What Is the Rent Tax Credit?
The Rent Tax Credit is a tax relief introduced in Budget 2023 and available for 2026 onwards. It allows tenants in private rented accommodation to claim a tax credit against their income tax liability. Unlike the previous rent relief (which was an allowance at the standard rate), this is a credit — reducing your tax bill euro-for-euro.
Updated for 2026 Revenue rates.
How Much Can You Claim?
- Single person — up to €1,000 per year
- Married or civil partner (jointly assessed) — up to €2,000 per year (€1,000 per person)
The credit is reduced by the amount of rent-a-room relief or any other housing-related relief you receive if that relief exceeds certain limits.
Who Is Eligible?
You can claim the Rent Tax Credit if:
- You are renting a private residential property as your principal private residence (your main home)
- You have a valid tenancy registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB)
- You pay rent to a private landlord (not to a local authority or approved housing body)
- You are not living in rent-controlled or social housing
- You are aged 18 or over
What If You Share a Tenancy?
If you share a tenancy with other tenants (e.g., house share), you can each claim the Rent Tax Credit for your share of the rent, provided:
- Each tenant has their own tenancy agreement or is named on a joint tenancy
- The tenancy is registered with the RTB
- Each tenant pays rent directly to the landlord
Tenants of Approved Housing Bodies
If you rent from an Approved Housing Body (AHB) or a local authority, you are generally not eligible for the full Rent Tax Credit. However, an equivalent relief may apply in some circumstances. Check with your landlord or Revenue.
How to Claim
Claiming the Rent Tax Credit is simple through Revenue's myAccount service:
- Log in to myAccount at revenue.ie
- Navigate to the "Tax Credits" or "Review Your Tax" section
- Enter your tenancy details — including the landlord's Revenue-issued Landlord Reference Number (LPT Property ID or Revenue ID)
- Confirm your rent paid during the year
- Submit — the credit is applied to your current or future tax position
If you are a PAYE worker, the credit is typically allocated to your employer to reduce your weekly/monthly tax deduction. If you are self-assessed, it reduces your final tax liability.
Claiming for Previous Years
The credit is available for 2022 onwards (retrospectively). If you did not claim in a prior year, you may be able to claim it as part of your end-of-year review or through myAccount by filing a return for that year.
RTB Registration Requirement
A key condition is that your tenancy must be registered with the RTB. If your landlord has not registered the tenancy, you should ask them to do so. You can check RTB registration online. Unregistered tenancies may still qualify with supporting evidence, but Revenue may query the claim.
The 2026 rules: €1,000 (single) / €2,000 (couple)
The Rent Tax Credit for 2024-2028 is €1,000 per year for a single person and €2,000 per year for a jointly assessed married couple or civil partners (both named on the tenancy). It was extended to the end of 2028 in Budget 2026. The credit reduces your income tax euro-for-euro, and if your tax liability is less than the credit, you get the lower amount — the credit cannot create a refund beyond the tax you paid. You can claim for 2024, 2025, 2026 and later years; the 2022-2023 years were worth €500/€1,000. Claim in myAccount: 'Review your tax' → 'Rent credit', entering the rent paid, the property address and the RTB registration number (if you do not have it, you can still claim — Revenue may verify with your landlord later).
Who qualifies
You must be paying rent for your principal private residence under a tenancy that is registered with the RTB (where registration is required), and your landlord must not be a local authority, an approved housing body, or your parent or child. Tenants on HAP, Rent Supplement or RAS do not qualify (the State is effectively paying the rent). People living in 'digs' or Rent-a-Room arrangements are licensees, not tenants, so they do not qualify either — but if you share a registered tenancy with flatmates, each tenant named on the tenancy can claim their share. There is no upper income limit, and the credit applies even if your rent is paid partly by an employer (except the BIK portion).
Getting the credit monthly instead of yearly
You do not have to wait for a lump sum: add the rent credit to your tax credits in myAccount and it is spread across your payslips, increasing your take-home pay each week (worth about €19.23 a week for a single person, €38.46 for a couple). If you prefer, claim it as a refund at year-end — Revenue usually processes within a few weeks. If you moved mid-year, apportion the credit by the months you rented. Students and young professionals renting in shared houses often miss this credit — it is worth checking your eligibility even if your income is low, as it may reduce tax on part-time earnings.
Action steps
- Find your RTB tenancy registration number (or ask your landlord to register the tenancy).
- Claim in myAccount for 2024, 2025 and 2026 in one sitting.
- Add the credit to your tax credits for a monthly boost, or take the refund at year-end.
- Keep rent receipts and the tenancy agreement for 6 years.