A €10 increase in the State pension and Social Protection rates is expected in today's Budget.
The Budget will also see mortgage interest relief, which has benefitted more than 60,000 householders, extended for another year before being gradually phased out in 2027.
The income disregard for the Carer's Allowance, a big issue for the Independents in Government, is to increase by €375 to stand at €1,000 for a single person and by €750 for a couple bringing it to €2,000.
The Budget is expected to see a funding increase of over €10m for sport, €15m for An Post and €33m in additional funding for the national broadband plan.
For businesses, it is expected there will be an increase to the Research and Development tax credit.
There will also be additional income for Tourism Ireland to market new direct flights to Ireland and review the reopening of international offices that were previously closed.
Fáilte Ireland will get an expanded remit for food business, following its move to the Department of Enterprise.
Minister for Education Helen McEntee is expected to announce funding for 860 additional special education teachers and 1,700 new special needs assistants.
The Basic Income for the Arts scheme will be put on a permanent footing.
The scheme is currently a pilot project and pays 2,000 artists a basis income of €325 per week.
Applications to be considered for this new, permanent scheme will open in the new year. The permanent scheme will then begin in September 2026.
Application criteria will also be broadened to accommodate more artistic disciplines, with a list being developed in the coming months by the Department of Culture.
The tax credit for renters is expected to remain unchanged in the Budget despite a commitment to progressively increase it in the Coalition's Programme for Government.
The credit is worth €1,000 for a tenant or €2,000 for a couple if jointly assessed. It is expected to be extended in the Budget, but at the existing rate.
Economics and Public Affairs Editor David Murphy with details on what's expected in Budget 2026
It is expected that the cost of the credit for the State will go up as there will be more renters in future years.
The minimum wage is also expected to increase from 1 January.
It follows a recommendation by the Low Pay Commission, which is made up of representatives of employers and trade unions, to hike the minimum wage by 65c to €14.15 for workers over 20 years.
This is expected to result in an adjustment to the Universal Social Charge and employers' PRSI to ensure workers on the minimum wage do not fall into higher rates of tax.
A rise in the carbon tax will also be announced.
Budget meetings are continuing, with the allocations for several major spending departments not yet settled.
A VAT cut for new-build apartments looks set to be introduced in a bid to kickstart the building of stalled schemes.
That is likely to reduce the VAT from 13.5% to 9%.
The Government believes that up to 40,000 apartments that have already received planning permission could be affected.
It is thought that the measure could be introduced quite quickly after Budget 2026.
The VAT rate for cafes, restaurants, delis and fast-food outlets is expected to be cut from 13.5% to 9% from July.
Read more: Latest Budget 2026 stories
The move will benefit large multinational chains as well as Irish-owned companies.
The Budget will estimate that the cost of reducing the VAT on the hospitality industry from 13.5% to 9% will be €232m if it is introduced in July of 2026.
Reducing the tax on new apartments is expected to be €250m.
Continuing the renters' tax credit at its current level of €1,000 for an individual will cost the State €350m.
Rolling over the reduced cost of 9% VAT for gas and electricity customers is expected to be €254m.
Govt ministers set to finalise details of €9.4bn package
It is expected there will be a meeting of Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Ministers Sean Canney, Paschal Donohoe and Jack Chambers to finalise the details of next year's €9.4bn package.
It is understood that a permanent reduction to college fees of €500 has been signed off. However, the Opposition criticised this as it is leaving fees €500 higher than existing levels.
A new scheme called DEIS+ will target schools with the highest levels of educational disadvantage.
School funding across primary and post-primary schools will also be increased.
It is understood that Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary is seeking higher increases to targeted payments, including larger hikes to the Child Support Payment.
With no energy credits this year, it is expected that eligibility for the fuel allowance will expand.
Changes to be announced to video game tax credit
Changes to a tax credit for the video game industry are expected to be announced in the Budget.
The Digital Game Tax Credit was launched in November 2022 and offers companies developing digital games a tax credit of up to 32% per qualifying game.
However, take up of the tax credit has been slow amid claims by game studios that its structure is limiting and that reforms are needed to unlock its full potential.
It is understood that changes to the credit will be announced in response to industry concerns.
In its pre-budget submission, Imirt, the Irish games representative body, called for improvements to the scheme.
It wants claims to be allowed for partial game development projects, currently only companies that develop and complete the entire game development can qualify for the tax relief.
Imirt is also calling for the cut-off point for qualifying expenditure to be revised to cover post-launch investments and significant content updates.
The global video game industry is now worth more than the music and film sectors combined, with the estimated value expected to reach over $385bn (€327bn) in the coming years.
It is thought that Ireland's digital gaming sector could be worth around €250m.
Lack of tax cuts to impact wage demands - Fórsa
Fórsa, the country's largest public sector trade union, has warned that the lack of income tax measures in the Budget will likely to lead to higher wage demands by unions.
Fórsa General Secretary Kevin Callinan said that unions will need to review their bargaining strategies for the months ahead if the Budget leaves workers worse off.
"If, as has been suggested, tax bands and allowances aren't indexed and cost-of-living measures like energy credits are discontinued, the only way living standards can be maintained is through higher wage increases," Mr Callinan said.
