coverage calls it the Irish ISA. Accounts open on 1 July 2027 and will be offered by MiFID-authorised firms, fund managers and insurers. There is no product you can open today.

What is the new government savings scheme in Ireland?

An account that lets ordinary savers invest without today's tax treatment of shares and funds. No capital gains tax, no exit tax and no eight-year deemed disposal inside it — instead a flat 1% tax a year on value above €50,000, with €12,000 a year in. Shares, bonds, funds and insurance-based investments can go in; your provider handles the tax.

When will the new savings scheme start?

The Budget documents say providers will launch accounts from 1 July 2027. That still depends on Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 passing, and timelines of this kind do move. The 1% tax, the tax-free threshold and the contribution limit are all set out already, so what is open is the legislation and the product detail rather than the figures.

How much can I put in tax-free?

Two separate limits, easily confused. You can pay in up to €12,000 a year — the contribution limit. Separately, there is no tax on the fund up to €50,000, and a 1% tax on the value above it, worked out on the average of daily values. A €52,000 account pays €20 for the year.

What is deemed disposal, and would this end it?

Deemed disposal treats most Irish fund and ETF holdings as if you had sold them every eight years, so tax falls due while you still hold the investment. It does not apply inside the Investment Account. Outside it the rule stands and the rate falls, from 38% to 35% — so funds held directly get cheaper, not simpler.

Is this the same as auto-enrolment or My Future Fund?

No. My Future Fund is the workplace pension scheme that started in January 2026 and enrols employees automatically through payroll. This is separate: a voluntary investment account you would open yourself. Being in one has no bearing on the other.

Not in the way the SSIA worked. The SSIA, which ran from 2001 to 2006, paid a State top-up of €1 for every €4 saved. This is not a top-up — it is lighter tax on money you invest yourself, and the accounts will be run by regulated commercial firms rather than by the State.

Do I have to wait until July 2027 to start saving?

Accounts do not open until 1 July 2027, so this is a question about the next nine months. Waiting costs you: money on deposit is losing purchasing power now. Not waiting costs you too, if you start something better held inside the account — and the €12,000 limit means a large balance cannot move in at once whenever you start. Worth talking through rather than guessing.

Should I stop my pension contributions or existing savings and redirect them?

There is nothing to redirect into yet — accounts do not open until 1 July 2027. A pension also gives income tax relief that this account does not, and the account takes at most €12,000 a year. Nothing announced lets you move existing investments across either: selling a fund to free up the money would trigger exit tax or capital gains tax on any gain. Talk to us before changing anything.

Would it replace my pension?

No, and it does not do the same job. A pension gives income tax relief at your marginal rate, and an employer can pay into it. The account offers neither — its advantage is lighter tax on growth and money you can reach before retirement. Where you have unused pension capacity, the relief may be the larger benefit.

What is the minimum I would be able to invest?

No minimum contribution is set, though a provider could impose one of its own. There is a maximum instead: €12,000 a year. The scheme is about investing money you already have rather than about earnings, so being out of work would not in itself rule you out.

Could I invest a monthly amount for each of my children?

Not at the outset. Accounts are for Irish residents aged 18 or over holding a PPSN, one each at launch. Money you give a child is a gift for Capital Acquisitions Tax purposes, and the €3,000 annual small gift exemption exists for regular giving of this kind — two parents can each use it for the same child.

What should I do now?

For most people, nothing that cannot be undone. The useful work is knowing what you hold on deposit, what tax your existing investments are exposed to, and how much unused pension capacity you have. Those three answers decide whether a €12,000-a-year account is worth much to you.

The Investment Account: Ireland's new savings scheme

A tax-advantaged account for ordinary savers — an Irish answer to the UK ISA, and the Budget calls it the Investment Account. Three figures set it: €12,000 a year in, no tax on the fund up to €50,000, and a flat 1% annual tax above that. Accounts open on 1 July 2027.

