State Savings: the rates the tax never touches
An Post State Savings look beatable until you remember DIRT. The 10 Year National Solidarity Bond pays 2.01% AER tax free: a bank deposit would need to pay 3.00% before DIRT to leave you the same money. Add a guarantee from the Irish State with no €100,000 cap, and this range earns its own page.
Every rate on this page was read from the provider's own site. Last verified 1 August 2026.
- An Post State Savings10 Year National Solidarity Bond2.01%
- Term / access
- 10 years · Cash in early with all savings back plus interest due
- DIRT
- DIRT free
- Limits
- from €50 · max €120,000
- Protection
- Irish State guarantee · Unlimited
Total return 22% over 10 years, tax free. The highest tax-free AER in the table.
- An Post State SavingsInstalment Savings1.75%
- Term / access
- 6 years · Cash in early with all savings back plus interest due
- DIRT
- DIRT free
- Limits
- €25–€1,000/mo
- Protection
- Irish State guarantee · Unlimited
Total return 10% over 6 years, tax free. 12 monthly lodgements, then 5 years saved.
- An Post State Savings5 Year Savings Certificate1.74%
- Term / access
- 5 years · Cash in early with all savings back plus interest due
- DIRT
- DIRT free
- Limits
- from €50 · max €120,000
- Protection
- Irish State guarantee · Unlimited
Total return 9% over 5 years, tax free.
- An Post State Savings3 Year Savings Bond1.32%
- Term / access
- 3 years · Cash in early with all savings back plus interest due
- DIRT
- DIRT free
- Limits
- from €50 · max €120,000
- Protection
- Irish State guarantee · Unlimited
Total return 4% over 3 years, tax free.
- An Post State SavingsDeposit Account0.75%
- Term / access
- Instant access · Up to €3,000 on demand at any post office
- DIRT
- 33%withheld for you
- Limits
- max €250,000
- Protection
- Irish State guarantee · Unlimited
The exception in the State Savings range: this one IS liable to DIRT.
Ranked by AER, highest first. Nobody can pay for position or inclusion. How we rank, and how we get paid
Read the AER column, not the poster
State Savings advertise total returns: 22% on the 10 year bond, 9% on the 5 year certificate. Those are whole-term figures, not annual rates. The AER column above converts every product to the same yearly measure banks use, so the comparison is honest in both directions. On AER alone the range looks modest; after DIRT it out-earns most of the bank table. The DIRT page has the tax mechanics; the full table shows these rates beside every bank.
The one that is not tax free
The book-based Deposit Account, the classic post office book, is the exception: its interest is liable to DIRT at 33% like any bank account. Every fixed-term product in the range, and Prize Bond winnings, are tax free. If you hold the book for the DIRT-free reputation of the brand, the tax is quietly taking a third of a rate that was already 0.75%.
Prize Bonds, priced honestly
Prize Bonds pay no interest. The State funds weekly draws at a 1% prize fund rate, with a €50,000 weekly top prize and a €500,000 monthly jackpot, and any winnings are tax free. Your expected return is below the best deposit rates, and most holders earn less than the fund rate because the jackpots concentrate it. The honest description: capital fully guaranteed, income replaced by a raffle. From €25, cash out any time after 90 days.
Buying them
Everything can be opened at statesavings.ie or at any post office, from €50 (€25 for Prize Bonds). Holdings are capped per person per issue, €120,000 on the current fixed-term issues, which is itself a signal of who they are for: household savings, not corporate treasury.
Questions Irish savers actually ask
- Are State Savings really tax free?
- The fixed-term products are: Savings Bonds, Savings Certificates, Instalment Savings, the National Solidarity Bond and Prize Bond winnings all pay no DIRT and no income tax. The one exception is the book-based Deposit Account, which is liable to DIRT like any bank account.
- How safe are State Savings?
- Your money is a direct, unconditional obligation of the Irish State, managed by the NTMA. There is no €100,000 cap: the guarantee covers the full amount, which no bank deposit in Europe can say.
- Can I get my money out early?
- Yes. Every fixed-term State Savings product can be cashed in early, and you always get your original savings back in full plus any interest due for complete years held. What you give up by leaving early is the bigger interest steps that come later in the term.
- Are Prize Bonds a good deal?
- They pay no interest at all: returns come from weekly prize draws funded at a 1% prize fund rate, so the average return is below the best deposit rates and most holders win less than that. What you get is a state-guaranteed place to park cash with a lottery ticket attached, tax free if you win.