Ireland · Winter money calendar · Updated 3 November 2026
Irish inflation hit an estimated 4% in October 2026, and energy prices are up 18.3% in a year, according to the CSO flash estimate published today. Whether that number lands as a dent or a crater in your budget depends on 15 dates between now and the end of February: the 100% Christmas Bonus in the week of 7 December, the 2 December Local Property Tax deadline, the ECB decision on 17 December, January's €10 welfare rise and €14.94 minimum wage, a 15% public transport fare rise, and the 28 February end of the fuel excise cut.
Below, every date gets three things: what happens, what it is worth in euro, and the one move to make before it arrives.
4.0%
Annual inflation, October 2026 (HICP flash, CSO)
+18.3%
Energy prices in 12 months to October 2026
+58.6%
Home heating oil, 12 months to September 2026 (CPI)
Where Irish inflation is actually biting this winter
Here is the uncomfortable part of today's figure. Food is barely moving: the CSO flash estimate puts food prices up just 0.1% on the year, and core inflation (excluding energy and unprocessed food) actually slowed to 2.5%, according to RTÉ's report of the CSO release. The pain is concentrated almost entirely in what you burn, heat with and drive on. That matters, because it means a generic "spend less" plan misses the target. Your winter money plan is an energy and dates plan.
The detailed CSO Consumer Price Index for September 2026 (released 8 October) shows exactly where the money is going:
Annual price change by item, Ireland, 12 months to September 2026 (CSO CPI)
Home heating oil (liquid fuels) · +58.6%
Petrol and diesel · +17.7%
Mortgage interest · +10.2%
Electricity · +8.1%
Rents · +6.3%
Insurance and financial services · +5.2%
Gas · +2.3%
Food and non-alcoholic drinks · +0.4%
Bar length is relative to the largest rise (heating oil). Headline CPI was 4.1% in September; the HICP measure used for the flash estimate was 3.8%.
Two things jump out. If you heat with oil, your single biggest winter cost has risen by more than half in a year, which is why we have a separate breakdown of heating oil prices in Ireland. And if you have a tracker or variable mortgage, the ECB's two hikes this year (June and September) have already pushed mortgage interest costs up by a tenth. Food, the thing most budgeting advice obsesses over, is the one line that is roughly flat. Spend your energy where the money is leaking.
The calendar: 15 dates from November 2026 to February 2027
Dates marked confirmed come from an official announcement. Dates marked expected are based on last year's pattern or a month without a fixed day, so check before you rely on them.
November 2026
TUE
3
NOV
1. Inflation hits 4% confirmed
The CSO flash estimate shows energy up 4.5% in a single month. The final October figures follow when the full HICP is published next month, and the CSO says the flash may be revised.
Do now: find your last two electricity and gas bills and write down your unit rate and standing charge. You need those two numbers for every switching decision this winter.
FRI
27
NOV
2. Black Friday confirmed
It lands ten days before the Christmas Bonus, which is exactly the problem: money spent on the 27th is money that cannot cover a January heating-oil fill. Know your rights before you buy, using our check of 10 Black Friday myths in Ireland.
Do now: set a Black Friday ceiling in euro and decide in advance which essential (winter boots, a heater timer, school shoes) it is for.
December 2026
WED
2
DEC
3. Local Property Tax: confirm how you'll pay for 2027 confirmed
Homeowners spreading LPT payments or paying by Annual Debit Instruction must confirm their payment method by 2 December 2026, according to Revenue's LPT payment dates. Phased deductions from salary or pension begin in January 2027.
Do now: if January is your tightest month, choose phased deductions or monthly direct debit rather than one lump sum. Same tax, smaller January hit.
EARLY
DEC
TBC
4. Christmas payment dates published expected
Last year the Department of Social Protection published its Christmas payment dates and bonus page on 3 December 2025. Expect the 2026 version around the same time.
Do now: put a reminder in your phone for 1 December to check gov.ie, and note the date of your normal weekly payment.
WEEK
7
DEC
5. The 100% Christmas Bonus confirmed
Citizens Information confirms the bonus is paid in the week starting 7 December 2026, worth 100% of your normal weekly payment (minimum €20), with no application needed. Fuel Allowance does not count as a qualifying payment. At 2026 rates, that is €299.30 for a person on the full State Pension (Contributory) claimed at 66, €254 on Jobseeker's Allowance (25+) or One-Parent Family Payment, and €270 on Carer's Allowance caring for one person.
Do now: decide today what the bonus is for. Our suggestion: split it before it lands, one part for Christmas food, one part held back for the first January bill.
