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Revolut Savings in Ireland: How the Interest Is Taxed (Instant Access vs Flexible Cash Funds)
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Revolut offers Irish customers two ways to earn something on spare cash, and in the app they sit side by side. For tax they follow different rules. Instant Access Savings is a bank deposit: Revolut takes 33% DIRT off the interest. Flexible Cash Funds are money market funds: the fund itself deducts exit tax, 38% in 2026, before you see the return. In both cases the tax is collected for you, but the rate, the protection and the cases where you still have to declare something are not the same. Here's how each works, with the same €10,000 in both.
- Instant Access Savings: Revolut deducts 33% DIRT, normally the final tax, and deposits are insured to €100,000 (open your Revolut account here).
- Flexible Cash Funds: the fund deducts exit tax, 38% in 2026 and 35% announced for 2027; they're investments, not insured deposits.
- On €10,000 earning 2% for a year, you keep €134 in Instant Access Savings and €124 in a Flexible Cash Fund for 2026.
Instant Access Savings vs Flexible Cash Funds: the difference
- Instant Access Savings is a deposit with Revolut Bank UAB: deposit insurance up to €100,000 and 33% DIRT deducted.
- Flexible Cash Funds are units in Irish money market funds held through Revolut Securities Europe UAB: no deposit insurance, 38% exit tax deducted by the fund.
| Instant Access Savings | Flexible Cash Funds | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Bank deposit | Money market fund units |
| Provider | Revolut Bank UAB, Irish branch | Revolut Securities Europe UAB |
| Protection | Lithuanian deposit insurance, up to €100,000 | Investor scheme up to €22,000, only if the firm fails; not deposit insurance |
| Irish tax | 33% DIRT, deducted by Revolut | Exit tax, 38% in 2026, deducted by the fund |
| USC | None | None |
| Who can open it | Irish tax residents with a PPSN | Shown in the app; check eligibility there |
Revolut sets out the product difference on its help page (Revolut). For the tax, its cost disclosure for the Irish money market funds says Irish funds are required to tax returns at source, applying the 38% rate, with the tax withheld by the fund and paid to Revenue on your behalf (Revolut MMF disclosure, Ireland).
How DIRT works on Revolut Instant Access Savings
- Revolut deducts 33% DIRT from the interest, which is calculated and paid daily.
- DIRT is normally your final liability and no USC applies; if you're self-employed, PRSI can still apply to the interest.
- Revolut says it in plain words. It deducts 33% Deposit Interest Retention Tax from any interest you earn, as Irish tax law requires; amounts under one cent carry forward to the next payment (Revolut).
- Why a Lithuanian bank deducts Irish tax. DIRT applies to deposits with banks licensed in Ireland and in other EU countries, which covers Revolut's Irish branch (Revenue).
- Rates on 29 October 2026. 2.00% AER on Standard, Plus and Premium, 2.25% on Metal and 2.50% on Ultra, variable, up to €100,000, with interest compounded and paid daily (Revolut).
- PRSI is the exception. Revenue says PRSI may be due on deposit interest. In practice it bites for the self-employed (PRSI Class S), where interest taxed at source counts towards the income PRSI is charged on, at 4.2375% blended for 2026 (gov.ie).
- Over 65, or permanently incapacitated, on a low income? You may be able to have the interest paid without DIRT or claim it back. Revolut mentions a declaration for over-65s whose income is under the exemption limit; Revenue explains who can claim DIRT back.
How Flexible Cash Funds are taxed
- Returns are taxed under the exit tax rules for Irish funds, not as deposit interest: 38% for 2026 and 35% from 1 January 2027 as announced, deducted by the fund.
- A deemed disposal applies on every eighth anniversary, and that tax is collected for you too.
- The rate. Exit tax is 38% for tax events in 2026 and 35% from 1 January 2027, as announced in Budget 2027 and subject to the Finance Bill, with no USC or PRSI on top. The rules are explained in our exit tax guide.
- Collected at source. Revolut's disclosure says the tax on returns and on gains from selling units is withheld by the fund, and the tax on an eighth-anniversary deemed disposal is collected by Fidelity as tax agent. Tax deducted by an Irish fund in this way is normally the end of it.
