This article is about the Budget that took place in 2019.(Budget 2020).
If you are looking for details of the latest Budget in Ireland you can find it here Budget 2021
Budget 2020 October 8th 2019.
This is what was announced in Budget 2020
Social Welfare and Pensions :
- Jobseeker’s Allowance for people aged 25 will increase by €45.20 a
week from - Jobseeker’s Allowance for people aged under 25 will increase by €90.30 from €112.70 to €203, if they are living independently and getting a state housing support such as Rent Supplement, RAS or HAP (from January 2020).
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance for people aged 25 will increase by €45.20 a week from €157.80 to €203 (from January 2020).
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance for people aged under 25 will increase by €90.30 a week from €112.70 to €203, if living independently and getting a state housing support such as Rent Supplement, RAS or HAP (from January 2020).
- The income disregard for the One-Parent Family Payment and Jobseeker Transition will increase by €15 (confirmed)
- Income thresholds for the Working Family Payment will rise by €10 for families of up to three children. (confirmed) .
- A €2 a week rise
in the “Qualified Child Increase” for under 12s and a €3 increase for children over 12. (confirmed from 6th January 2020). - There will also be a €5 increase in the living alone allowance from January 2020 (confirmed)
- The Fuel Allowance is increasing by €2 a week to €24.50 a week. (from January 2020)
- The Christmas Bonus – will be paid out again at 100% in 2019 – the same as last year. (confirmed) More details of the Bonus Here
Carers :- The number of hours that a carer can work or study every week outside the home and still get Carer’s Benefit or Carer’s Allowance will increase from 15 hours to 18.5 hours. (No date given yet)
Budget 2020 also announced the extension of free GP care to under-eights and free dental care for under-sixes. (From Sept 2020)
Prescription charges will be reduced by 50c per item . (July 1st 2020) This will mean that it will be €1.50 per item . For people aged over 70, the prescription charge will be €1 per item
The monthly threshold for the Drug Payment Scheme is being reduced by €10 per month .(In Sept 2020)
The threshold for medical cards for the over-70s will increase by €50 for a single person and €150 for a couple. (In Sept 2020)
Household Benefits Package
Qualifying criteria for the Household Benefits Package will be broadened for people aged under 70 to allow another adult to live in the home.
There were no other increases to the weekly amounts of state pensions or welfare benefits – except for those listed above.
Taxes
No USC changes , but the reduced rate for medical card holders extended for another year.
No changes to the main Income tax thresholds or rates .
An increase to the Earned Income Credit for self-employed workers to €1500 as it moves towards €1650 to match the PAYE credit. (Jan 2020)
Home carer tax credit is to increase by €100 to €1600 from Jan 1st 2020
Inheritance Tax (capital acquisitions tax
The current rate of
DIRT – the tax on savings interest will be cut by another 2% this year as promised. This will bring DIRT down to 33% – the level it was at in 2013.
In 2018, the rate was 37% and in 2017, the rate was 39%. From 2014 to 2016, the DIRT rate was 41
Corporation tax unchanged .
A new nitrogen oxide charge (NOx) on new and imported petrol and diesel cars is to be introduced. This will replace the 1% cent diesel surcharge introduced last year. The new NOx surcharge will apply to all passenger cars registering for the first time in the State from January 1st, 2020. The rate is yet to be confirmed – but we have seen that a figure of €5 per mg/km NOx might apply.
On that basis the driver of an average new diesel car with a NOx level of 43 mg/km would pay €215 . The driver of the average new petrol car with a NOx level of 23 mg/km would pay €115.
Stamp
The Help to Buy Initiative was due to end
Tobacco – an increase of 50c on 20 cigarettes is confirmed from midnight 8th Oct.
Alcohol – no change (confirmed)
The Benefit In Kind zero rate on electric vehicles is extended to 2022.
The Minimum Wage increase in 2020 was not mentioned – but we expect it to be increased in January 2020