Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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355.To ask the Minister for Finance the stated cost for each of the main tax reductions in budgets 2022 and 2023; and the actual outturn cost for each, for both years. [32143/24]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The main tax reductions as announced in Budget 2022 and 2023 related to the personal income tax package.

Budget 2022 included an income tax package with a first year cost of €0.54 billion and a full year cost of €0.62 billion, which included a broad range of income tax and USC measures.

The single standard rate income tax band was increased by 4.3% from €35,300 to €36,800, with commensurate increases for persons who are married or in civil partnerships. In addition, the main tax credits (personal, employee and earned income tax credits) were also increased, by just over 3%, or €50 each, from €1,650 to €1,700.

The 2% band ceiling for USC was also increased by €608, from €20,687 to €21,295, in line with the increase in the National Minimum Wage to ensure that a full-time adult worker who benefitted from the increase in the hourly minimum wage rate would remain outside the top rates of USC.

In Budget 2023, an income tax package was introduced with a first year cost of €1.13 billion and a full year cost of €1.30 billion.

The single standard rate income tax band was increased by 8.7% from €36,800 to €40,000, with commensurate increases for persons who are married or in civil partnerships. In addition, the main tax credits (personal, employee and earned income tax credits) were also increased by just over 4.4%, or €75 each, from €1,700 to €1,775.

The USC ceiling of the band for the 2% rate was also increased by €1,625, from €21,295 to €22,920, in line with the increase to the National Minimum Wage. This continued to keep full-time adult workers on the hourly minimum wage rate outside the top rates of USC.

The Home Carer Tax Credit was increased by €100 from €1,600 to €1,700, which equated to a 6.3% increase.

In addition, Budget 2023 introduced the Rent Tax Credit of up to €500 per year (or up to €1,000 for jointly assessed couples) in respect of qualifying rent paid in 2022 and subsequent years to end-2025.

I am advised by Revenue that information on the aggregate cost of tax credits for 2022 will be available later in Q3 of 2024 on the Revenue website at: revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/tax-expenditures/costs-expenditures.aspx.

I am also advised by Revenue that information on the cost of tax credits for 2023 will be available in 2025, as the deadline for submission of Form 11 tax return is November 2024.

I am further advised by Revenue that it is not possible to attribute an actual cost associated with changes to the standard rate income tax band in Budget 2022 and 2023, as the pre-Budget standard rate band structure is not subsequently applied to taxpayers, and as such no calculation of tax liabilities under the previous standard rate income tax band structure takes place.

The Tax Policy Changes document, which is part of the overall Budget documentation, includes a breakdown of each tax measures announced in the Budgets 2022 and 2023. It also provides explanations regarding the different costs and their impact on the tax base. The relevant documents are available at the following links:

assets.gov.ie/201244/2bb2e8d2-5220-4c05-be1b-41cb546df6e4.pdf and assets.gov.ie/235689/d0f4387c-47d7-459a-a9e4-c9fa190ea8f9.pdf