Revenue publishes 2025 Annual Report
On 07/05/2026, Revenue published its 2025 Annual Report together, with various research and statistical papers.
The report outlines that total gross receipts in 2025 were €157 billion, which included €34.9 billion collected on behalf of other Government Departments, agencies and other EU Member States. Net tax receipts were €106.5 billion.
Commenting on today’s publication, Revenue Chairman, Niall Cody, said:
“Timely compliance rates remained strong in 2025 at 99% for large and medium cases and 93% for other cases, the second consecutive annual increase. This reflects the continued culture of strong voluntary compliance in Irish society.
We thank taxpayers, businesses, traders and their agents for their continued cooperation and high levels of compliance throughout 2025.”
Supporting Taxpayers, Business and Trade
We recognise that rising costs and other changes in the economic environment have affected businesses in a variety of ways, and that this can create cash-flow pressures. Our advice to taxpayers who are experiencing temporary cash flow difficulties is to engage with us as soon as these issues arise.
Outlining the importance of early engagement in such cases, Revenue Commissioner, Maura Kiely, advised:
“We provide flexible payment solutions tailored to individual taxpayers’ financial circumstances and capacity to pay. Our online phased payment arrangement (PPA) facility allows taxpayers to apply for a PPA, or adjust an existing PPA, at any time. This facility helps taxpayers maintain their record of timely compliance during temporary difficulties.
We have a strong track record in agreeing flexible and appropriate payment arrangements. Taxpayers can therefore be assured that we will work with them provided that they engage with us on a meaningful basis and, critically, bring any outstanding returns up to date and continue to file their returns on a timely basis. This is the case even where the associated liabilities cannot be paid.”
At 31 December 2025 there were 18,653 PPAs in place covering almost €1 billion of debt, including €708 million under the Debt Warehouse Scheme (DWS).
Where debt is not paid and where there is no meaningful engagement, we take appropriate enforcement action. This ensures a level playing field for all, protects the Exchequer and has resulted in the reduction of total debt outstanding from €3.1 billion as at 31 December 2024, to €2.3 billion at the end of 2025.
Facilitating Voluntary Compliance
Educating and informing taxpayers about their obligations is central to supporting voluntary compliance and enabling self-service. While most taxpayers pay the right amount of tax at the right time, we understand that circumstances may arise where normally compliant taxpayers make mistakes in their tax affairs or are unaware of the tax obligations applicable in respect of a particular transaction or life event.
Our Compliance Intervention Framework (CIF) provides taxpayers with opportunities to voluntarily address and self-correct any errors they have made. Those who avail of these opportunities typically benefit from lower-level penalties and will, generally, not risk either prosecution or publication.
For the minority who are non-compliant, we proactively identify and address risk. Speaking about the ways in which AI and other technological advances assist our risk assessment processes, Revenue Commissioner, Ruth Kennedy, remarked:
“We are continuously expanding our data holdings and use advanced analytics to build a clearer picture of compliance behaviours and sector-specific risks. By cross-checking data against taxpayer declarations and our own records and intelligence, we identify discrepancies and non-compliance indicators.
This approach, which is underpinned by legislation, enables us to focus our resources where they have greatest impact and reduces the burden on compliant taxpayers.”
In 2025, our teams carried out over 237,000 audit and compliance interventions yielding €734 million, with a further €41.7 million yielded from tax avoidance cases.
Effective Frontier Management
Advanced risk analysis and profiling methodologies also pay a key role in our work to protect the State’s frontiers against drug trafficking, illicit smuggling and organised crime. We also participate in EU and other international fora to share best practice and strengthen security and resilience across customs administrations. This ensures that we are well placed to counteract new risk areas as they develop.
Building on the successes our enforcement teams have had in recent years we seized almost 40,000 kg of drugs valued at €191.1 million.
Our capability in this space was enhanced in 2025 with the launch of our new Customs Cutter, R.C.C. ‘Cosaint’ and the opening of the new State Facility at Rosslare Europort which included a high-energy gantry X-ray scanner for advanced vehicle inspections.
