By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
Cigarette increase: Ireland added €1 tax on a pack of 20 cigarettes, effective Oct. 7, with corresponding increases for other tobacco products.
Vaping tax: The government plans to raise e-liquid excise by 40%, from €0.50 to €0.70 per milliliter, beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
Revenue boost: The tobacco increase is projected to generate €63.1 million annually, while the e-liquid tax brought in €22 million in provisional revenue.
Ireland is raising the price of smoking and making sure vapers don’t get off cheap.
The Irish government increased tobacco excise taxes on Oct. 7, adding €1 to the tax on a pack of 20 cigarettes, and announced plans to raise its relatively new e-liquid tax by 40% starting in January. The changes are part of Budget 2027, presented to parliament by Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris on Oct. 6.
The tobacco tax increases took effect immediately through a financial resolution, while the higher e-liquid rate is scheduled for Jan. 1, 2027, and has not yet taken effect.
Under the new tobacco rates, the specific excise on cigarettes increased to €520.88 (US$583) per 1,000 cigarettes, plus an additional 8.67% of the retail selling price. The minimum excise is now €570.73 per 1,000 cigarettes.
Other tobacco categories also face higher duties. Cigars are taxed at €580.447 per kilogram, fine-cut tobacco for rolling cigarettes at €558.422 per kilogram, and other smoking tobacco at €402.688 per kilogram.
The government estimates that the tobacco increase will generate approximately €63.1 million in additional annual revenue, including €5.1 million in the remainder of 2026.
Harris said the higher duties are intended to continue discouraging smoking, especially among younger people. The government cited a decline in Ireland’s daily smoking rate, from 29% in 2007 to 17% in 2025, as evidence of progress in reducing tobacco consumption.
The latest increase follows a €0.50 increase in cigarette taxes under Budget 2026, which took effect in October 2025. Vaping products are also facing another tax increase, less than a year after Ireland introduced its first dedicated e-liquid excise tax.
Budget 2027 proposes raising the E-liquid Products Tax (EPT) from €0.50 to €0.70 per milliliter, a 40% increase in the excise rate. The change would add €0.40 in duty to a 2ml e-liquid product, bringing the total excise to €1.40. For a 10ml bottle, the tax would rise from €5 to €7.
Those amounts exclude value-added tax and do not necessarily reflect the final increase in retail prices, which will depend on manufacturers, importers, and retailers.
Ireland introduced EPT on Nov. 1, 2025, under legislation enacted by the Finance Act 2024. The tax applies to both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free e-liquids for use in vaping devices, regardless of nicotine concentration.
E-liquids used exclusively as licensed nicotine-replacement therapy are exempt.
The tax is generally due when a taxable product is first supplied in Ireland, making producers and importers responsible for accounting for the duty. Subsequent transactions involving products for which the tax has already been paid do not normally trigger another EPT charge.
Before the budget announcement, Harris said the levy had generated more than €22 million in provisional revenue since it was introduced.
The current EPT rate published by Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners remains at €500 per liter. The announced increase to €700 per liter is scheduled for January and will require the relevant legislative measures before it takes effect.