The three figures Call us: 087 148 9171

Woman reviewing savings and investment paperwork at a desk

Tax-free threshold: €50,000Tax-free thresholdNo tax on the fund up to this value
Tax above €50,000: 1% a yearTax above €50,000On the value held, in gaining and losing years alike
Annual contribution limit: €12,000Annual contribution limitThe most you can pay in across a year
Accounts open: 1 July 2027Accounts openThere is nothing to open before then

The problem it is meant to solve

How investing is taxed now, and inside the new account

Irish households hold more than €170 billion on deposit, most of it earning close to nothing. The scheme exists because the way investments are taxed discourages people from doing anything else with it.

How investing is taxed now, and inside the new account
Criterion	Investing today	Inside the Investment Account
Tax on gains from shares	Capital gains tax, 31% from 7 October 2026	No exit or capital gains tax
Tax on gains from most funds and ETFs	Exit tax, down from 38% to 35%	No exit tax
The eight-year ruleDeemed Disposal	Tax falls due every eight years even if you sell nothing	Does not apply
Tax on deposit interestDIRT	33%	No cash on deposit, so no interest and no DIRT
What you pay instead	Nothing until a gain or deemed disposal arises	1% tax a year on the value above €50,000, gained or lost
Who does the paperwork	Largely you, including the eight-year calculation	Your provider reports and pays the tax, so you file nothing

Tax on gains from shares

Worse:Investing today: Capital gains tax, 31% from 7 October 2026
Better:Inside the Investment Account: No exit or capital gains tax

Tax on gains from most funds and ETFs

Worse:Investing today: Exit tax, down from 38% to 35%
Better:Inside the Investment Account: No exit tax

The eight-year rule

Deemed Disposal

Worse:Investing today: Tax falls due every eight years even if you sell nothing
Better:Inside the Investment Account: Does not apply

Tax on deposit interest

DIRT

Neither better nor worse:Investing today: 33%
Neither better nor worse:Inside the Investment Account: No cash on deposit, so no interest and no DIRT

What you pay instead

Better:Investing today: Nothing until a gain or deemed disposal arises
Worse:Inside the Investment Account: 1% tax a year on the value above €50,000, gained or lost

Who does the paperwork

Worse:Investing today: Largely you, including the eight-year calculation
Better:Inside the Investment Account: Your provider reports and pays the tax, so you file nothing

Outside the account, exit tax on funds and ETFs falls from 38% to 35% — cheaper, but the eight-year deemed disposal rule was not abolished and still applies. Capital gains tax on shares is a separate rate and falls from 33% to 31% for disposals made on or after 7 October 2026.

The same money, three ways

What €50,000 becomes over 10 years

Going from deposit to investing changes what your money earns. Going from investing to the new account changes just the tax.

On deposit: €56,592 in total; 1.86% interest, 33% DIRT
Invested today: €65,266 in total; 35% exit tax, charged every eight years
In the Investment Account: €70,680 in total; No exit tax and no eight-year rule

How much?

Over how long?

Assumes 5% growth a year before 1% charges, and 1.86% on deposit. An illustration, not a personal recommendation.

Added each month

€0€1,000

Assumed annual growth, before charges

0%10%

Deposit interest rate

0%4%

Fund and advice charges

0%2.5%

Investing rather than leaving it on deposit is worth €8,674 here. The new account adds €5,414 on top. Which matters more depends on what your deposit earns and how the fund grows.

Each figure is what that option is worth after tax, on top of everything paid in. The yearly limit means a larger sum is invested outside the account first and moves in over several years, paying exit tax on the way. The account's 1% tax applies to the value held, in losing years as well as gaining ones. Outside the account, exit tax is 35%, down from today's 38%, and the eight-year rule still applies. The 1.86% deposit rate is the Central Bank's average for new household term deposits; most household money sits in overnight accounts nearer 0.14%. Tax rates can change, and these measures still have to be legislated.

Source: Revenue (DIRT, exit tax, deemed disposal) and Central Bank of Ireland (retail deposit rates), as at September 2026

Worth thinking about now

Three situations worth planning around early

Accounts do not open until 1 July 2027. That gap is the useful part: there is time to get your position straight before there is anything to open.

