Rates last updated: 21 October 2026 · How we verify
Rental Income Tax in Ireland: What Landlords Pay and How to File
If you rent out a flat, a house or a room in Ireland, the rent is taxable income. You pay tax on the profit, not the rent itself, and the return you file depends on how big that profit is.
- Your rental profit is the rent minus allowable expenses (including 100% of mortgage interest if you're registered with the RTB) and 12.5% a year wear and tear on furniture.
- It's taxed at your marginal rate of 20% or 40%, plus USC and PRSI, on Form 12 up to €5,000 of net rental income and on a Form 11 above that.
- A room in your own home is tax-free up to €14,000 a year; estimate yours with our rental income tax calculator.
How rental income is taxed in Ireland
- Revenue taxes your net rental income: gross rent less allowable expenses.
- It's added to your other income, so with a salary above the €44,000 single cut-off your rental profit is taxed at 40% income tax, plus USC and PRSI.
- Income tax at your marginal rate. Rental profit sits on top of your salary. If your salary already uses the €44,000 standard rate band (single person, 2026), each euro of rental profit is taxed at 40%.
- USC on the profit. Rental profit counts towards your USC income, so it's charged at the USC rate for the band it falls in: 3% on income between €28,700 and €70,044 and 8% above €70,044 in 2026.
- PRSI for employees with more than €5,000. If you're a PAYE worker with more than €5,000 of unearned income such as rent, you pay Class K PRSI on it: 4.2% up to 30 September 2026 and 4.35% from 1 October 2026.
- Tax is on the profit, not the rent. €15,000 of rent with €6,000 of allowable expenses is €9,000 of taxable rental income. Keep receipts for every expense: Revenue asks you to keep full records for each rented property.
Revenue's own worked examples are on its page on how to calculate your taxable rental income, and the PRSI class is explained by Citizens Information on social insurance classes.
What expenses can you deduct?
- You can deduct mortgage interest, insurance, repairs, letting agent and accountancy fees, RTB registration and services you pay for the tenant.
- Furniture and appliances are written off at 12.5% a year over eight years.
- Local Property Tax, your own labour and improvements are not deductible.
| Expense | Deductible? |
|---|---|
| Mortgage interest on a loan to buy, improve or repair the property | Yes, 100%, if every tenancy is registered with the RTB |
| Mortgage capital repayments | No |
| Fire and public liability insurance | Yes |
| Repairs and maintenance: painting, fixing windows, cleaning | Yes |
| Letting agent, advertising, legal and accountancy fees | Yes |
| RTB registration fee | Yes |
| Furniture, fridge, washing machine (wear and tear) | 12.5% of the cost a year for 8 years |
| Local Property Tax | No |
| Extensions and other improvements | No, unless an incentive scheme allows it |
| Your own time doing repairs | No |
- Mortgage interest needs RTB registration. Full deductibility of interest on residential lettings was restored from 1 January 2019, but interest is not deductible for any year in which you haven't registered all the tenancies on the property with the Residential Tenancies Board.
- Interest before the first letting doesn't count. Interest you pay between buying the property and first renting it out is not deductible, and neither are costs after the letting ends. Expenses between lettings are allowed only if you didn't live there in between.
- Wear and tear spreads furniture over eight years. If you furnish a flat for €8,000, you deduct €1,000 a year (12.5%) for eight years. The same applies to white goods such as fridges, dishwashers and washing machines.
- Letting part of a property means part of the costs. If you rent out only part of a building, you can claim only the share of the expenses that relates to the let part.
Revenue lists what expenses are allowed and what expenses are not allowed; the RTB condition is in its manual on deductibility of loan interest. LPT itself is covered in our Local Property Tax guide.
The landlord tax credit: Residential Premises Rental Income Relief
- Residential Premises Rental Income Relief (RPRIR) gives landlords a tax credit of up to €1,000 for 2026 and 2027 (€800 for 2025, €600 for 2024).
- The credit is the lowest of the annual cap and 20% of your rental profit.
- You get one credit per year, however many properties you rent.
