Tax credits
The Rent Tax Credit: who qualifies and how much you get back
Last updated 16 October 2026
20% of your rent, up to €1,000 a person in 2026 and €1,150 in 2027, double for couples. Claims for 2022 close on 31 December 2026.
If you rent privately, you can get 20% of the rent back as a credit against your income tax, up to a yearly maximum. Parents paying a student's rent can claim too.
The maximum by year
| Year | Single person | Couple taxed jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | €500 | €1,000 |
| 2023 | €500 | €1,000 |
| 2024 | €1,000 | €2,000 |
| 2025 | €1,000 | €2,000 |
| 2026 | €1,000 | €2,000 |
| 2027 | €1,150 | €2,300 |
The 2027 figures come from Budget 2027 and take effect when Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 is enacted. Unmarried couples who both pay rent each claim for their own share.
Three limits
You get the lowest of: 20% of the rent you paid, the yearly maximum, and your income tax for the year after other credits.
The last limit matters on lower pay. Someone earning €21,500 in 2026 and paying €1,200 a month has income tax of only €300.00 after their standard credits. That is all the credit can give back. It doesn't reduce USC or PRSI, and unused credit is lost.
Who qualifies
- rent for your home, a second place you rent to get to work or college, or your child's accommodation on an approved course
- the tenancy must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) where the law requires it; digs and rent-a-room in the landlord's home also count
- not if you get HAP, Rent Supplement or the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), even if you pay a top-up
- not if the landlord is a Housing Association or Approved Housing Body
- not if you rent from a parent or child; another relative only if the tenancy is RTB-registered
- for a child's accommodation: no family link to the landlord at all, and the child was under 23 when the course started
Count only rent for the property itself, not bills, meals or laundry included in what you pay.
How to claim
- 2026: in myAccount, 'Manage your tax for the current year', then 'Add new credits'.
- 2022 to 2025: on the Income Tax Return for each year. Claims for 2022 close on 31 December 2026.
- Self-assessed: in the Rent Tax Credit section of Form 11.
Have the RTB registration number ready; Revenue can withdraw the credit later if it can't be provided.
Work it out
Sources
- Revenue: Rent Tax Credit: how much can you claim? (checked 25/10/2026)
- Revenue: Rent Tax Credit: qualifying conditions for all claimants (checked 16/10/2026)
- Revenue: Rent Tax Credit: principal private residence and second home conditions (checked 16/10/2026)
- Revenue: Rent Tax Credit: further conditions where a property is used by your child (checked 16/10/2026)
- Revenue: Rent Tax Credit: how to claim (checked 16/10/2026)
- Citizens Information: Budget 2027 (checked 25/10/2026)
General information, not tax advice. HeyPenny is not a tax agent.