VAT rate changes in Ireland
Ireland is the latest country to introduce a temporary reduction of VAT rates due to economic impact of Covid-19.
Ireland temporarily reduces VAT rate
As part of the measures taken to help businesses with the economic downturn related to Covid-19, Ireland introduced a temporary reduction of the standard VAT rate from 23% to 21%.
The standard rate of 21% will be place from 1 September 2020 until 28 February 2021.
As with other VAT rate changes, it is important that businesses review the tax point rules of their transactions to make sure that the correct rate is charged on the invoice. We recommend paying attention to certain transactions such as periodic services and continuous supplies. Businesses should also understand the importance of making advance payments (they trigger a tax point for the pre-paid amount) and credit notes.
Read more about the scope of reduced and standard VAT rates in our overview of VAT rates.
The Irish tax authorities published a database with a search function where you can double check the applicable rate for a given product.
As indicated above, some scenarios should be looked at in detail when a VAT rate changes. The Irish authorities published a section on their website where you can consult what these scenarios are.
You can find more information about about Covid-19 measures in Ireland in this link. Our article from last March provides an overview of VAT simplifications, but we recommend double checking with us that these measures are still in place, as many of them were temporary.