Budget 2018 – Highlights
USC bands and rates
Incomes of €13,000 or less are exempt
- €0 to €12,012 @ 0.5%
- €12,013 to €19,372 @ 2%
- €19,372 to €70,044 @ 4.75%
- €70,045 to €100,000 @ 8%
- PAYE income in excess of €100,000 @ 8%
- Self-employed income in excess of €100,000 @ 11%
Minimum wage
To increase by 30 cent per hour to €9.55 p/h on 1st January 2018
Tax credits
Home carer tax credit – an increase in the home carer tax credit from €1,100 to €1,200
Earned income credit – increase in earned income credit of €200 to €1,150 pa for the self-employed and business owners/managers who are ineligible for a PAYE credit on their income
Standard rate Band:
Increase of €750 to €34,550 for a single person
| National Training Fund Levy/ ER PRSI |
| Current ER PRSI 10.75% |
| Increased |
| 2018 0.8% 10.85% |
| 2019 0.9% 10.95% |
| 2020 1% 11.05% |
Stamp Duty
Increase to 6% for commercial property from midnight with a refund system for Residential development with conditions that development starts within 30 months.
Vacant Site levy
From 1st Jan 2019 rate increased to 7% if not developed.
Mortgage Interest relief
Loans taken out 2004-2012 to be tapered out from 2018 to 2020 at 75%, 50% and 25% of current levels.
Business Tax
Brexit Loan
€300m loan scheme available to SME including the food industry for working capital requirements to assist in dealing with the impact of Brexit.
Home Building Finance Ireland
New agency provide loans to developers up to the value of €750m. Financed from sale of assets in ISIF.
CGT relief
Holding period to qualify for the relief is reduced from 7 years to 4.
Key Employee Engagement Programme
Scheme available to SME to reward key employees by giving them shares as a financial incentive linked to the success of the business.
Agri Measures
Brexit Response Loan
€25m loan scheme available for working capital requirements to assist in dealing with the impact of Brexit.
Low Cost Loans
A further €25m available in EU-backed low-cost loans will see farmers able to avail of loans at less than 3pc.
VAT – no change in any of the existing VAT rates, including the 9% rate for tourism sector with the exception that VAT on the use of sunbeds has increased to 23%
Excise –
the excise duty on 20 cigarettes is being increased by 50c (including VAT) with effect from midnight tonight, with pro rata increases for other tobacco products.
A tax on sugar sweetened drinks (“sugar-tax”) to be introduced at 30c per litre for drinks containing in excess of 8g of sugar per 100ml, 20c per litre 5-8g sugar per 100ml from April 2018.
VAT on Charities
Compensation scheme valued at €5m to facilitate Vat recovery by charities – will be linked to their input costs.
BIK on electric cars
In addition to the favourable rates of VRT and the subsidy of €5000 there is a new BIK rate of 0% being introduced for 2018.
State pension & other SW payments
€5 increase per week for pensioners and carers aged 66 and over, effective March 18
€5 increase in all weekly social welfare payments in line with State pension, effective March 18
Christmas Bonus
Remains at 85%
Single Parent
The earnings disregard has increased by €20 pw.
FIS
Threshold for qualifying for a family of 3 children or less is increased by €10 pw.
Free Pre School Scheme
Changes to the scheme to facilitate children getting 2 full years pre-school.
Prescription Charges & Drugs Payment Scheme
Charges for medical card holders under 70 reduced from €2.50 to €2, monthly cap decreased from €25 to €20. The monthly cap for spending on the Drugs Payment Scheme has reduced from €144 to €134 per month.
Teacher and Garda Recruitment
1,300 new additional teaching posts and 1,000 new SNA posts.
Funding to recruit and train an additional 800 Gardaí and recruit 500 more civilian staff.
Housing Budget
Additional €149m available under the HAP scheme.
Additional €500m for direct building of social housing to provide additional 3000 new builds by 2021 on top of the 47000.
Rainy Day Fund
Rainy day fund to be established in 2018 with €1.5bn to be transferred from ISIF, annual contributions of €500m to commence in 2019.
