IRELAND

Ireland (VAT)

Ireland being an EU member state falls under the EU VAT regime. Member states must adopt EU VAT Directives into their own legislation. 

Standard VAT Rate: 23%

Reduced VAT Rate:  4.8%, 9%, 13.5%

Registration Threshold Distance Selling: 35,000 €

EU VAT number format: IE9S99999L

Registration Threshold

Resident - EUR 75,000 (Goods), EUR 37,500  (Service)                      
Non resident - There is no registration threshold                          
IC Acquisitions - EUR 41,000

The Minister for Finance has announced that a second reduced VAT rate of 9% will be introduced in respect of certain goods and services (mainly related to tourism) for the period 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2013 under the “Jobs Initiative 2011”

Supplies of goods and services at the new 9% rate:

• the supply of food and drink (excluding alcohol  and soft drinks) in the course of catering or by means of a vending machine (See footnote 1)
• hot take-away food and hot drinks
• hotel lettings, including guesthouses, caravan parks, camping sites etc
• admissions to cinemas, theatres, certain musical performances, museums, art gallery exhibitions
• amusement services of the kind normally supplied in fairgrounds or amusement park services
• the provision of facilities for taking part in sporting activities by a person other than a non-profit making organisation
• printed matter e.g. newspapers, brochures, leaflets, programs, maps, catalogues, printed music (excluding books)
• Hairdressing services (Note: beauty treatments:- for example, facials, massages, nail treatments, tanning or sunbed services etc., remain liable at the 13.5% rate).

VAT Registration

There is no registration threshold for non-resident businesses. As soon as a non-resident business makes taxable supplies in Ireland, it is required to register there.

VAT Compliance

Detailed rules regulate reporting requirements of Irish transactions for Value Added Tax purposes. These include: invoice requirements, timeliness for an invoice to be issued, invoice and credit notes corrections rules, foreign currency reporting requirements and exchange rate sources, correction of previously submitted returns and accounting records that must be maintained for VAT purposes. 

VAT Returns

Taxable persons who are in a permanent repayment position may apply to file VAT returns on a monthly basis. This arrangement is at the discretion of Revenue. Taxable persons with a low annual turnover or who pay their VAT by direct debit can file annual returns.

The frequency of VAT return filing, currently six per year, is being reduced with effect from July 2007. For taxable persons with a yearly liability of EUR 3,000 or less, the option of filing returns on a half-yearly basis will be available. For taxable persons with a yearly liability between EUR 3,001 and EUR 14,000, the option of filing returns every four months will be available.

Within 19 days of the month following the end of the respective VAT period

Intrastat and EC Sales Lists

The Intrastat discloses details of movements of goods between Member States which take place for commercial reasons, recording the movement whenever goods enter the territory of Ireland from other Member States or leave it to other Member States.
Declaration must be filed monthly once the annual threshold is exceeded.

Intrastat declarations can be submitted in paper format either on the official form or on plain paper. The due date for submission is the tenth working day following the end of the month to which the return relates.