Exchequer receives once-off €500m payment to boost tax receipts

In what may have been a settlement, the payment pushed corporation tax receipts for February to €1bn, almost twice as much as in the same month last year.

The Department of Finance said this was not part of the €13bn Apple settlement, but “reflects a once-off payment”.

On a cumulative basis, and including the Apple tax settlement ordered by the European Court of Justice, corporation tax receipts so far this year stand at €2.8bn. Without the €1.7bn Apple has paid in 2025, the Exchequer is still €0.5bn ahead of this time last year.

Expenditure continues to keep pace with the bumper tax proceeds, however. Spending to the end of February totalled €17.8bn.

Gross voted expenditure was €16.7bn, which was €1.7bn or 11pc ahead of the same period last year.

Overall, an Exchequer surplus of €3.2bn was recorded to the end of February, which compares to a deficit of €0.1bn in the same period last year but is inflated by the Apple settlement. Excluding the Apple money, the…