You have a large balance sitting on deposit
Cash earning less than inflation loses value quietly, and the €12,000 limit means a large balance cannot move across in one go. The sequence matters.
See what changes
You already hold funds or ETFs
You are inside the eight-year deemed disposal regime now, and that did not change. Whether existing holdings could move into a new account is not known.
What we know
You pay tax at the higher rate, or you are a director
A pension still gives relief at your marginal rate and this account does not. The two do different jobs, and the right order depends on your position.
Compare with a pension

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Different jobs, not competitors

The new account and a pension are not the same tool

A new tax-efficient account reads like a replacement for pension saving. It is not: the two are taxed differently, unlock at different times, and solve different problems.

The new account and a pension are not the same tool
Criterion	The Investment Account	Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive)
Relief when you put money in	None	Relief at your marginal rate, 20% or 40%
When you can get at it	No minimum holding or lock-in period	Usually 60; from 50 if you have left the employment
Tax while invested	1% tax a year on value above €50,000	No tax on growth inside the fund
Tax when you take the money out	No tax on withdrawal	Taxed as income, apart from the tax-free lump sum
Employer can contribute	No	Yes, and it is not treated as your income
How much you can put in	€12,000 a year	Age-related limits, higher for company structures
What it is good for	Money you may need before retirement	Money you will not need until you stop working

Relief when you put money in

Worse:The Investment Account: None
Better:Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive): Relief at your marginal rate, 20% or 40%

When you can get at it

Better:The Investment Account: No minimum holding or lock-in period
Worse:Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive): Usually 60; from 50 if you have left the employment

Tax while invested

Worse:The Investment Account: 1% tax a year on value above €50,000
Better:Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive): No tax on growth inside the fund

Tax when you take the money out

Better:The Investment Account: No tax on withdrawal
Worse:Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive): Taxed as income, apart from the tax-free lump sum

Employer can contribute

Worse:The Investment Account: No
Better:Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive): Yes, and it is not treated as your income

How much you can put in

Neither better nor worse:The Investment Account: €12,000 a year
Better:Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive): Age-related limits, higher for company structures

What it is good for

Neither better nor worse:The Investment Account: Money you may need before retirement
Neither better nor worse:Pension (PRSA, occupational, executive): Money you will not need until you stop working

Where you have unused pension capacity, marginal-rate relief may be the larger number — but the money is locked away for longer. Which order these belong in depends on when you will need the money: a planning question, not a product question. Tax reliefs described are those currently applying and can change, usually at Budget. Relief on a personal pension is not given unless you claim it from Revenue.

Where the idea comes from

Ireland is late to this, which is the good news

Most comparable countries already have a tax-advantaged wrapper for ordinary savers. Ireland's borrows from them.

United Kingdom — the ISA

A £20,000 annual allowance, into cash or investments. No tax on income or gains inside the wrapper, and none on the way out.

Sweden — the ISK

The closest match to Ireland's design: a flat annual tax on the value held rather than tax on gains. It applies in losing years as well as gaining ones.

Elsewhere in the OECD

France, Canada and Japan all run a version of the same idea. The recurring lesson is that the annual limit matters more to most savers than the headline rate.

See how the numbers compare

Meet your advisor

A free 45-minute look at where you actually stand

Shane O'Toole holds the CFP® mark, the global gold standard in financial planning, and has spent over two decades in Irish financial services. Both our planners are Certified Financial Planners.

We look at what you hold on deposit, what you already have invested, and what pension capacity you have not used.
You leave with a clear picture of your position. If the answer is that the new account does little for you, we will tell you that.

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Working with Shane and the team at Empowered Money has been a hugely positive experience.

Shane's clear, strategic financial advice gave me the confidence and ability to take over a year off work, to travel and spend time with family, while continuing to contribute to my pension and maintaining my financial stability.

Thanks to his guidance, I've now reentered the workforce in a strong position, with my long-term goals still fully on track. I'm incredibly grateful for his support, insight, and the peace of mind his expertise has provided.

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Customer of Empowered Money

The new savings scheme — common questions

Updated after the Budget speech. Last reviewed 6 October 2026.

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Warning: These figures are estimates only. They are not a reliable guide to the future performance of this investment.

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