We have been given some idea by the government of roughly how much water charges might be once they come into force from October this year. See our article on Water Charges – How Much?
We can also now confirm that VAT will not be added to the water charges.
VAT on Water : Revenue have confirmed that the current VAT exemption which applies to the supply of water and waste water treatment by local authorities has been extended to apply to Irish Water with effect from 1 January 2014. So – there will be no VAT added to the water bills.
The water bills will be made up of 2 parts – a charge for the water supply and a charge for the waste water (if your home is connected to the main sewer).
VAT will not be charged on either component.
The government say that they expect the average water charge to be €240 a year – this figure , as we understand it, is the total charge for water supply and waste water services. If you have your own septic tank etc, – your water charge will just be for water supply. Based on figures from the UK – we expect the charge for supply of water to be about 45% of a full bill i.e – we expect the average water charge for someone using mains water but with their own septic tank or similar waste water system to be about €108 a year.
More info here about Irish Water Charges