The Irish government has officially unveiled a roadmap for a new State-backed Savings and Investment Account (SIA) scheme designed to boost retail investing. Launching in 2027, the initiative will allow citizens to hold shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with a tax-free threshold and a low flat tax above it, eliminating the eight-year “deemed disposal” tax. However, the roadmap strictly excludes cryptocurrency and derivatives to protect consumers.
On 31 August 2026, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris published the Taxation of Retail Investment: A New Path Forward for Ireland roadmap, setting out the key parameters of Ireland’s new Investment Account, also referred to as the personal investment account or State-backed Savings and Investment Account. The scheme will allow tax resident adults aged 18 and over to hold listed shares, listed bonds, regulated market instruments, retail investment funds including ETFs, and insurance-based products outside the existing 38% deemed disposal regime.
However, crypto assets and derivatives are barred from the account, while interest-bearing cash is also excluded. These holdings will remain subject to the ordinary tax rules, including 33% capital gains tax on crypto disposals, meaning Ireland’s new tax-free investment account will provide relief for traditional investments but not crypto assets.
Irish households held €174.9B in bank deposits at the end of June 2026, after a €9B rise in the first half of the year. Much of this is sitting in overnight and current accounts, earning about 0% to 1%, which means that cash is below the inflation rate and purchasing power is slowly eroding. About 38% of Irish household financial assets are held in cash or deposits compared with an EU average of about 30%, while direct holdings of listed shares and debt securities account for only 2.3%, compared with 7.5% across the EU.
The Government sees this gap as a reason to encourage more household investment. With household financial assets at €643.8B and net wealth reaching a record €1.43T in Q1 2026, Tánaiste Simon Harris has argued that Ireland saves well but invests poorly, leaving households with less exposure to the potential long-term compounding available through capital markets. The new Investment Account is designed to make investing simpler and more tax-efficient, with the Government aiming to move a portion of the €175B in household deposits into productive investments.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Budget Day on October 6, 2026, will set the three numbers that decide how useful the new Investment Account is: the tax-free threshold, low flat annual tax rate above that threshold, and yearly contribution cap. Legislation is anticipated in the Finance Bill, and accounts will be opened in 2027. Crypto assets will remain excluded, meaning Bitcoin, Ether, tokens and other cryptocurrency assets will remain under the ordinary regime with 33% capital gains tax on sales.
Irish crypto holders can keep buying and holding through authorized CASPs, but they will not get the account’s tax-free band, provider-paid tax, or portability benefits. Wider reform of the 38% eight-year deemed disposal rule for funds and ETFs held outside the new account is flagged only from Budget 2028 onward.
