Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT)

Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) is the tax Revenue charges on interest paid into Irish deposit accounts, currently 33%. The bank or credit union deducts it at source before crediting interest to your account, so you never see the gross amount.

A simple example: €10,000 sitting in a 3% AER account earns €300 of gross interest in a year. The bank deducts €99 DIRT and pays you €201 — a 2.01% net return. This is why headline interest rates on Irish savings accounts can be misleading: the AER advertised is gross, and DIRT eats roughly a third of it.

A few groups can claim DIRT back. People aged 65 or over whose total income is below the income-tax exemption threshold can apply for a refund, as can permanently incapacitated taxpayers. First-time buyers using deposits to fund a house purchase also have a separate four-year DIRT-back scheme available via Revenue.

DIRT does not apply to Prize Bonds, State Savings products, or pension assets — those have separate tax treatments. Use the savings goal calculator or compound-interest calculator to model after-DIRT growth on your savings.