The document sets out the Government’s medium-term budgetary strategy and outlines the fiscal parameters within which discussions will take place ahead of Budget 2024.

Budget 2024 will provide for an overall package of €6.4 billion; this has been calibrated to balance the need to provide further support while avoiding adding to inflationary pressures.

• Budget 2024 will deliver an overall package of €6.4 billion and will be presented to Dail Eireann on 10th October 2023.
• Additional public spending will amount to €5.2 billion and taxation measures will amount to €1.1 billion.
• Core spending will increase by 6.1% in 2024.
• An Additional €2¼ billion over the period 2024-2026 to boots delivery of critical capital infrastructure projects and make a contribution to the existing Climate Action Fund.
• Exchequer figures show that tax revenues to end-June were €40.9 billion.
• This was 10.9 per cent higher than last year, reflecting the underlying strength of the economy, but also is heavily driven by volatile corporation tax receipts.
• Total gross voted expenditure to end-June amounted to €41.9 billion, €3.4 billion or 8.7 per cent ahead of the same period in 2022; this reflects support for public services and growing population, and the ramping up of NDP investment.
• An Exchequer surplus of €0.3 billion was recorded in the first half of the year.
• On a 12-month rolling basis, the Exchequer recorded a surplus of €1.1 billion in June. However, excluding one-offs, an underlying deficit of €5½ billion was recorded on a 12-month rolling sum basis.

The Finance Act 2022 changes are reflected throughout the manual, with examples provided where appropriate. The manual is also updated:

• To remove obsolete material; and
• To include a new section 4.7 on costs associated with cloud computing
• Key changes introduced to Part 29 by Finance Act 2022 include:
• The introduction of sections 766C and 766D Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997) providing for an R&D corporation tax credit
• The ability to accelerate (under sections 766(4D) and 766A(4C) TCA 1997) the payment of the second instalment and the final instalment of an R&D tax credit which arose in an accounting period that commenced pre-1 January 2022

Where a company is making a claim for an accelerated payment of the second and final instalment, and/or a claim for an R&D corporation tax credit under section 766C or section 766D in an accounting period for which a Form CT1 for 2022 is due to be filed, the company is required to file and R&D specified return 2022 which forms part of the Form CT1 2022. The updated manual provides guidance on how a claim should be made.