- How it's worked out. Your credit is the lowest of: the annual maximum (€1,000 for 2026), 20% of the profit from the qualifying property, and 20% of your total Irish rental profit, all after capital allowances and losses carried forward.
- A small profit gives a small credit. Revenue's own example: €8,000 of rent less €3,500 capital allowances and €2,500 of losses carried forward leaves €2,000 of profit. 20% of that is €400, below the €600 cap for 2024, so the credit was €400.
- Conditions on 31 December. You must own the property, hold a valid tax clearance certificate and be LPT compliant, and the property must be let under an RTB-registered tenancy (or to a local authority, or actively marketed for rent).
- No credit for renting to family. You can't claim if any of your qualifying properties is rented to a connected person such as a family member or relative.
Figures and conditions are on Revenue's pages how much relief you can claim and qualifying conditions.
Worked example: an accidental landlord on €60,000
- A single employee earning €60,000 who lets their old apartment for €1,800 a month has €13,400 of taxable rental profit in 2026.
- After the €1,000 landlord credit, income tax and USC on it come to €4,929.80, plus Class K PRSI, and a Form 11 is due.
You moved in with your partner and let your one-bed apartment from 1 January 2026 at €1,800 a month. Your salary is €60,000, taxed through PAYE, so you're already a 40% taxpayer. The tenancy is registered with the RTB, you're LPT compliant and you furnished the flat for €8,000:
| 2026 figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rent: €1,800 × 12 | €21,600 |
| Mortgage interest (not capital) | −€4,800 |
| Letting agent fees | −€1,300 |
| Repairs | −€610 |
| Landlord insurance | −€450 |
| RTB registration | −€40 |
| Wear and tear: €8,000 × 12.5% | −€1,000 |
| Taxable rental profit | €13,400 |
| Income tax: €13,400 × 40% | €5,360 |
| RPRIR: 20% of €13,400 is €2,680, capped at €1,000 | −€1,000 |
| USC: €10,044 × 3% (up to €70,044) + €3,356 × 8% | €569.80 |
| Income tax and USC on the rent | €4,929.80 |
Class K PRSI is added on top: between €562.80 (4.2%) and €582.90 (4.35%) on €13,400, depending on how the October 2026 rate change applies to your year. Your net rental income is over €5,000, so you register for self-assessment and file a Form 11 for 2026 by 31 October 2027. Run your own numbers in the rental income tax calculator.
Rent-a-room relief: tax-free up to €14,000
- If you let a room in the home you live in, up to €14,000 a year of rent is free of income tax, USC and PRSI.
- Go over the limit by €1 and the whole amount is taxable.
- Budget 2027 has announced a rise to €16,000 from 1 January 2027, subject to the Finance Bill.
- It must be your main home. The property must be in Ireland and be your principal private residence. You don't have to own it: a tenant can claim if the landlord allows subletting.
- Lodgers, not holiday guests. Stays of 28 consecutive days or fewer, such as bookings through online platforms, don't qualify. Students and people taking digs four days a week are exceptions.
- Not for your own children. Renting a room to your child, or to your spouse's or civil partner's child, doesn't qualify. Other relatives, such as a niece or nephew, can be your lodger under the relief.
- Over the limit, all of it is taxed. €1,100 a month is €13,200 a year: tax-free in 2026. €1,200 a month is €14,400: over the 2026 limit, so the full €14,400 less expenses is taxable, not just the €400 above it.
- You still declare it. Rent-a-room income goes on your tax return with the exempt amount claimed. You can't deduct expenses against it, and you can opt out for a year if normal rental rules suit you better.
Sources: Revenue on Rent-a-Room Relief, Citizens Information on the rent a room scheme and on Budget 2027.
Form 12 or Form 11 for rental income?
- If your net rental income is €5,000 or less (and your gross non-PAYE income is €30,000 or less), you declare it on Form 12 in myAccount.
- Revenue then collects the tax through your tax credits.
