Personal Investment Account (PIA)

Minister for Finance Simon Harris has published a roadmap for Ireland's long-awaited personal investment account, with full technical details—the threshold, flat tax rate, and contribution limits—reserved for Budget Day on 6 October. The details that were announced are as follows:

Who can set up an account?

The account will be open to any Irish tax-resident individual aged 18 or over holding a PPSN, with one account permitted per person.

What tax will apply?

There will be a tax-free threshold under which no tax will be paid. This is the most attractive aspect of the PIA, as capital gains will not be taxed under an agreed threshold.

A “low flat” rate of tax will be applied to the value of the account over this limit. The Budget will announce the exact details of the “low flat” rate and threshold.

The investment platform where the personal investment account (PIA) was set up will calculate, report and pay any tax due directly to the Revenue on behalf of the investor. As there will be no tax reporting, this will make it simple for individuals to invest.

What assets can I invest in?

Choice can be a double-edged sword when it comes to investing, so it's good to see that the government excluded derivatives (too complex) and Crypto (impossible to value) as investment options for PIAs. Investors can choose from exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, shares, and some insurance-based products promoted by Life companies. Interestingly, there will be no cash fund option. This is a good idea because it forces people to invest in equities rather than set up an account and leave their money on deposit.

Portability

Investors will be able to transfer between platform providers. In-specie transfers, i.e. moving assets from one platform provider to another without cashing the investment, will be allowed but some platforms may not facilitate it.

Timeline

It is expected that platform providers will be able to offer the new personal investment account (PIA) from January 1^st 2027. As a number of investment platforms have signalled a six-month lead, the PIA appears ready to launch at the end of Q1 2027.

Further tax changes

Alongside the personal investment account, the government also launched a roadmap called “Taxation of Retail Investment – A New Path Forward For Ireland” today.  Included in this plan is three areas for consideration in reforming the existing taxation regime:

• Reducing the rate of taxation, 
• Reviewing the deemed-disposal rule, and 
• Introducing administrative simplifications

Interestingly, it appears that the above three areas will be addressed in Budget 2028, rather than the coming Budget in October. The full report can be found here Microsoft Word - 2026 08 26 Roadmap for Retail Investment.

Finally, we await the outstanding details of the personal investment accounts. These include details of the maximum amount you can invest in a PIA, and the flat tax rate, which will be announced on Budget day (October 6th).