Taxes and charges

Capital Gains Tax is a tax you pay on profits from the sale or disposal of certain assets, such as shares, bonds and property. The current rate in Ireland is 33%.

Exit Tax is a tax you pay on any profit you make on a plan with a life insurance company. If no profit is made on the plan, you do not pay any tax. The current rate in Ireland is 41%.

If an Irish company decides to pay dividends on shares i.e. part of the company’s profits to shareholders, the dividend may be liable to Dividend Withholding Tax. The current rate on Irish shares is 25%.

DIRT is a tax you pay on any interest you earn from money you keep in deposit accounts or tracker bonds. The current rate of DIRT in Ireland is 33%.

Entry charges are one-off costs that you may pay on certain investments. Entry charges are generally charged as a percentage of the amount you invest.

Exit charges are a one-off cost that you may pay when you end your investment. Exit charges are generally charged as a percentage of the fund value.

Fund management/administration charges

Fund management/administration charges are fees for the administration of the fund and other services such as maintaining a record of your investment, calculating the value of the fund each day and providing ongoing advice. These fees are generally charged annually and are applied regardless of whether the fund performed well or not.

Performance fees

A performance fee is charged if the investment generates a profit. A performance fee can be calculated in many ways, but the most common is as a percentage of the investment profit made.

An early encashment fee is a penalty you may be liable to pay if you cash in your investment before it matures.

Commission is where a financial adviser receives payment or a bonus from the business whose products they sell. However, this is usually built into the overall amount you pay. Read more here.