Rent tax credit: how much, and how to claim

How to claim the rent tax credit

You claim it online in Revenue myAccount. For rent paid in 2026, use "Manage your tax for the current year". For 2022 to 2025, file an Income Tax Return for each year under "Review your tax for the previous 4 years". The credit is 20% of your rent, up to €1,000 a year, or €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple.

How much is it?

• The credit is 20% of the rent you paid in the year, up to the limit above.
• It only reduces income tax. It does not reduce USC or PRSI.
• If you pay less income tax than the credit, you get only as much as the tax you paid.
• Rent does not include a deposit, repairs, or extras like bills, board or laundry.

The credit runs for the tax years 2022 to 2028.

Can I claim? A quick check

You may be able to claim if you pay rent for:

• your own home,
• a second home in Ireland you use to get to work or college, or
• your child's place while they attend an approved course (rules on age and course apply).

You cannot claim if:

• you get HAP, Rent Supplement or RAS for that home, even if you pay a top-up;
• your landlord is a housing association or approved housing body;
• your landlord is your parent or your child;
• your tenancy has to be registered with the RTB (Residential Tenancies Board) and it isn't.

Rent-a-room or "digs" in the owner's home does not need RTB registration. But it does not qualify if you and the landlord are related.

What to have ready

• Your RTB tenancy number, if your tenancy is registered. You can still claim without it, but Revenue may ask for it later and can take the credit back if you can't give it.
• Your landlord's name and address.
• Your landlord's PPS number or tax reference number.
• The property's Local Property Tax (LPT) number.
• The total rent you paid in the year.

Your landlord can give their details to Revenue directly through myEnquiries if they prefer. Keep your rent records in case Revenue asks.

Claim for this year (2026), step by step

For PAYE workers:

1. Sign in to myAccount.
2. Go to "PAYE Services".
3. Click "Manage your tax for the current year".
4. Click "Add new credits".
5. Under "You and your family", claim the Rent Tax Credit.

What happens next: the part of the credit for the months already passed can come back as a refund through your payroll. The rest is added to your tax credits, so less tax comes off your pay for the rest of the year.

You can also wait and claim 2026 on your 2026 Income Tax Return in 2027.

Claim for past years (2022 to 2025), step by step

For PAYE workers:

1. Sign in to myAccount.
2. Under "PAYE Services", click "Review your tax for the previous 4 years".
3. Request a "Statement of Liability" for the year.
4. Click "Complete your Income Tax Return".
5. On the "Tax Credits & Reliefs" page, select "You and your family", then "Rent Tax Credit".
6. Work through the claim.
7. Submit the return.

File one return for each year.

Deadline: you have four years from the end of a tax year to file the return. So the last day for a 2022 claim is 31 December 2026.

If you are self-assessed

File your yearly Form 11 in ROS (Revenue Online Service): My Services → File Return → Income Tax → pick the year → fill in the "Rent Tax Credit" section. If you are self-assessed and also have PAYE income, you can claim for 2026 in-year through "Manage Your Tax 2026" in myAccount in ROS.

Couples and people sharing

• Married or civil partners, jointly assessed: up to €2,000 a year between you. Rent paid by either of you counts.
• Everyone else, including unmarried couples: each person claims for the rent they pay, up to €1,000 each, as long as each has income tax to set it against.
• House shares: each tenant, or each couple, claims for the rent they pay.

FAQs

Related pages

• Irish take-home pay calculator – see your tax before and after credits
• Auto-enrolment pension calculator
• Redundancy calculator
• Second income / Form 12: do I need to file?

Based on published Irish tax bands; not advice. Estimate based on published Revenue and DSP rates for the selected year. Covers employees, sole traders and common credits. Estimate only, not financial or tax advice. Check complex cases with Revenue.

Sources (checked Sun 4 Oct 2026)

• Revenue – Rent Tax Credit overview (2022–2028, amounts, what rent means, qualifying property types): https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/land-and-property/rent-credit/index.aspx
• Revenue – How much can you claim? (20%, caps, no relief against USC/PRSI, limited to income tax paid): https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/land-and-property/rent-credit/how-much-claim.aspx
• Revenue – Qualifying conditions for all claimants (RTB, digs, supported tenants, AHB landlords): https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/land-and-property/rent-credit/qualifying-conditions.aspx
• Revenue – How to claim (myAccount steps for past years and 2026, ROS steps, RTB number): https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/land-and-property/rent-credit/how-to-claim.aspx
• Revenue – Tax and Duty Manual Part 15-01-11A (rent paid by either spouse counts when jointly assessed; in-year claim split between payroll refund and higher credits): https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-15/15-01-11A.pdf
• Revenue – PAYE Income Tax Return (four-year time limit): https://www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions/end-of-year-process/paye-income-tax-return.aspx
• Citizens Information – Rent Tax Credit (landlord can't be parent or child, details needed, each tenant or couple claims for rent they pay, student child rules): https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money-and-tax/tax/housing-taxes-and-reliefs/rent-tax-credit/