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Rent Tax Credit in Ireland: How Filipino Workers Who Rent Can Claim It

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By iStart Editorial Team·Published November 15, 2026

Rent Tax Credit in Ireland: How Filipino Workers Who Rent Can Claim It

The rent leaves your account on the first of the month, and the payslip arrives with its deductions already taken. Maybe you are a nurse in your first year on an Irish ward, a carer or a chef, renting a room in Dublin or a shared house in Cork. The Rent Tax Credit is there for tenants, and you can claim it yourself.

Revenue says the scheme runs from 2022 to 2028. For 2024 to 2028 it is worth up to €1,000 a year for a single person, or €2,000 for a jointly assessed married couple or civil partners (Budget 2027 proposes more for 2027–28). It lowers the Income Tax you pay, so you need to owe some.

What the credit is worth, year by year

Revenue grants the relief at a rate of 20% of the rent you paid, up to a yearly maximum:

  • 2024 to 2028: up to €1,000 for a single person, €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple
  • 2022 and 2023: up to €500, or €1,000 for a jointly assessed couple, so the older "€500" figure you may have seen online is the 2022–2023 amount, not today's

Budget 2027 (6 October 2026) proposes up to €1,150 for a single person and €2,300 for a jointly assessed couple for 2027 and 2028, the Department of Finance says. Until the Finance Bill carrying it is law, Revenue's pages show €1,000 and €2,000.

The credit only reduces Income Tax you owe, not the Universal Social Charge (USC) or PRSI. If it is more than you owe for the year, the claim stops there. The amount is worked out when you submit.

Revenue counts only what you pay to use the property: not utilities, board or laundry, and, its guidance adds, not a security deposit or repairs you pay for. Only rent payments that fell due and were paid in a year count for that year.

Who is eligible: Revenue's conditions for renters

A tenant must meet every condition Revenue lists:

  • You pay under a tenancy your landlord agreed to. If you join a friend's flat to share the costs, the landlord must know and consent before you can claim, and each of you counts only your own share.
  • The home is a residential property in the State. A single room counts.
  • If your tenancy is a type that must be registered with the RTB (the Residential Tenancies Board), it must be registered, or you are not eligible.
  • Renting a room in your landlord's own home, a "rent-a-room" or digs arrangement, qualifies without that registration, unless you and the landlord are related.
  • Renting from your parent is never covered. From an aunt or another relative, it counts only where the tenancy is a registrable type and it is registered.
  • You cannot claim while you receive State housing support such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), Rent Supplement or a Rental Accommodation Scheme, even if you pay a top-up yourself.
  • Your landlord cannot be a Housing Association or an Approved Housing Body.

The credit covers your principal private residence (the only home available to you), a second property you rent to get to work or an approved course, and a property your child uses for an approved course.

How to claim the rent tax credit in myAccount

Revenue asks for as much as you can give about your rental arrangement, including:

  • the tenancy's registration number, where it applies, from the confirmation letter the board sends the landlord and each named tenant
  • the property's Eircode and Local Property Tax number
  • your landlord's name, address and tax reference
  • the amount you paid

You upload no lease or receipts, but keep them: you may be asked. A missing number does not stop you claiming, but if you still cannot provide it when asked, the credit given may be withdrawn.

For 2026, as a PAYE taxpayer: myAccount → PAYE Services → 'Manage your tax for the current year' → 'Add new credits' → 'You and your family' → Rent Tax Credit. Or use your 2026 return in 2027.

For 2022 to 2025: 'Review your tax for the previous 4 years' → request a Statement of Liability → 'Complete your Income Tax Return' → 'You and your family' → Rent Tax Credit. Self-assessed? Use the annual return, Form 11, in ROS. Revenue's time limit for a return is four years after the end of the tax year, so the deadline for 2022 falls at the end of 2026.

How to claim Ireland's Rent Tax Credit by the year the rent was paid: for 2026, PAYE taxpayers claim in-year in myAccount or use the 2026 return in 2027; for 2022 to 2025, an Income Tax Return for each year in myAccount, or Form 11 in ROS if self-assessed. Revenue's time limit for a return is four years after the end of the tax year.

If you have not set up myAccount yet, our PPS number guide covers the setup. Revenue's how-to-claim page takes you through the claim in your own account and names no fee and no agent, so keep your login to yourself.

Keep your rental records from week one: the registration number asked for on move-in day, payments by bank transfer, bills kept separate. That habit, built in your first years in Ireland, is part of the footing a working life here stands on.

A Filipina farm worker feeds a young calf from a teat bucket in a clean calf shed on a dairy farm in Ireland, calm and practised, in early-morning light.

Before you claim: a renter's checklist

  • Ask your landlord for the RTB registration number, or find it on your confirmation letter
  • Check a current tenancy on the board's online register (address or Eircode)
  • Pay by bank transfer and keep bills separate
  • Claim 2026 in-year in myAccount (PAYE)
  • File a return for each earlier year, oldest first

The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most

Can I claim the rent tax credit if I share a house?

Yes, if the landlord knows you live there and consents. Each tenant claims only on the share they pay, and the other conditions still apply.

Can I still claim for 2022 or 2023?

Yes, if you file within four years after the end of that year: a return for each year, in myAccount. The maximum for those years was €500 for a single person or €1,000 for a jointly assessed couple.

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