THU
17
DEC
6. ECB interest rate decision confirmed
On 29 October the ECB held its rates (main refinancing rate 2.65%, deposit rate 2.50%) but warned the energy shock is "likely to drive up inflation". If it raises rates by 0.25 points in December, our calculation for a tracker at ECB + 1% (3.65% rising to 3.90%) adds about €18.62 a month on €150,000 over 15 years and €26.05 a month on €200,000 over 20 years.
Do now: work through our 4-week mortgage plan before 17 December, and look up your exact margin over the ECB rate on your mortgage statement.
XMAS
WEEK
TBC
7. Welfare paid early, then the long January gap expected
Last year, payments due 22–26 December were paid in the week beginning 15 December, and the 1 January payment moved to 31 December, according to the Department's 2025 schedule. If 2026 follows a similar pattern, a lot of money arrives in mid-December and then nothing new for what feels like forever.
Do now: treat any early payment as next week's money, not extra money. Ring-fence it in a separate account or envelope labelled with the week it is meant for.
THU
31
DEC
8. Last day of the 2026 tax year: your Rent Tax Credit confirmed
The 2026 Rent Tax Credit is worth up to €1,000 for a single renter or €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple, per Revenue. It is not a deadline in the strict sense (you can claim earlier years too), but rent paid in 2026 is easiest to document while your bank statements are fresh. The credit rises to €1,150 / €2,300 from 2027 under Budget 2027.
Do now: log in to myAccount, check whether you have claimed 2026, and download your rent receipts or bank transfers into one folder. For renters, our 9 Irish tenant myths are worth a read too.
"December is not where Irish household budgets break. January is: the bonus is spent, the next payment is early, fares go up and the heating is on full."
That is why a calendar beats a budget template this winter. If you want the dates and the bills in one place, The Matriarch Money Dashboard is our budget spreadsheet for Google Sheets and Excel: put each date into your monthly picture and you will see the January gap weeks before it opens. And if the 4% headline has you lying awake, start smaller with the free 7-Day Money Anxiety Reset journal, which takes ten minutes a day.
January 2027
FRI
1
JAN
9. Minimum wage rises to €14.94 confirmed
Budget 2027 lifts the national minimum wage by 79c an hour from 1 January 2027 (Citizens Information). For a 39-hour week, that is €30.81 more a week before tax, or about €1,602 a year.
Do now: on your first January payslip, check the hourly rate actually changed. Mistakes at the turn of the year are common and easy to fix if you spot them in week one.
FRI
1
JAN
10. New tax credits and bands on your payslip confirmed
The personal, employee and earned income credits each rise by €125, the standard-rate band for a single person rises to €46,500, and the USC 2% band rises to €30,300, as summarised by The Irish Times.
Do now: check your 2027 Tax Credit Certificate in myAccount in early January. If your Rent Tax Credit or other credits are missing, add them then rather than waiting for a refund in 2028.
FROM
JAN
2027
11. Welfare rates rise €10 a week confirmed month
Most weekly payments and pensions rise by €10 from January 2027, Child Support Payment rises by €6 (to €64 under 12 and €84 for 12 and over), and the Living Alone Increase rises from €22 to €25, according to the Irish Examiner's Budget 2027 breakdown. That takes the full State Pension (Contributory) at 66 from €299.30 to €309.30, which is €520 more over a year. Fuel Allowance rises from €38 to €43 a week; reports differ on the exact start (The Irish Times says "from this season"), so check your payment.
Do now: if your income is near the new Fuel Allowance limit for a single person over 66 (raised from €534 to €640.80 a week), apply now. You may have been refused before and now qualify.
FROM
JAN
2027
12. Bus and rail fares up 15% confirmed month
The National Transport Authority says adult fares rise by an average of 15% in January 2027, the first rise in eight years. The 90-minute Dublin Leap fare goes from €2.00 to €2.30 for adults, €1.00 to €1.15 for young adults and students, and €0.65 to €0.75 for children. Free travel for under-9s and over-66s stays. We calculated that a commuter making 10 adult Leap journeys a week for 46 weeks pays €138 more a year; on the young adult fare, €69.
Do now: if anyone in your household is 19 to 25 or a full-time student, check they have the Young Adult or Student Leap card. It halves the adult fare.
MON
11
JAN
13. LPT: lump sum deadline, then monthly debits confirmed
If you pay your 2027 LPT in full by card, 11 January 2027 is the latest date. Monthly direct debits start on 15 January and continue on the 15th of each month; an Annual Debit Instruction is taken on 21 March (Revenue).
Do now: write the 15th into your January budget as a fixed bill, alongside rent or mortgage.
