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Irish VAT Registration Threshold Checker

See whether your business is over, approaching, or below the Irish VAT registration threshold. Built on the current thresholds - EUR 85,000 for goods and EUR 42,500 for services - and the current-and-previous-calendar-year test Revenue actually applies. Estimates when you will cross the line if you keep growing.

Indicative guidance, not tax advice. Confirm your position with your accountant or Revenue before registering.

Revenue tests your turnover in the current and previous calendar years. Exceeding the threshold in either year takes you out of the exemption, so both figures matter. Enter each year separately.

Your full-year taxable sales for last calendar year, January to December. Enter 0 if you were not trading.

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Your taxable sales so far this calendar year, from 1 January to today.

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Your recent monthly run-rate. Used to estimate when this calendar year will cross the threshold if you keep growing.

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What do you sell?

Ireland has a higher threshold for goods and a lower one for services. Mixed businesses get the goods threshold only if 90%+ of turnover is goods.

Your VAT status

You are approaching the threshold

Your current calendar year turnover of €40,000 is 94% of the €42,500 services threshold. You have €2,500 of headroom left this year, and the previous calendar year (€30,000) was also under.

current calendar year: €40,000 of €42,500 threshold. previous calendar year: €30,000, under the threshold.

At €4,000/month you would cross the threshold this calendar year in about 1 month. You become an accountable person immediately on completing the sale that takes you over, so have your registration ready before then.

As a services business you are assessed against the €42,500 services threshold in each calendar year.

Other thresholds that can force registration

  • Intra-EU acquisitions (€41,000): if you buy more than this value of goods from other EU member states, you must register even if your sales are below the main threshold.
  • Distance sales and digital services (€10,000 EU-wide): selling more than this to consumers in other EU countries means charging VAT in their country, usually via the One Stop Shop (OSS).
  • Services received from abroad (no threshold): if you receive certain B2B services from outside Ireland you must register and self-account for VAT under the reverse charge from the first euro.
  • Voluntary registration: you can register below the threshold to reclaim VAT on start-up costs or to sell credibly to VAT-registered customers.

Thresholds verified 6 August 2026

How the Irish VAT threshold actually works

Ireland does not have a single VAT registration threshold. It has two: a higher one for businesses that supply goods (EUR 85,000) and a lower one for businesses that supply services (EUR 42,500). The figure that matters is your taxable turnover in a calendar year, and Revenue looks at two of them. To stay outside VAT registration your turnover must be under the applicable threshold in both the current calendar year and the previous one.

That two-year test catches people out in a way a single figure never shows. A business that turned over EUR 86,000 in goods last year but is running at EUR 80,000 this year is still outside the small business exemption and must be registered, because the previous year was over. Equally, a business in its first year of trading is judged on the current year alone, because the previous year was zero.

The most common mistake is waiting for the year-end accounts. By then you may have been trading over the threshold, and therefore under-collecting VAT, for months. Revenue can pursue the VAT you should have charged even if you never collected it from your customers, which comes straight out of your margin.

The 90% rule for mixed businesses

If you sell both goods and services, you only get the higher EUR 85,000 goods threshold when at least 90% of your turnover comes from goods. Fall below 90% goods and the lower EUR 42,500 services threshold applies to everything you sell. This catches a lot of product businesses that also do installation, consulting, or support - the services element can quietly drag them onto the lower threshold.

When the obligation actually starts

Registration is triggered by the sale that takes you over, not by expecting to go over. Revenue's guidance is that a trader is regarded as an accountable person immediately on completing a transaction that exceeds the threshold, and must apply for VAT registration from that date. Its worked example is a manufacturer sitting on EUR 84,000 of goods sales who then makes a EUR 1,500 sale: registration runs from the date of that EUR 1,500 transaction.

In practice that means the paperwork should be ready before the crossing sale, not after it, because there is no grace period once it completes. The run-rate estimate in this tool exists to flag that moment early - if you are on track to cross in a month or two, start the registration process now.

What this checker does not cover

This is a turnover-based screen, not a full VAT determination. It does not handle exempt or non-taxable activities, the two-thirds rule (where goods supplied as part of a service can change the VAT rate), property transactions, the second-hand margin scheme, VAT groups, or the special rules for farmers and sea fishers. It also disregards the items Revenue excludes from the turnover calculation, such as disposals of capital assets and incidental property sales. It uses the thresholds currently in force, EUR 85,000 and EUR 42,500, which have applied since 1 January 2025. Treat the result as a prompt to act, then confirm the detail with your accountant.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the VAT registration threshold in Ireland?

There are two main thresholds: EUR 85,000 for businesses supplying goods and EUR 42,500 for businesses supplying services. Both are tested against your taxable turnover in the current calendar year and in the previous calendar year. A mixed business only gets the higher goods threshold if at least 90% of its turnover comes from goods.

Is the VAT threshold based on the calendar year?

Yes. Revenue tests your turnover in the current and previous calendar years, not over a rolling or continuous 12-month window. To stay outside VAT registration your turnover must be under the applicable threshold in both years. That means exceeding the threshold last year obliges you to be registered this year, even if this year is running well below it.

Do I have to register for VAT if I am below the threshold?

Not compulsorily, but you can register voluntarily. Businesses often do this to reclaim VAT on start-up costs or to sell more credibly to other VAT-registered customers. Once registered you must charge VAT on all taxable supplies.

What is the 90% rule for VAT thresholds?

A business that supplies both goods and services qualifies for the higher EUR 85,000 goods threshold only if at least 90% of its total turnover comes from the supply of goods. If less than 90% is goods, the lower EUR 42,500 services threshold applies to all of its turnover.

Are there other situations that force VAT registration?

Yes. Acquiring more than EUR 41,000 of goods from other EU member states requires registration, as does receiving certain B2B services from abroad (no threshold - you self-account under the reverse charge). Cross-border B2C distance sales and digital services above EUR 10,000 EU-wide require charging VAT in the customer country, usually via the One Stop Shop. These sit outside the small business exemption and have their own rules.

When exactly does the obligation to register start?

At the moment you complete the sale that takes you over the threshold. Revenue treats a trader as an accountable person immediately on completing a transaction that exceeds the threshold, and registration runs from that date. There is no grace period, and no requirement to register in advance simply because you expect to cross.

Related resources

Results are indicative only and based on the information provided. Data may not reflect current vendor offerings and is subject to change. Always verify details directly with vendors before making purchasing decisions.