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Rent vs Buy Calculator: Ireland

Find the year buying beats renting, using your country's real cost of getting in and out: stamp duty, notary fees and agent commission. 15 countries.

Reviewed by CentExactRates effective 1 sourceCalculated in your browser. Shared links include inputs.

Renting versus buying in Ireland

Irish stamp duty is 1% up to €1,000,000, 2% from there to €1.5m and 6% above, at the rates in force since 2 October 2024 and unchanged in Budget 2026. On a €360,000 home that is €3,600, which is among the lowest entry taxes in western Europe, a fifth of what the same purchase would pay in France or Germany.

There is no first-time buyer exemption. England and Northern Ireland remove stamp duty entirely below £300,000 for a first purchase and the Netherlands does the same up to €555,000; Ireland charges everyone the same scale. If you have been reading British advice about a first purchase, this is the point where it stops applying.

Buying ten or more houses in a year triggers a 15% rate instead of the residential scale. That is aimed at bulk investors, not at anyone using this page, but it is why the residential rates are described as applying to an individual.

There is no mortgage insurance either. What constrains an Irish buyer is the Central Bank's lending limit of four times income for a first-time buyer, a cap on whether you can buy at all rather than a cost added when you do. The 10% deposit default reflects the accompanying loan-to-value limit.

Local property tax is a banded charge on self-assessed value, and about 0.09% of the purchase price is a typical outcome, one of the lightest recurring property taxes here.

For how the calculation works, the formula behind it and what it leaves out, see the full guide. For help interpreting a result or comparing it with a quote or statement, read the questions and answers.

Data sources

Irish stamp duty and purchase costsRevenueWithin its effective period

Every document each dataset was read from, its notes and how the figures were checked are listed in the guide's data sources.

This calculator in other countries

Each country has its own rates, thresholds and rules, and its own page that runs the calculator on them and cites the official sources they came from.

CentExactCalculator publisher

CentExact publishes the calculation method, worked examples and available data sources. Automated checks cover reference calculations; they do not certify a result for your circumstances or imply approval by a lender or tax authority.

How we build and test our calculators

This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the stated formula; lenders and providers may round or calculate differently. Check any decision with the institution involved or a qualified adviser.