Rent Tax Credit and Rent a Room relief

If you pay rent

The Rent Tax Credit

It reduces the income tax you owe for a year. The maximum depends on the year and on whether you are jointly assessed.

Years you can still claim

A claim reaches back four years, so the years open to you right now are 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. Each one is a separate Income Tax Return. Somebody who has been renting throughout and has never claimed is usually owed several years at once, which is the part of this credit most often left behind.

Why there is no calculator here

Revenue publishes the maximum and then says the amount you get “will depend on the amount of rent you pay and Income Tax you pay”, without publishing the relationship between them. A calculator would therefore be guessing at the step that matters, and a guess dressed as a figure is worse than the table above. Revenue works out the amount when the claim is submitted.

Figures read from Revenue, which says: “For 2024 to 2028, the maximum value of the Rent Tax Credit is €2,000 per year for jointly assessed married couples or civil partners. The maximum value is €1,000 in all other cases, including single persons.” Checked 4 August 2026.

If you rent out a room

Rent a Room relief

Up to €14,000 a year from letting a room in your own home is exempt from income tax, USC and PRSI. Pass that figure by a single euro and the exemption does not shrink, it disappears, and the whole amount becomes taxable.

What counts towards the limit

Everything the tenant pays you. Rent, a contribution to bills, money towards food or laundry: all of it counts, and it is the gross figure rather than what is left after your own costs. The relief also requires that you live in the property. A house you have moved out of is ordinary rental income however the arrangement is described.

Read from Revenue, which says: “The income you receive must not exceed the exemption limit of €14,000. If it does, then you are taxed on the total amount.” Checked 4 August 2026.

The rest of the renting side

While you are here

• What rent is actually being paid, county by county and town by town.
• The most your rent can lawfully go up by, under the rules that replaced Rent Pressure Zones.
• Whether your tenancy is registered, which matters for more than the credit.

Questions people ask

How much is the Rent Tax Credit?

For 2024 to 2028 the maximum is €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple. For 2022 and 2023 it was half of that. The maximum is per year, however many properties you paid rent for.

Can I claim the Rent Tax Credit for previous years?

Yes. A claim can be made for the four years before the current one, so somebody who has never claimed usually has several years open at once rather than one. It is claimed on an Income Tax Return for each year.

Will I definitely get the full amount?

Not necessarily. Revenue works the amount out from the rent you paid and the income tax you paid, and you need an income tax liability for the credit to reduce. The figures here are the maximum, not a promise.

How much can I earn renting a room tax free?

€14,000 a year. Everything the tenant pays counts towards it, including money towards bills or food, and it is the gross figure rather than what you keep after costs.

What happens if I go over the €14,000 limit?

The entire amount becomes taxable, not just the part above the limit. Rent a Room is a cliff rather than a taper, so €14,001 of income is taxed on all €14,001 while €14,000 is taxed on none of it.

Does Rent a Room relief apply if I rent out the whole house?

No. The relief applies to a room, or rooms, in your own home while you are living in it. Renting out a property you do not live in is ordinary rental income and is taxed as such.