Budget 2027 Ireland: what does it mean for parents and families?

Budget 2027 was announced in the Dáil on Tuesday 6 October 2026. This page lists what the Government announced that affects families with babies and young children, with the date each change starts. Nothing here is a forecast.

Every figure below is taken from the Budget documents published on gov.ie on 6 October 2026. Where the documents do not give a start date yet, we say so, and we will update this page when it is confirmed.

How much will I save in tax and USC?

Three changes cut the tax most working parents pay from 1 January 2027.

Tax credits

• The Personal Tax Credit rises by €125, from €2,000 to €2,125. For a married couple or civil partners it is double, so it rises by €250, from €4,000 to €4,250.
• The Employee Tax Credit (PAYE) rises by €125, from €2,000 to €2,125.
• The Earned Income Tax Credit for the self-employed rises by €125, from €2,000 to €2,125.
• The Home Carer Tax Credit rises by €100, from €1,950 to €2,050.

Standard rate cut-off point

This is the amount you can earn before tax goes from 20% to 40%. It rises by €2,500 for everyone, so up to €2,500 of your income is taxed at 20% instead of 40%, worth up to €500 a year.

• Single, widowed or surviving civil partner: €44,000 to €46,500
• Single parent getting the Single Person Child Carer Credit: €48,000 to €50,500
• Married couple or civil partners, one income: €53,000 to €55,500
• Married couple or civil partners, two incomes: €53,000 to €55,500, with up to €37,500 more for the second earner

USC

The ceiling of the 2% USC band rises by €1,600, from €28,700 to €30,300, so that slice of income is charged at 2% instead of 3%. That is worth up to €16 a year for each person earning over €28,700. From 1 January 2027 the USC rates are:

• 0.5% on the first €12,012
• 2% on €12,013 to €30,300
• 3% on €30,301 to €70,444
• 8% on income over €70,444

Incomes under €13,000 are exempt from USC.

What it adds up to

We worked these out from the changes above for an employee paying tax under PAYE, for a full year from January 2027.

Single employee: €250 from the two credits, up to €500 from the cut-off point and up to €16 from USC. Married couple on one income: €375 from the credits, up to €500 from the cut-off point and up to €16 from USC. A single parent getting the Single Person Child Carer Credit also saves up to €766, at €50,500 or more.

If you are married and one of you works in the home caring for children, you may also qualify for the Home Carer Tax Credit, which adds another €100. Couples where both work each get the employee credit rise and up to €16 on USC, as well as the €250 married personal credit rise and the higher cut-off point.

These figures are income tax and USC only. Employee PRSI goes from 4.2% to 4.35% on 1 October 2026 and to 4.5% on 1 October 2027, a change agreed before this Budget, so your take-home pay will rise by a little less. The national minimum wage goes from €14.15 to €14.94 an hour from 1 January 2027.

What happens to Child Benefit in Budget 2027?

Child Benefit does not change. It stays at €140 a month for each child in 2027. Twins are paid at one and a half times the normal rate for each child, and triplets or more at double the normal rate for each child.

Is there a double Child Benefit or once-off payment?

No double Child Benefit payment was announced. The Christmas bonus will be paid in December 2026 to almost 1.4 million people getting a long-term social welfare payment. A new €500 Cost of Disability payment will be paid as a lump sum in 2027 to people getting a long-term disability payment. The Budget documents do not include a once-off energy credit.

What changes for Maternity, Paternity and Parent's Benefit?

Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Parent's Benefit all rise by €10, from €299 to €309 a week, from January 2027. No change to the number of weeks was announced. Our Maternity Benefit guide explains how the payment works and when to apply.

What changes for childcare and the National Childcare Scheme?

• Maximum childcare fee: falls from €735 to €550 a month for children up to and including senior infants. The Government says this saves families up to €2,220 a year.
• Universal hourly subsidy: the National Childcare Scheme subsidy rises from €2.14 to €2.50 an hour for all children up to and including senior infants.
• Income-assessed subsidy: from September 2027, families earning €38,500 or less (up from €34,000) can get the maximum subsidy. The upper income limit stays at €68,000.
• Multiple Child Discount: rises from €5,500 to €6,000 for families with two children, and from €11,000 to €12,500 for three or more.
• Fee cap in Core Funding services: the maximum weekly fee for full-time care falls from €280 to €250.
• Childminders: can earn up to €20,000 a year tax free, up from €15,000, and the limit on the number of children they can mind is removed.
• Preschool (ECCE): continues free for almost 100,000 children, and extra support for children with additional needs is extended to children under 3 from September 2027.

The Budget documents give September 2027 for the income-assessed changes but do not yet give a start date for the new €550 maximum or the higher hourly subsidy. We will update this page when the Department of Children confirms it.

What else changes for families on lower incomes?

• Child Support Payment: paid with a weekly social welfare payment, it rises by €6 a week to €64 for each child under 12 and €84 for each child aged 12 and over, from January 2027.
• Weekly payments: most social welfare payments rise by €10 a week from January 2027. The One-Parent Family Payment goes to €264 a week.
• One-Parent Family Payment earnings: you can earn €175 a week, up from €165, before it affects the payment, from July 2027.
• Working Family Payment: the income limits rise by €30 a week for every family size, to €795 for one child, €896 for two and €997 for three.
• Fuel Allowance: rises from €38 to €43 a week.
• Holiday Hunger Programme: becomes permanent, for over 40,000 children.

Does Budget 2027 change anything for pregnancy, contraception or IVF?

The Free Contraception Scheme is extended to age 37. No change to publicly funded IVF was announced in the Budget documents. Our guide to free IVF in Ireland explains the current scheme.

What changes for renting and buying a home?

• Rent Tax Credit: rises by €150 to €1,150 for a single person, and by €300 to €2,300 for a jointly assessed couple, for the 2027 and 2028 tax years.
• Help to Buy: the maximum relief rises from €30,000 to €35,000 with immediate effect.

Budget 2027 changes for parents at a glance

Do I need to do anything to get the increases?

The new weekly rates apply from January 2027 to people already getting those payments, and the new tax credits, cut-off points and USC bands apply from 1 January 2027. For childcare, the new National Childcare Scheme rates apply from the dates the Department of Children confirms. If your baby is on the way, our 24 weeks pregnant page shows when to apply for Maternity Benefit.

None of this is financial advice. Rates and dates are as announced on 6 October 2026 and can change when the legislation passes.