13.5% or 23% — which rate is your job?
The reduced rate of 13.5% covers most construction, repair, maintenance and installation work on property — the day-to-day work of most Irish trades, from a plumber's boiler swap to an electrician's board upgrade. The standard rate of 23% applies to most goods and to services that aren't work on a property — and to materials you sell on their own.
Watch the two-thirds rule on supply-and-fit jobs
If the VAT-exclusive cost of the materials you supply is more than two-thirds of the total ex-VAT price, the whole job must be charged at 23% — not 13.5%. Materials-heavy jobs like a fuse board upgrade or a cylinder replacement can trip it. Our VAT guide walks through it with examples.
Adding vs removing VAT
Adding VAT is the everyday case: you've priced the job ex-VAT and need the invoice total. Removing VAT works backwards — useful when a customer gives you a VAT-inclusive budget ("I've €5,000 for this") and you need to know what's actually yours before Revenue's slice, or when you're checking a supplier's gross price against a trade quote.
Not VAT registered? Then don't charge it
If you're under the registration threshold and haven't registered voluntarily, VAT shouldn't appear on your quotes or invoices at all — no VAT number, no VAT lines, no "including VAT". Adding VAT when you're not registered isn't a formality, it's illegal. And if you subcontract for a principal contractor under RCT, the reverse charge usually means you don't add VAT either — see the RCT guide. For what a valid VAT invoice must show, grab the free VAT invoice template.
Grafta applies the VAT rate you choose per line item — 13.5%, 23% or 0% — so labour and materials each sit at the right rate on the same Revenue-compliant invoice.
This calculator is general information, not tax advice. Rates and thresholds change — confirm the current position on revenue.ie or with your accountant.