- Not the same as ETFs. ETFs bought on Revolut usually sit in a clearing system, where nobody deducts exit tax and you self-assess on a Form 11. The money market funds behind Flexible Cash Funds deduct it, which is why the two need different handling; see Revolut stocks, ETFs and crypto: Irish tax explained.
- Check the after-tax rate. Revolut shows the fund's return in the app. Because 38% comes off instead of 33%, a fund return has to be higher than the savings rate just to leave you the same amount.
Worked example: €10,000 in each for a year
- €200 of interest in Instant Access Savings leaves €134 after 33% DIRT.
- €200 of return from a Flexible Cash Fund in 2026 leaves €124 after 38% exit tax, and €130 in 2027 if the 35% rate passes.
Starting data (assumptions): Tomás is a PAYE employee. In 2026 he keeps €10,000 in Instant Access Savings on the Standard plan at 2.00% AER for the full year, and his partner keeps €10,000 in a Flexible Cash Fund that happens to return the same 2.00%. Fund returns vary; 2.00% is an assumption to make the comparison like for like.
| Step | Instant Access Savings | Flexible Cash Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Gross return | €10,000 × 2.00% = €200 | €10,000 × 2.00% = €200 |
| Irish tax, deducted for you | DIRT €200 × 33% = €66 | Exit tax €200 × 38% = €76 |
| Kept after tax | €134 | €124 |
| Effective rate after tax | 1.34% | 1.24% |
| Same in 2027, at 35% announced | €134 | €200 − €70 = €130 |
At the same gross return the deposit leaves more after tax and is covered by deposit insurance. For the fund to leave the same €134 in 2026, it would need to return €134 ÷ 62% = €216, or 2.16%.
When you still need to declare it
- If you file a tax return for any reason, deposit interest must go on it, with the DIRT already deducted, and it counts towards Revenue's €5,000 limit for non-PAYE income.
- Self-employed? Include it on your Form 11, because PRSI can be due on the interest.
- PAYE workers with nothing else to declare don't need to file anything for Revolut savings interest: the DIRT already deducted is the tax.
- If you do file (rent, a side business, shares, foreign income), Revenue says deposit interest must be included on the return, and it counts with your other non-PAYE income towards the €5,000 limit above which you register for self-assessment (Revenue). Our Form 11 guide walks through the return.
- Leaving Ireland? Instant Access Savings is for Irish tax residents, so tell Revolut when your residence changes; our guide to leaving Ireland and your tax refund covers the year you go.
Which one should you use?
- For simple savings, Instant Access Savings is the one: lower tax rate on the return (33% against 38% in 2026) and deposit insurance up to €100,000.
- A Flexible Cash Fund only comes out ahead if its return beats the savings rate by enough to cover the higher tax, and you accept it isn't a deposit.
Don't have Revolut yet? You can open your Revolut account at this link, then add your PPSN to unlock Instant Access Savings. For the full picture of the account, fees and protection, read our Revolut review for Ireland. For savings in other EU countries, where nobody deducts DIRT, see tax on foreign dividends and interest, or start from the complete guide.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
Do I have to declare Revolut savings interest on my tax return?
Not if you're a PAYE worker with nothing else to declare: Revolut deducts 33% DIRT and that's normally the final tax. If you file a return for any reason, Revenue says deposit interest must be included, with the DIRT deducted, and self-employed people can owe PRSI on it.
Does Revolut deduct tax on Flexible Cash Funds?
Yes, through the fund. Revolut's disclosure for its Irish money market funds says exit tax at 38% is withheld by the fund on returns and paid to Revenue on your behalf, with the 8-year deemed disposal also collected for you. It's exit tax, not DIRT, and the funds aren't covered by deposit insurance.
Is Revolut savings interest subject to USC?
No. USC doesn't apply to deposit interest, and exit tax on fund returns doesn't carry USC either. PRSI can apply to deposit interest for the self-employed.
What DIRT rate does Revolut deduct in 2026?
33%, the standard DIRT rate. On €200 of interest Revolut deducts €66 and pays you €134.
Referral links. Some links on this page are referral links: if you open an account through one, Irish Tax Mate may receive a reward from the provider, at no cost to you. It never changes what we write. We're a tax agent, not a bank or a financial adviser, and we compare accounts on fees, deposit protection and tax.