Take 6: How will Budget 2025 impact your finances?

The Government says most people will benefit from measures announced in the Budget to the tune of about €1,000 over 12 months.

As the ministers for finance and public expenditure were speaking, experts in KPMG were watching closely and adding details to a spreadsheet of representative profiles, to put Government claims to the test.

Here are profiles of six households, to give you a sense of how Budget 2025 might impact your finances.

1) The renting family

According to KPMG, a family of two adults each earning a wage of €47,500, renting their home, and with three children will benefit by €3,012 from the tax and welfare measures announced.

€1,800 of this will come from the tax changes – including the renter's credit - €840 from extra child benefit payments, and €467 from adjustments made to the payment of the Universal Social Charge (USC).

In addition to the tax and welfare measures, like all households described here, this family will receive a €250 energy credit.

Depending on the specific ages of their children they may also benefit from measures like the expansion of the free school books scheme. It is to be extended to all transition and senior cycle pupils in recognised post-primary schools within the free education scheme.

Free public transport is also being provided to children under 9, having previously been available to under 5s.

2) The retired couple

Two people on the State pension will see a benefit of €2,127, assuming they own their home without a mortgage. This will come mainly from the across-the-board increases in social welfare payments, which will see the State pension increased by €12 a week.

They will also receive €300 more as part of once-off fuel allowance payment, and gain by €579 from the once-off extra week of State Pension, plus a Christmas bonus increase.

3) The minimum wage worker

An unmarried individual working full-time while earning the minimum wage and renting will gain €1,673 from the tax and welfare changes. Almost all of this will be in the form of a gross pay increase driven by the minimum wage increase from €12.70 to €13.50.

The pay increase would see them pay additional taxes of €324, but taking into account extra tax credits and an extra €250 in renter’s credit, this budget will give them a net tax reduction of €176.

Many people earning the minimum wage are younger than the average worker or working part-time, such individuals may also benefit from the €1,000 reduction in third level fees, or changes to welfare measures like the carer’s allowance.

Two individuals renting on the minimum wage – one full-time, one-part time - with two children would also benefit from threshold changes to the working family payment. Those changes would see the payment they receive increase by €215 over the year. They would also receive a once-off bonus of this payment in 2025, totalling €400.

Their overall benefit would be €2655, as they would also receive additional child benefit payments on top of the minimum wage increases.

4) The homeowner parents

A married couple each earning €60,000, with a mortgage and two children will mainly gain from changes to income tax and universal social charge scales, according to KPMG.

All in, they are looking at getting around €2450 back in their pocket from the tax and welfare measures. More than half of that will come from tax changes, a further €717 would come from USC adjustments, and €560 from child benefit.

However, their PRSI payments will be €120 more in 2025.

Like other parents, they may further benefit from other changes depending on the ages of their children. They will also gain from the €250 energy credit.

Were they to decide to add another child to their family, they would be eligible to receive the newly-introduced "newborn grant" of an additional double child benefit payment.

It amounts to a €420 payment to families for each newborn child.

5) The self-employed higher earner

A businessperson with an income of €125,000 with a mortgage will be about €1000 better off. They will pay about €650 less in tax, and €460 in USC, but pay an extra €125 in PRSI.

All in, their total is €984. They will also gain from the energy credit of €250. Like other homeowners, they may be eligible for additional mortgage interest relief also, if they were impacted by higher mortgage interest rates in recent years.

"While welcome changes to the tax credits, income tax and USC rates bands, it is disappointing that self-employed earners earning above €100,000 are still subject to the 3% additional USC surcharge," said Tom Woods, head of tax at KPMG.

6) The single renter

A renter who is unmarried and earning the average wage of €45,000 will also get about €1000 back in their pocket, due to changes to tax bands and welfare payments.

When it comes to tax, they will gain by about €900, while €209 less in USC will come out of their pay packet. Their PRSI payment will be €45 higher – all in their total is €1064.

All in all KPMG’s Tom Woods described the announcements made to today as a "generous budget which will be felt mostly by lower to middle income workers, with a number of business measures announced."

"Similar to last year there was also a very generous set of cost of living measures."

Further profiles as well as a debate between Minister for Finance Jack Chambers and Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty, will feature on Prime Time at 9.35pm on RTÉ One tonight.