Guides
The parts of Irish VAT and invoicing that catch small businesses out, written plainly. We had to make the software get these right, which is a good way to find out where the rules actually bite.
Zero-rated vs exempt VAT: the difference that decides what you reclaim
Both show the customer no VAT, and they are opposite positions. Zero-rated keeps you in the VAT system and lets you reclaim on your costs. Exempt puts you outside it and does not.
Invoicing as a sole trader in Ireland: what goes on the document
A sole trader's invoice needs your own name, a sequential number and the registered business name if you trade under one. What is required, what is optional, and what changes if you register for VAT.
VAT registration thresholds Ireland: 42,500 and 85,000 euro
The thresholds are 42,500 euro for services and 85,000 euro for goods, measured over any rolling twelve months rather than your accounting year. What changes on your invoices the day you register.
The cash receipts basis: paying VAT when you are paid
On the invoice basis you owe Revenue the VAT when you raise the invoice, paid or not. On the cash receipts basis you owe it when the money lands. Who qualifies, and what it is worth.
Can I charge interest on a late invoice? Irish late payment rules
Irish businesses are automatically entitled to interest and compensation on a commercial invoice paid late - no reminder required, and it cannot be waived. The rate, the compensation amounts, and a worked example.
When is my VAT3 due? Irish VAT deadlines for 2026 and 2027
Every Irish two-monthly VAT period and the date the return and payment are due on ROS, for 2026 and 2027. Plus what to do if you file quarterly, four-monthly, half-yearly or annually.
VAT rates in Ireland: 23%, 13.5%, 9%, 0% and which one applies
Ireland has four VAT rates in general use plus a livestock rate, and the one you charge depends on what you are selling rather than who you are. Here is the structure, and where to look up a specific item.
Reverse charge invoices in Ireland: what the document must say
When you invoice with no VAT under the reverse charge - EU B2B services, or construction subcontracting to a principal contractor - the invoice itself has to carry three things. Here they are, with the exact wording.
The VAT3 return: where your T1 figure comes from
T1 is VAT on your sales for the period. What goes into it depends on whether you file on the invoice basis or the cash receipts basis - and the two give genuinely different answers for the same set of invoices.
A credit note belongs to the period you issued it
Reversing a sale from a previous VAT period does not reopen that period. The credit note lands in the period it was issued - and the difference between that and deleting the invoice is real money on a return you have already filed.
Deposit invoices: one document, two payments
Asking for half up front should not mean raising two invoices and remembering to send the second. Here is how a deposit works on a single document, and what it means for the VAT depending on which basis you file.
What has to be on a VAT invoice in Ireland
Revenue lists twelve things a VAT invoice must carry, and a deadline most people have never heard of: it must issue within 15 days of the end of the month of supply. The full list, plus what changes for reverse charge and foreign currency.
The Return of Trading Details: the annual VAT return people forget
Every VAT-registered business in Ireland files an RTD once a year, on the 23rd of the month after its accounting period ends. It is a breakdown of sales and purchases by VAT rate, and it only balances if your VAT3s were right.
Domestic-only or intra-EU? Ireland's two-tier VAT registration
Since 2019 an Irish VAT registration is either domestic-only or intra-EU. Pick domestic-only and your number will not validate on VIES, so EU suppliers charge you their own VAT. What each one covers and how to move between them.
Checking a customer's VAT number before you zero-rate
If you zero-rate a supply to an EU business whose VAT number does not validate, the VAT is yours to pay. How to check a number on VIES, what a valid result does and does not tell you, and the statement you owe afterwards.