February 2027 and the first quarter
Q1
2027
TBC
14. €500 cost-of-disability payment expected
A one-off €500 lump sum for people on Blind Pension, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Partial Capacity Benefit, paid in the first quarter of 2027 (Irish Examiner; exact date not yet announced).
Do now: nothing to apply for, but do not count it in your January budget until a date is confirmed.
SUN
28
FEB
15. The fuel excise cut ends confirmed
Reduced excise on petrol and diesel was extended to 28 February 2027 and is then restored gradually to previous levels by 30 June 2027, per Citizens Information's Budget 2027 summary. Carbon tax on petrol and diesel stays at €71 a tonne until 1 May 2027. Good news for oil and gas heating: Budget 2027 cuts carbon tax on kerosene and natural gas from €63.50 to €48.50 a tonne.
Do now: drivers have a four-month runway. Every euro a week you trim from fuel now (one combined shopping trip, car-sharing the school run) is a habit already in place when prices step up from March.
What these dates are worth: three illustrative households
Illustrative examples, not real people, using the official 2026 rates and Budget 2027 changes above. The figures show only the dated changes above, not each household's full budget.
| Household | December | January onward |
|---|---|---|
| Pensioner, 68, living alone, oil heating | Christmas Bonus €299.30 | +€10 pension, +€3 Living Alone = €13/week (€676/year). Facing heating oil up 58.6% on the year. |
| Lone parent on One-Parent Family Payment, two children (7 and 13) | Christmas Bonus €254 | +€10 personal rate, +€6 for each child = €22/week (€1,144/year). Fares rise for her, not for the 7-year-old. |
| Renter on minimum wage, 39 hours, commutes by Leap | No bonus. 2026 Rent Tax Credit up to €1,000 if unclaimed | +€30.81/week gross pay, minus about €3/week extra fares (€138/year) on 10 trips a week. |
Notice the pattern. The welfare increases are real but small next to the energy shock: €13 a week is roughly one bag of groceries, while an oil-heated home is paying over half as much again for every fill as it did a year ago. If that is you, the most valuable calls this winter are not budget cuts. They are checking your Fuel Allowance eligibility under the new income limit, asking your oil supplier about smaller, more frequent deliveries, and talking to Citizens Information or MABS (free and confidential) before a bill goes unpaid, not after. If electricity is your main heating, our 4-week plan for the Irish electricity price rise walks through the switching numbers.
Quick questions people are asking
When is the Christmas Bonus paid in 2026? In the week starting 7 December 2026, at 100% of your weekly rate, usually on your normal payment day. No application is needed.
Is there a double payment in December 2026? The Christmas Bonus is effectively a double week. Separately, payments due over Christmas are normally brought forward; last year's moved into the week of 15 December. Confirm the 2026 dates on gov.ie once published.
When does the €10 social welfare increase start? From January 2027, according to Budget 2027 coverage. The exact first payment date depends on your payment day.
When do Irish public transport fares go up? In January 2027. The NTA has not given an exact day; adult fares rise by an average of 15%.
For the wider picture of what Budget 2027 changed, see what you gain from Budget 2027, and if you work over the holidays, compare your rights in Christmas Day pay across six countries.
Your next step · Pin the dates to a plan
Put all 15 dates into one budget before 2 December
The Matriarch Money Dashboard is a budget spreadsheet that gives you a clear monthly picture, bills you saw coming and your Calm Number: how many months your savings could cover. Prefer to start gently? The 7-Day Money Anxiety Reset is a free guided journal.
100% digital: a Google Sheets/Excel file or PDF, with no physical item shipped. Download right after purchase, then print it or use it on your phone, tablet or computer. One-time purchase, no shipping fees.
Sources
1. Inflation hits estimated 4% on energy price rise – RTÉ News, reporting CSO, 2026
2. Consumer Price Index September 2026 – Central Statistics Office, 2026
3. Christmas Bonus – Citizens Information, 2026
4. Budget 2027 – Citizens Information, 2026
5. Benefits and Taxes 2026 – Citizens Information Board, 2026
6. LPT payment dates and Rent Tax Credit amounts – Revenue, 2026
7. Monetary policy decisions, 29 October 2026 – European Central Bank, 2026
8. Changes to public transport fares from 2027 – National Transport Authority, 2026
9. Christmas Payment Dates and Bonus 2025 – Department of Social Protection, 2025
10. Budget 2027: changes to pensions and welfare and when they kick in – Irish Examiner, 2026
11. Budget 2027 main points – The Irish Times, 2026
Educational content only. Not personalised financial advice.