HBAN Statement on Budget 2026
HBAN welcomes the recognition in today’s Budget of the need to strengthen Ireland’s start-up and innovation ecosystem.
Compared to recent Budgets, which delivered two successive years of improvements for angel investors, Budget 2026 was more entrepreneur-focused than investor-focused. This year’s measures primarily support founders and early-stage companies through the following changes:
Capital Gains Tax (Entrepreneur Relief): The lifetime limit on qualifying gains will rise from €1 million to €1.5 million from January 2026, rewarding entrepreneurs who successfully build and exit their businesses.
KEEP (Key Employee Engagement Programme): The share-options scheme has been extended to the end of 2028, subject to EU State Aid approval, maintaining an important retention tool for high-growth companies.
R&D Tax Credit: The rate has been increased from 30% to 35%, with the first-year payment threshold raised to €87,500, offering greater cash-flow support for smaller innovation-driven projects.
While these are modest but welcome steps forward, this year’s Budget contained no new measures directly targeting angel investors.
A 1% stamp-duty exemption was also introduced for SMEs listed on regulated markets, though this primarily supports larger corporates and not private-market startup activity.
As always, further details will emerge in the forthcoming Finance Bill, and HBAN will comment further as relevant once that is published.
“HBAN will continue to represent and amplify the voice of Ireland’s angel community, helping to strengthen Ireland’s position as a leading location to start, scale, and invest in high-growth companies.”