Paul is single. He can be exempted from DIRT in 2020 when the following apply: (i) he is over age 65 (ii) his total income including deposit interest for 2020 is less than €18,000. (iii) his total deposits with all deposit takers does not exceed €100,000.

• A. (i) and (ii) only.
• B. (i) only.
• C. (ii) and (iii) only.
• D. (i), (ii) and (iii).

Answer: (A)

DIRT exemptions hinge on two main criteria: age and total annual income. If you are aged 65 or over, you’re exempt from DIRT on your deposit interest. Alternatively, if your total income for the year, including any deposit interest, is below a threshold (€18,000 for a single person in 2020), you’re also exempt. The limit on total deposits (€100,000) does not provide a separate path to exemption on its own.

So for Paul, being over 65 would qualify him for DIRT exemption, or having total income under €18,000 would also qualify him. The deposit-deposit-totals condition isn’t needed to grant the exemption, so it isn’t part of the necessary criteria. This is why the correct interpretation is that exemptions apply under (i) or (ii), not requiring (iii).