VAT Rates, Daily and Mileage Allowances and E-archiving in Ireland

Ireland imposes Value Added Tax (VAT) at different rates as follows for various goods and services.

1. Standard rate - 23%

The standard VAT rate is applicable to all taxable goods and services in Ireland, except when a specific measure allows for a reduced rate.

2. Reduced rate - 13.5%

Certain foodstuffs; tourism services; cut flowers and plants for decorative use; some books; admission to amusement parks; hotel accommodation; restaurant and catering (excluding beverages); hairdressing; take-away food; bars and cafes.

3. Reduced rate - 9%

Certain foodstuffs; newspapers and periodicals; admission to cultural events; use of sports facilities; hairdressing; e-books and digital publications.

3. Reduced rate - 4.8%

Livestock intended for use in the preparation of foodstuffs.

Source: https://www.revenue.ie/en/vat/vat-rates/search-vat-rates/current-vat-rates.aspx

Daily allowances in Ireland

Employees of companies travelling for business may be entitled to per diem allowances, as outlined below:

Overnight Rates

Rate category	Rate (January 29th, 2025)
Normal rate	€205.53
Reduced rate	€184.98
Detention rate	€102.76

Domestic Daily Allowance

The rate category depends on the period of an assignment:

• normal rate is for up to 14 nights

• reduced rate covers the next 14 nights

• detention rate covers each of the next 28 nights.

Period of assignment	Rate (January 29th, 2025)
10 hours or more	€46.17
Between 5 and 10 hours	€19.25

 

You can only claim both a day and overnight allowance if you work five hours or more the next day.

Source: https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/civil-service-rates.aspx

Foreign daily allowance

These rates can be used for a single temporary assignment of up to six months where your employee is working abroad.

Period of assignment abroad	% of normal overnight rate
First month	100%
Second and third month	75%
Fourth, fifth and sixth month	50%

 

Source: ttps://assets.gov.ie/16089/250708db830e490e8037fb948dedb691.pdf

Mileage allowances in Ireland

Motor Travel Rates per kilometer applied since 1 September 2022:

Distance bands		Engine Capacity up to 1200cc	Engine Capacity 1201cc - 1500cc	Engine Capacity 1501cc and over
Band 1	0 – 1,500 km	¢41.80	¢43.40	¢51.82
Band 2	1,501 – 5,500 km	¢72.64	¢79.18	¢90.63
Band 3	5,501 - 25,000 km	¢31.78	¢31.79	¢39.22
Band 4	25,001 km and over	¢20.56	¢23.85	¢25.87

 

Motorcycle rates (from 5 March 2009):

Distance	Engine      capacity up to 150cc	Engine      capacity  151cc - 250cc	Engine      capacity  251cc - 600cc	Engine      capacity 601cc and over
Up to 6,437 km	¢14.48	¢20.10	¢23.72	¢28.59
6,438 km and over	¢9.37	¢13.31	¢15.29	¢17.60

 

Bicycle rate (from 1 February 2007) – 8 cents per km.

Source: https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/civil-service-rates.aspx

Electronic archiving and retention period in Ireland

In Ireland you can digitse paper invoices and destroy the originals, provided you adhere to specific legal and regulatory requirements:

• Retention period: invoices must be retained for a minimum of six years after the end of the financial year in which they were issued.
• Authenticity and Accessibility: using secure methods and ensuring the electronic format is accessible and readable

Storing digitized invoices outside Ireland is permissible under certain conditions.

Source: Irish Tax Law

https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm-wm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corportation-tax/part-38/38-03-14.pdf