Our enforcement teams also challenge and confront all stages of the illicit tobacco supply chain and a undertook a number of significant operations during 2025. This included the discovery and dismantling of an illicit cigarette factory and seizure of over €63.5 million worth of tobacco products.
New measures we introduced in December 2025 further strengthened controls on the movement of duty-paid tobacco into the State, from other EU Member States, by private individuals.
Digital Innovation
Our ‘digital-first’ service model reflects taxpayers’ preferences to manage their tax affairs at a time that suits them, and we continue to invest in our digital service offerings to improve efficiency and user experiences. We complement these service offerings with direct assistance for those who need it.
We also use technology to enhance our internal processes, including the launch of an AI assistant that helps caseworkers search and query our Tax and Duty Manuals (TDMs) and an agentic AI capability to draft initial versions of new manuals for review and refinement by subject matter experts.
During 2025 we launched ‘sandboxed’ Large Language Models (LLMs) to assist staff with document summarisation, idea generation and internal code development and maintenance. These secure environments enable innovation without risk to core operations.
Reflecting on our openness to evaluate and deploy new technology such as AI, Commissioner Kennedy outlined:
“We have strong governance processes which ensure our use of AI is safe, lawful and ethical, and aligned with EU legislation and national guidance on responsible use of AI in the Public Sector.
Expanded AI training was made available to all our people during 2025, to equip them with the knowledge and judgement to use these tools effectively. We therefore welcome the finding from our 2025 Employee Engagement Survey that over 70% of our people believe AI will create workflow efficiencies.”
Tax Reform and Modernisation
We continue to support the Department of Finance in evaluating and developing the tax and duty policy framework.
We made substantial progress on IT developments required to support the systems for Pillar Two registration and filing and published a dedicated guidance hub on our website. We also contacted potential in-scope entities and relevant stakeholders in 2025 to raise awareness of the registration process.
In-scope entities can now file their top-up tax information return and pay associated liabilities through ROS and are reminded to familiarise themselves with their reporting requirements to ensure that they meet the 30 June 2026 filing deadline.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Mr. Cody said:
“We remain committed to fairly and efficiently collecting taxes and duties due to the State and implementing customs controls. As part of this, we will continue to provide services and supports to make it as easy as possible for taxpayers to understand and comply with their tax obligations.
Where new reporting obligations are implemented, we will engage with all relevant stakeholder to ensure there is sufficient awareness of and time to integrate these requirements into their business processes. For taxpayers struggling to pay their tax liabilities, we will work with them to find a mutually acceptable payment arrangement.
We will continue to deepen our understanding of tax and duty compliance behaviour and remain committed to confronting non-compliance in all its forms. We will also continue to disrupt and dismantle core supply chains used by those involved in smuggling and illicit trade through ongoing collaboration with our national and international law enforcement partners and agile deployment of our resources.”
As discussions on customs reform and other policy matters advance, we will continue to represent Ireland’s position and provide support to the Department of Finance. Key upcoming changes include:
- The introduction of a fixed Customs Duty charge on all consignments to individuals valued at less than €150 entering the EU from 1 July 2026, including imports to Ireland from Great Britain.
- Introduction of an EU Customs Handling Charge from 1 November 2026 to cover the increasing costs of managing e-Commerce goods within the EU, followed by the commencement of an EU Customs Data Hub for e-Commerce consignments from mid-2028.
We will also dedicate significant resources to support the Department of Finance during Ireland’s 2026 Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Other key priorities in 2026 include:
- completing work to facilitate the removal of the MV Matthew from Cork Harbour,
- processing all submissions received under the disclosure opportunity to regularise misclassification of self-employment
- and
- intensifying engagement with businesses, representative bodies, software providers and other stakeholders to strengthen awareness of and readiness for ViDA and VAT Modernisation.
In concluding, Mr. Cody added:
“Commissioners Kennedy, Kiely and I thank all Revenue staff for their dedication, drive and professionalism, without which our achievements throughout 2025 would not have been possible. We also thank those colleagues who retired in the past year, many of whom dedicated 40 or more years of service to the State.”
[ENDS 07/05/2026]