Ireland's Double Tax Treaties: The Full Country List, and What Changes If Yours Isn't on It

Which countries does Ireland have a double tax treaty with?

In short: 75 treaties are in effect: every other EU country, 17 more in the rest of Europe including the UK, Switzerland and Norway, 5 in the Americas, 19 in Asia and the Middle East, 6 in Africa, and Australia and New Zealand. The year shows when the current treaty first applied to Irish income tax; several have been updated by later protocols.

European Union (26)

Rest of Europe (17)

Americas (5)

Asia and the Middle East (19)

Africa (6)

Oceania (2)

• Replaced treaties. For Germany, the Netherlands, Pakistan and Zambia the year is that of the newer treaty that replaced an older one (Germany 2013, the Netherlands 2021, Pakistan 2017, Zambia 2016), as listed on Revenue's dates of effect table.
• Russia. Revenue still lists the Russia treaty, but in August 2023 Russia suspended key provisions of its treaties with 38 countries it calls unfriendly, Ireland among them, according to PwC Germany. Don't rely on it for Russian-source income without advice.
• The OECD multilateral instrument (MLI) entered into force for Ireland on 1 May 2019 and modifies many of these treaties; Revenue publishes synthesised texts on the relevant country pages (Revenue, multilateral agreements). Always read the synthesised text where there is one.
• Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man aren't in Revenue's count of 78 countries, but each has its own double taxation agreement with Ireland, updated by recent protocols (Revenue). Check Revenue's page for them before assuming there's no treaty.

Which treaties are signed but not yet in force?

In short: three: Ghana (signed 7 February 2018), Kenya (signed 23 July 2021) and Liechtenstein (signed 30 October 2024). Until a treaty is in effect, it gives you nothing: each country applies its own rules, as if there were no treaty.

The newest treaties in effect are Oman (signed 30 May 2024, applying from 1 January 2025) and Kosovo (signed 25 June 2021, applying from 1 January 2023).

What does a tax treaty change for you?

In short: a treaty decides which country is allowed to tax each kind of income, breaks the tie if both countries say you're resident, and makes the country you live in give a credit for the other's tax. It also matters for personal tax credits in a year you're not Irish resident. It doesn't change Irish tax rates or replace your Irish return.

• Residence tie-breaker. If both countries treat you as resident, the treaty usually looks in turn at where you have a permanent home, your centre of vital interests, your habitual abode, your nationality and, failing those, agreement between the two tax authorities. Our Ireland–South Africa guide walks through it article by article.
• Your salary. Pay for work done in Ireland is taxed in Ireland, and once a treaty makes you resident only in Ireland the other country usually can't tax it. Work you do physically in the other country can usually be taxed there, unless it's a short stay (usually no more than 183 days in a 12-month period or tax year, depending on the treaty) paid by an employer not based there and not charged to a branch there.
• Property, dividends, interest and pensions. Rent and gains on property are normally taxable where the property is; dividends and interest are often capped or left to the country you live in; pensions vary by treaty. The country you live in then gives a credit for the tax paid in the other.
• A credit instead of a deduction. Where a treaty applies, Ireland credits the foreign tax against the Irish tax on the same income. Without one, Revenue lets you deduct the foreign tax on foreign rent from that rent instead, which is worth less (Revenue).
• Credits in a non-resident year. Revenue gives non-residents personal tax credits, in full or in part, only if they're EU citizens or citizens of a country with a tax treaty with Ireland; all other non-residents get none (Revenue).
• Remittance clauses. Some treaties limit relief for people taxed only on what they bring into a country. In the South Africa treaty, Article 23(5) means a non-domiciled Irish resident gets South African treaty relief only on income brought into Ireland. Check the clause in your own treaty.

Worked example: foreign rent with and without a treaty

In short: on €10,000 of foreign rent that has already been taxed €2,000 abroad, an Irish-domiciled resident paying 40% pays €2,000 of Irish income tax with a treaty credit, against €3,200 without a treaty. The treaty saves €1,200.

Starting data (assumptions): Irish resident and Irish-domiciled, so foreign income is taxed as it arises; all of the rent falls in the 40% band; rent of €10,000 for the year after expenses; €2,000 of tax paid on it in the other country. Income tax only; USC and PRSI are left out.

The no-treaty column follows Revenue's own example of deducting €2,000 of foreign tax from €10,000 of rent. The treaty credit can never be more than the Irish tax on the same income, so if the foreign tax were higher than €4,000 the excess would be lost. If you're not Irish-domiciled, Ireland generally taxes foreign rent only when you bring it into Ireland, on the full amount brought in with no deduction for expenses, though a treaty credit can still apply to it.

What if your country has no treaty with Ireland?

In short: each country applies its own law. Your Irish salary is taxed in Ireland as usual and your Irish refund rights don't change while you're resident, but the other country may also tax you if it still treats you as resident, and Ireland gives no treaty credit.

• Our no-treaty guides: Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Brazil, the Philippines and Argentina.
• Check the home rules. How your home country taxes people who live abroad varies a lot: Zimbabwe taxes mainly by source, while Nigeria introduced new residence rules from 2026. That question belongs to an adviser in that country.
• Arrival and departure years matter more. In a year you're not Irish resident you get no personal tax credits as a non-EU citizen without a treaty, so the option to elect to be resident in your arrival year (if you'll be resident the following year) can be worth a full year of credits (Revenue).

How do you prove you're Irish resident for a treaty?

In short: request a Letter of Residence in myAccount. Revenue issues it once it's satisfied you're resident in Ireland for the year, and you give it to the other country's tax authority or to the bank or platform paying you.

• Where: individuals request it through myAccount (or ROS), and download it once Revenue has checked it against its records (Revenue manual 35-01-05).
• What it doesn't do: it supports your position, but the other country decides under its own law whether you're still resident there.
• Keep your own evidence too: your day counts in each country, your tenancy or property in Ireland, and where your family and work are.

Where do you start?

Find your country in the tables above, then open the treaty on Revenue's country page and read the synthesised text if there is one. If your country isn't there (and isn't Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man), or its treaty isn't in force yet, assume both countries can tax you and check your residence in each for every year since you moved.

Related reading

• Irish tax residency: day count, domicile and split-year treatment
• Ireland–South Africa tax treaty: who taxes what
• Is there an Ireland–Nigeria tax treaty?
• Rental income tax in Ireland
• Tax guides by nationality

Questions we get asked