Tax take last month rose 12.7% on same period last year

Last month, the amount of income tax collected by the State increased by 12.7% to €3.3 billion compared to July 2025, indicating a healthy jobs market in the lead-up to the Budget. VAT payments rose by 17.5% to €3.8 billion, with strong activity across various sectors driving the growth. Corporation tax payments, mainly from multinationals, increased by 5.1% to €1.3 billion.

The Exchequer returns published by the Department of Finance reveal that taxes collected so far this year have risen by 6% or €3.4 billion, excluding payments from Apple's tax case. Income tax is up 7.5% to €21.8 billion, and VAT is up 9.7% to €16.2 billion in the first seven months of the year. Corporation tax has grown by 4.7% to €15 billion, including new payments from the 15% top-up tax for large companies, as part of the OECD/G20 tax arrangements.

The Coalition is successfully managing spending within the Department of Finance's forecast, despite concerns about potential expenditure overruns from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Spending has increased by 7.4% in the seven months to the end of July, reaching €64.9 billion, but is 1.8% below the department's latest projection.

Capital spending is 10.7% below forecast, while current spending is 0.5% under the projection. The underlying exchequer balance has declined by €1.4 billion due to transfers to two large State investment funds. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris emphasized the robustness of the economy and the importance of maintaining a sensible and sustainable fiscal policy in a deeply uncertain world.