Ireland vs United Kingdom.
Two countries' verified rules for an early retiree, side by side. There is no winner here — a lower cost, a wealth tax and an exit tax pull in different directions, and which ones matter is yours to weigh.
At a glance.
Price it in your money
Tell me where you live now and what you spend a month, and every cost here becomes your number — the same life, priced country by country, in your own currency.
A guide, not a quote. I move your monthly spend by each country’s official price level (Eurostat and the World Bank, whole-economy, EU-27 = 100) — no exchange rates, so it stays in your own currency. But averages hide rent and the city you pick, and changing country is rarely a straight swap. Read these as the right ballpark, then price the real thing.
| Measure | Ireland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 136 | 123 |
| A €2,500-a-month life | €3,410/mo | €3,080/mo |
| The ×30 number it implies | €1,228,000 | €1,109,000 |
| Housing — to buy | — | €5,203/m² |
| Housing — to rent | €31.7/m² · Dublin | €23.8/m² · London (outer) |
| Housing vs the EU | +87% | — |
| Getting in | ||
| The route in | Stamp 0 | No passive-income route |
| Golden visa | Closed | Closed |
| Years to a passport | 5 yrs | 6 yrs |
| The patterns each carries | ||
| Lower tax if you hold | no | no |
| Yearly tax on holdings | no | no |
| Taxes unsold gains | yes | no |
| Exit tax | no | no |
| Deals for new residents | no | no |
| No wealth tax | yes | yes |
A “yes” is not a point scored: “no wealth tax” and “exit tax on leaving” pull opposite ways. Read the column against your own plan, not as a score.
Price the same life in each: Ireland · United Kingdom
The rules that matter, in full.
Ireland
Your fund is taxed even if you never sell.
Ireland taxes ETFs under its own exit-tax regime — 38% as of 2026 — and 'deemed disposal' taxes your accumulated gains every eight years even if you haven't sold a thing.
Irish-domiciled funds are what most of Europe buys: the Ireland–US treaty halves the dividend withholding inside the fund. That advantage belongs to the fund's home, though — it doesn't soften the rules for Irish residents themselves.
None.
The rate was just cut (from 41% to 38%) and a retail-investment reform is on the table — watch Budget 2027 in October 2026.
United Kingdom
£20,000 a year, tax-free for life — the ISA.
£20,000 a year into an ISA, and gains and withdrawals inside are tax-free. The SIPP pension sits behind it for the long game.
Outside the wrappers, gains above a small annual allowance (£3,000) are taxed at 18% or 24%.
Freedom of movement no longer applies — a continental move is now a visa question, in both directions.
None — wealth isn't taxed annually in the UK.
A cap on the cash side of the ISA arrives in April 2027; the overall £20,000 — and the shares side — stands.
None of this is tax or investment advice — it's education, kept deliberately at the level that survives fact-checking. Rules shift with every budget round; the specifics of your situation belong with a licensed adviser in your country. I'm happily not one.
Ireland verified 8 July 2026 · United Kingdom verified 8 July 2026. What's changed on the map
Bring me a challenge.
The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.
Ninety minutes, online, €600 — the Exit Audit included.