Monday 7 September 2026
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Local Public Representative for Cork North West Region

Email : johnpaul.oshea@oireachtas.ie

Over 36k Renters in Cork Benefit from Rent Tax Credit

Sep 07, 2026

Over 36k Renters in Cork Benefit from Rent Tax Credit

36,200 renters in Cork benefited from the Rent Tax Credit last year, Cork North West Fine Gael TD John Paul O’Shea has said.

 

Deputy O’Shea said, “This is a real support putting money back into the pockets of renters around Cork. Fine Gael introduced this credit because it recognises the pressure renters face, and it’s increased in value twice to ensure it keeps pace.”

 

Figures released by the Department of Finance show 39.2m was given to renters who claimed the credit in Cork in 2024.

 

The Rent Tax Credit was introduced to help ease the cost of renting for tenants across the country. It’s doubled in value rising from €500 initially to €1,000 for a single person and to €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple.

 

The credit can be claimed by tenants in the private rental sector as well as some renters in ‘digs’ or ‘rent-a-room’ arrangements, provided they meet the qualifying conditions, and claimed through Revenue’s myAccount service.

 

Deputy O’Shea concluded by saying, “It’s frustrating to know there are still renters in Cork who are entitled to this credit but haven’t claimed it. It can be backdated, so if you’ve paid qualifying rent since 2022 and haven’t claimed, you could be due a significant refund.

 

“My message to renters in Cork is simple: check if you’re entitled to this credit and claim it. It only takes a few minutes online and it could put hundreds of euro back into your pocket.”

 

Ends/

 

County

Rent tax credit Number (100s)

Rent tax credit Claim Amount (€m)

Carlow

 2,800

3.0

Cavan

 2,800

3.2

Clare

 3,200

3.4

Cork

 36,200

39.2

Donegal

 3,800

4.2

Dublin

 156,900

169.1

Galway

 20,800

22.1

Kerry

 5,200

5.5

Kildare

 12,700

14.2

Kilkenny

 3,100

3.4

Laois

 2,400

2.7

Leitrim

 1,000

1.0

Limerick

 16,200

17.0

Longford

 1,800

2.0

Louth

 5,900

6.6

Mayo

 4,700

5.1

Meath

 6,400

7.2

Monaghan

 2,400

2.4

Offaly

 2,700

2.9

Roscommon

 1,600

1.7

Sligo

 3,500

3.6

Tipperary

 6,100

6.7

Waterford

 6,100

6.6

Westmeath

 5,000

5.6

Wexford

 5,000

5.6

Wicklow

 4,800

5.5

N/A

 11,700

13.5

Total

 335,000

363.0

 

The data is provided on a taxpayer unit basis, where jointly assessed couples are counted as one unit. These taxpayer units have been rounded to the nearest 100, The total numbers and costing figures presented may differ slightly from published figures as a result of rounding. The county was determined for the RTC based on the information provided in the claim submission.

 

Total figures are also available in the Cost of Tax Expenditure publication on the Revenue website at: https://www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/tax-expenditures/cost/index.aspx