- Above €5,000 net, you register for self-assessment and file Form 11 on ROS.
| Your situation | Which return |
|---|---|
| Salary, plus a room let in your home for €12,000 | Form 12: claim rent-a-room relief, no tax due |
| Salary, plus €9,000 rent and €5,000 expenses (€4,000 net) | Form 12: under €5,000 net |
| Salary, plus €13,400 net rental profit | Form 11: over €5,000 net |
| Living abroad and letting your Irish home | Form 11, with credit for the 20% your tenant or agent withheld |
- Form 12 adjusts your credits. When you declare under €5,000 of rental income on Form 12, Revenue usually collects the tax by reducing your tax credits and rate band, so you pay it through your payslip.
- Form 11 means preliminary tax. Once you're in self-assessment, you file the return and pay the balance by 31 October of the following year, plus preliminary tax for the current year. Our Form 11 guide covers the dates and surcharges.
- Short-term lets are a trade. Revenue treats income from letting through platforms such as Airbnb as trading income, not rental income. Under €5,000 of net profit goes on Form 12; above that you register and file Form 11.
Revenue explains how to declare your rental income and when you need to submit a tax return. The Form 12 steps are in our Form 12 guide.
Leaving Ireland and letting your home
- If you move abroad and keep renting out your Irish property, you become a non-resident landlord.
- Your tenant, or a collection agent you appoint, must withhold 20% of the rent and pay it to Revenue.
- You claim that tax as a credit on your Form 11.
- Your tenant withholds 20%. Under the Non-Resident Landlord Withholding Tax system, which started on 1 July 2023, the tenant makes a rental notification and pays 20% of each payment to Revenue within 21 days.
- Or appoint a collection agent. A collection agent can receive the rent for you and make the rental notifications and the 20% payments to Revenue instead of your tenant.
- You still file a return. The withheld 20% is a credit, not the final bill. You declare the rental profit on Form 11 and claim the withheld tax against what you owe, which can mean a refund if expenses cut your profit.
- Selling later brings CGT. If you sell a home after letting it, part of the gain may be taxable: see how PPR relief works when you sell your home. Our capital gains tax guide explains the rules and rates.
Revenue has the details for non-resident landlords. If you're the one moving, see our leaving Ireland guide. Rent from a property abroad while you live here is covered in Revenue's foreign rental income section.
What Revenue asks you for
- Revenue wants the gross rent, each category of expense, capital allowances on furniture and any relief you claim, property by property.
- Keep the records, RTB registration and LPT payments up to date, because they decide whether interest and the landlord credit are allowed.
- Gross rent for the year for each property, and the dates it was let.
- Expenses by type: mortgage interest (from your lender's interest certificate), insurance, repairs, agent and accountancy fees, RTB fee.
- Capital allowances: the cost and date of furniture and appliances, written off at 12.5% a year.
- Relief claims: RPRIR (with tax clearance and LPT compliance) or rent-a-room relief.
- Withholding credits if you're a non-resident landlord whose tenant or agent paid 20% to Revenue.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
How much tax do you pay on rental income in Ireland?
You pay income tax on your rental profit at your marginal rate, 20% or 40%, plus USC and, for employees with over €5,000 of unearned income, Class K PRSI. Profit is the rent less allowable expenses and 12.5% a year wear and tear on furniture.
Is mortgage interest deductible against rental income?
Yes, 100% of the interest on a loan used to buy, improve or repair the rental property, as long as all tenancies are registered with the RTB. Capital repayments and interest before the first letting are not deductible.
Do I need to file a tax return if I rent out a room?
Yes. Rent-a-room income up to €14,000 a year is tax-free, but you still declare it on your return and claim the exemption. If the rent is over the limit, the whole amount is taxed.
Can I declare rental income on Form 12?
Yes, if your net rental income is €5,000 or less and your gross non-PAYE income is €30,000 or less. Above that you register for self-assessment and file Form 11.
Is Local Property Tax deductible from rental income?
No. Revenue lists LPT among the expenses you can't deduct. Being LPT compliant is, however, a condition for claiming the landlord tax credit (RPRIR).