Irish tax take up 6% in first 7 months of year after jump in income tax, VAT

DUBLIN, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A jump in income tax and VAT receipts in July has pushed Ireland's year-to-date tax take 6% higher than the same period last year when the one-off proceeds of Apple back taxes are excluded, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

While a surge in corporate tax mainly paid by a small number of U.S. multinationals has driven Ireland's overall revenues to record levels in each of the past five years, July is not a major month for the payment of corporate tax.

The treasury collected €1.3 billion in corporate tax in July, up 5% year-on-year. Company payments are up by a similar amount year-to-date following strong returns in June when around one-fifth of the year's total is usually paid.

The finance ministry said that around €1.1 billion of the corporate tax collected in July related to payments made under the new 15% top-up rate for larger companies, introduced as part of an overhaul of global tax rules for multinationals.

The other two main tax categories, income tax and VAT, registered annual growth of 12.7% and 17.5% respectively in July, among the highest monthly jumps in each category in 2026. The VAT figure was flattered by timing issues, the finance ministry said.

Income tax is now up 7% so far in 2026, while VAT is almost 10% higher.

Ireland's booming tax take has contributed to significant budget surpluses in recent years, while at the same time funding big spending increases on services and capital projects. Government expenditure was 7.4% higher at the end of July.

The finance ministry forecast in April that it would run a general government surplus of €9.2 billion or 2.5% of modified gross national income this year.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Conor Humphries)