Ireland's 183-Day Tax Residency Rule

Q: What is Ireland's 280-day rule?

Even if you are below 183 days in a single year, you are resident for a tax year if your days present in Ireland add up to 280 or more when you combine that year with the year before it. A year in which you spend 30 days or less does not count toward the 280-day total.

Q: How does Ireland count a day of presence?

You are treated as present in Ireland for a day if you are here for any part of that day. The Irish tax year is the calendar year, so days are totalled from 1 January to 31 December and do not need to be consecutive.

183 days or more in Ireland in a tax year makes you an Irish tax resident. A separate 280-day, two-year test can too. Here is exactly how the count works.

Last verified: July 2026

In short: you become an Irish tax resident for a year if your days present in Ireland reach 183 or more in that tax year. You are also resident if your days total 280 or more across the current and previous tax year combined. The Irish tax year is the calendar year, days do not need to be consecutive, and any part of a day counts.

Threshold: 183 days or more
Counting window: Tax year (calendar year)
Two-year test: 280 days over 2 years
Days counted: Any part of a day present
Tax year: 1 January – 31 December
Legal basis: Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, s 819

The rule

Ireland treats you as tax resident for a year under either of two tests. Meeting either one is enough:

The 183-day test. You are resident if you are present in Ireland for 183 days or more in a single tax year. The Irish tax year is the calendar year, so days are totalled from 1 January to 31 December and the count resets each new year.
The 280-day two-year test. Even if you stay below 183 in one year, you are resident for a tax year if your days present total 280 or more when that year is added to the year before it. A year in which you spend 30 days or fewer does not count toward the 280.

Days do not need to be consecutive. Several separate trips in the same year are added together, and you are counted as present for a day if you are in Ireland for any part of it.

How to count it

List every Ireland trip that falls within the tax (calendar) year.
Count each day you were present in Ireland, including any day you were present for only part of the day.
Add the days across the whole year. If the total is 183 or more, you are resident for that year.
If you are below 183, add this year's days to last year's. If the two-year total is 280 or more (ignoring any year of 30 days or fewer), you are resident for this year.

Example. 150 days in Ireland one year, then 140 days the next.

Neither year alone reaches 183, but the two years total 290 days. That is above 280, so you are an Irish tax resident for the second year.

Why residency matters

Crossing either threshold is not just a status label. An Irish tax resident is generally chargeable to Irish tax on worldwide income, while a non-resident is taxed mainly on Irish-source income. Domicile matters too: a resident who is not domiciled in Ireland may be taxed on foreign income only to the extent it is remitted to Ireland. If another country also claims you as resident, a double-tax treaty settles residency through tie-breaker rules such as permanent home and centre of vital interests.

Official source: section 819 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, explained on the Revenue guide to being resident for tax purposes.

AtlasDays tracks Ireland's 183-day rule automatically

Log your trips once. AtlasDays adds up your days in Ireland for each tax year, and across the two-year window, privately on your iPhone, and warns you before you cross 183 or 280 days.

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FAQ

How many days can you stay in Ireland without becoming a tax resident?

Up to 182 days in a single tax year keeps you below the main threshold; 183 or more makes you resident. Watch the second test too: 280 days or more across the current and previous year combined also makes you resident.

What is Ireland's 280-day rule?

Even if you are under 183 days in a single year, you are resident for a year if your days present total 280 or more when that year is added to the year before. A year of 30 days or fewer is not counted toward the 280.

How does Ireland count a day of presence?

You are present for a day if you are in Ireland for any part of it. The tax year is the calendar year, so days are totalled from 1 January to 31 December and do not need to be consecutive.