Key Points
- The tax burden on a 20-cigarette pack in the most popular price category increased by €1 from Oct. 7, 2026.
- Revenue's new tobacco rates set the specific cigarette duty at €520.88 per 1,000 cigarettes plus 8.67% of the retail selling price.
- Ireland plans to increase E-liquid Products Tax from €0.50/ml to €0.70/ml from Jan. 1, 2027, a 40% rise.
- EPT is volume-based and applies to both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free e-liquids.
2Firsts
October 9, 2026
According to the Irish government's Budget 2027 measures and related financial resolutions considered by the Dáil on Oct. 6, Ireland increased tobacco excise from Oct. 7, adding €1 to the tax burden on a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category, with pro-rata increases on other tobacco products. The government also announced plans to raise E-liquid Products Tax from €0.50 to €0.70 per millilitre from Jan. 1, 2027.
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris presented Budget 2027 to the Dáil on Oct. 6. The tobacco increase was implemented through a financial resolution, while the higher e-liquid rate is a Budget 2027 measure planned for 2027 and has not yet replaced the €500-per-litre rate currently published by Revenue.
€1 Increase in Tax on a Pack of 20 Cigarettes
Budget 2027 increased the tax burden on a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category by €1, inclusive of VAT, with corresponding increases for other tobacco products.
Revenue's rates effective from Oct. 7 set the specific component of cigarette excise at €520.88 per 1,000 cigarettes plus an ad valorem charge of 8.67% of the retail selling price. The minimum excise is €570.73 per 1,000 cigarettes.
The new rates also set duty on cigars 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.
When the tobacco financial resolution was presented in parliament, the government estimated the increase would generate about €63.1 million in a full year and approximately €5.1 million during the remainder of 2026.
Harris said the measure was intended to continue discouraging smoking, particularly among younger people.
E-Liquid Duty Planned to Rise From €0.50/ml to €0.70/ml
Budget 2027 also announced an increase in Ireland's E-liquid Products Tax, or EPT.
From Jan. 1, 2027, the government plans to add €0.20 per millilitre to the current rate, taking EPT from €0.50 to €0.70 per millilitre before VAT. That represents a 40% increase in the excise rate.
At the announced rate, the EPT charge on 2ml of e-liquid would rise from €1 to €1.40. The duty on 10ml would increase from €5 to €7.
Those figures represent the excise charge itself rather than the final retail-price increase. Shelf prices will also depend on VAT and pricing decisions by manufacturers, importers and retailers.
As of Oct. 8, Revenue's published current EPT rate remains €500 per litre, equivalent to €0.50 per millilitre.
Tax Covers Nicotine and Nicotine-Free E-Liquids
Ireland's EPT is based on e-liquid volume rather than nicotine content or concentration.
Revenue says the tax applies to e-liquids used in e-liquid inhalation products, covering both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free liquids. E-liquid used exclusively as a licensed nicotine-replacement medicine is outside the scope of the tax.
EPT becomes chargeable on the first supply of a taxable e-liquid product in Ireland. Producers and importers making that first supply are therefore typically responsible for accounting for and paying the tax.
Wholesalers and retailers making subsequent supplies of products sourced from an Irish producer or importer generally do not incur a second EPT liability on those transactions.
Rate Increase Announced Less Than a Year After EPT Took Effect
Ireland established EPT under the Finance Act 2024.
The legislation created an excise duty on e-liquids and defined taxable products to include both nicotine-containing and nicotine-free liquids capable of being used in e-cigarettes or other e-liquid inhalation products. The tax took effect on Nov. 1, 2025, at €500 per litre, or €0.50 per millilitre.
Budget 2027 announced the first rate increase around 11 months after implementation, with the new €0.70-per-millilitre rate planned from the start of 2027.
Before the Budget, Harris said the tax had generated more than €22 million in provisional revenue since its introduction.
Tobacco Duty Rises for Another Budget Year
Ireland has continued to increase tobacco duties through successive annual budgets.
Budget 2026 raised the tax burden on a pack of 20 cigarettes in the most popular price category by €0.50, effective Oct. 8, 2025. Budget 2027 has now added a further €1.
In presenting the latest tobacco measure, the government cited a decline in Ireland's daily smoking rate from 29% in 2007 to 17% in 2025 and continued to identify high tobacco taxation as a public-health tool intended to encourage cessation and discourage smoking initiation among younger people.
The Budget 2027 measures therefore tighten tax treatment across both combustible tobacco and vaping products: higher tobacco rates are already in force, while the next increase in e-liquid tax is planned for the beginning of 2027.
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Cover Image: Ireland Department of Finance
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