Each year the Irish Tax Institute runs its high-profile Fantasy Budget competition for undergraduate students throughout Ireland.
Collaborative Project
In groups of three or four, students will analyse the Budget under three headings:
- a key measure that impacted the individual/family;
- a key measure that impacted indigenous Irish business; and
- a key measure that impacted foreign investment into Ireland.
In addition, each team is asked to step into the shoes of the Minister for Finance and put forward one measure that they feel the Minister should have introduced.
Fantasy Budget competition
Our Fantasy Budget 2027 competition will launch in September 2026.
See last year's criteriaFantasy Budget 2026 Winners
There were hundreds of great submissions to our 2026 competition. The final three winners were UCC, DCU and University of Galway.
See the winning submissions
1st Place: University College Cork - under the guidance of Mark Barrow
2nd Place: DCU - under the guidance of Dr Patrick Mulcahy
3rd Place: University of Galway - under the guidance of Mary Cosgrove
If you enjoyed taking part, then consider a future as a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA)!
Richie O'Carroll, KPMG
“The Fantasy Budget Competition was a great way for me to really understand the practical effects of the measures the Budget brings in and the changes in taxation policy that come with it. The research you do really stands to you and helps when starting a new career in a tax department – I would definitely recommend the competition to every student studying tax, there are excellent prizes and it all helps for your exams”
Niall Hanton, Grant Thornton
“The Fantasy Budget competition is a great way to get students thinking about tax on real life practical level and away from a purely exam focused mind-set. The competition sparked an interest to begin my career in tax as it brought to my attention the important role tax plays in Ireland’s economy. Tax issues are at the heart of all commercial activities and working in tax will provide me with a diverse set of skills & experience”