MORE THAN 130 people each worth over €20 million declared taxable incomes of less than €45,000 in 2024, according to a new report from the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The figures relate to people classified by Revenue as “high-wealth individuals”, a category reserved for those with net assets exceeding €20 million.

Of the 1,558 high-wealth individuals who filed an Irish income tax return for 2024, 360 (or almost one in four) declared taxable income of less than €125,000.

Within that group, 132 declared taxable income below €44,816, the estimated median annual earnings in Ireland that year.

There were 1,901 high-wealth individuals being managed by Revenue’s dedicated unit as of July this year, as well as more than 3,500 other taxpayers connected to them.

Despite the relatively low taxable incomes declared by some of those individuals, the group as a whole paid income tax at a substantially higher effective rate than the wider population.

High-wealth individuals who paid income tax here had an average effective rate of 33% in 2024, compared with 17% across all income tax taxpayers.

A total of €421 million in income tax was due from the 1,558 individuals, an average of just over €270,000 each.

The tax paid was also heavily concentrated among a small number of people, with almost a quarter of the €421 million coming from just 20 individuals.

High-wealth individuals also claimed €755 million in tax credits and reliefs during 2024, around €576 million of which related to loss relief.

Revenue carried out more than 1,800 compliance interventions involving high-wealth individuals between 2019 and 2025.

Those interventions generated an additional €172 million in tax, interest and penalties.

Another Revenue project has been examining compliance with the domicile levy, which applies to certain Irish-domiciled people with worldwide income of more than €1 million, Irish property worth more than €5 million and an Irish income tax liability below €200,000.

By the end of 2025, 15 cases examined as part of that project had generated around €5.5 million.

PAC scrutiny

Public Accounts Committee chair John Brady said Revenue’s management of high-wealth individuals was among the issues arising from the C&AG report which the committee intends to examine.

“The role of the PAC is to follow the money,” the Sinn Féin TD said.

“Where the C&AG identifies weaknesses, waste or failures in financial management, it is our responsibility to ask difficult questions, establish where accountability lies, and ensure that action is taken.”

Brady said the committee would “rigorously study” the report and probe its findings in engagements with departments and agencies over the coming weeks and months.