Public finances
Revenue
Exchequer tax receipts by tax head, and, separately, the Central Statistics Office’s general government accounts. They cover different things and are never combined.
Tax receipts through September 2026
Ask Dex about thisCash receipts collected by the Exchequer from 1 January, against the Department of Finance’s published profile and the same period last year.
| Tax head | Reported, year to date | Profile | Against profile | Same period last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income Tax (including USC) | €27,764m | €27,415m | €349m above profile (1.3%) | €25,752m |
| Corporation Tax | €22,666m | €18,455m | €4,211m above profile (22.8%) | €19,973m |
| VAT | €20,483m | €19,511m | €972m above profile (5%) | €18,804m |
| Excise | €4,371m | €4,523m | €152m below profile (3.4%) | €4,771m |
| Stamps | €1,243m | €1,307m | €64m below profile (4.9%) | €1,247m |
| Motor Tax Receipts | €737m | €687m | €50m above profile (7.2%) | €731m |
| CGT | €586m | €553m | €33m above profile (5.9%) | €603m |
| Customs | €501m | €460m | €41m above profile (8.9%) | €451m |
| CAT | €286m | €306m | €20m below profile (6.4%) | €482m |
| Unallocated Tax Receipts | €212m | €0m | — | €163m |
| Other Property related taxes | €59m | €0m | — | €45m |
| Training and Employment Levy | €0m | €0m | — | €0m |
| Total tax revenue | €78,908m | €73,216m | €5,692m above profile (7.8%) | €73,020m |
Reading the year-on-year comparison
The Fiscal Monitor notes that the comparison with last year is affected by once-off receipts in 2025 arising from the 2024 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Its summary gives the figures with those receipts excluded.
General government accounts
The Central Statistics Office compiles quarterly accounts for all of general government, on the European ESA 2010 accrual basis. That is a different scope and accounting basis from the Exchequer’s cash returns above, so the two should not be compared line by line.
| Line | Q1 2026 | Q1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | €33,144m | €31,346m |
| Taxes | €24,403m | €23,125m |
| Social contributions | €6,551m | €6,079m |
| Total expenditure | €32,393m | €30,862m |
| Compensation of employees | €9,560m | €8,955m |
| Social benefits | €10,702m | €9,887m |
| Interest | €746m | €697m |
| Surplus or deficit | €751m | €484m |
Accrual basis. Seasonally unadjusted. Do not read the surplus or deficit here as the Exchequer balance.