It has always been far more expensive to be single in Ireland than part of a couple, but the financial penalties of flying solo have rarely been greater as various measures rolled out by the Government in recent years benefit the twos more than the ones.
There are a lot of single people out there and, according to the most recent census data, the number is climbing. Almost a quarter of Irish adults now live in one-person households, with Eurostat confirming that those census figures are replicated across the EU.
People in long-term relationships – irrespective of their marital status – are likely to spend a lot less on everything from homes and holidays to gyms and income tax than single people.
But how much less? Well, according to some estimates, a single person will have to fork out as much as €300,000 more over the course of half a lifetime than someone who is in a couple. By our own calculations, the financial penalty for being single could be even more severe than that.
So where does all the money go? It goes everywhere.
1. Housing
The cost of a home – either rented or bought – is the single biggest expense most people have over the course of their lives, and single people end up paying far more per head than couples whether they are renters or buyers. It is also much harder for them to even find a home in the first place.
The cost of a modestly sized home to rent in Dublin right now is more than €2,000 a month. Rents at that level see couples paying €1,000 each which is, of course, half what the single person pays.
The actual cost to the single person is higher again when one-off cost-of-living measures introduced by the Government in recent years are added to the equation. When rental tax credits were introduced a few years ago, they gave the renting cohort €500 a year back. That climbed to €750 and it was upped again in the most recent budget to €1,000 per person per year – a figure which was backdated to cover 2024 too.
As a result of the credit, a renting couple will benefit to the tune of €2,000 while a person renting on their own will get €1,000. When the rent differential and tax credits are added together, a single person renting a modestly sized home in Dublin will end up worse off by €13,000 in a single year.
It isn’t much better for those trying to buy or those who have already bought. Qualifying for a mortgage can be incredibly challenging for the single person. Strict rules on borrowing limits mean there is a loan-to-income limit of four times your salary.
That means a single person wishing to buy a home costing €400,000 needs to earn almost €100,000 and save a deposit of €40,000. A couple where each person earns €50,000 can buy the same house. The couple can also split the mortgage payments, a luxury not afforded to the single person.
2. Energy
A single person uses less energy than a couple for sure but perhaps not as much as you might think. Cooking dinner and heating and lighting a home costs the same whether it is being done for the benefit of one or two people. As a result, the difference when it comes to energy bills is not really that significant.
A couple who live in a three-bed house can expect to spend €3,000 annually on energy. Assuming the bill is split evenly, the cost is €1,500 per person per year. A single person living in the same house, even if they spend 25 per cent less on energy, will still spend €2,250 which amounts to €750 more than each of the couple.
3. TV/broadband
When it comes to TV and broadband, the single person has to pay the same as the couple almost across the board even though they are only watching for one and not two. The TV licence of €160 is the same, the television and broadband bundles from all the main providers cost the same regardless of users, and the streaming services are the same.
True, there are savings to be made on mobile phones but if we say the cost of telecoms, TV and streaming is €100 a month with mobile phones costing €40, the couple will pay €2,160 or €1,080 each. A single person, meanwhile, has to spend €1,680 or €600 more than each of the couple.
4. Motor insurance
Motor insurance companies alter their quotes based on your marital status. They say they do this because they have actuarial evidence which suggests that being part of a couple makes you less likely to make a claim – and we have no option but to trust them on that score.
For a fully comprehensive policy covering a middle-of-the-road car, a single person with a good no-claims bonus can expect to pay about €600. Some policies cost more, some cost less but that is as good a point to land as any.
A couple insured on the same car can expect to pay about €800, which works out as €200 less each than the single person.
5. Tax
The tax code certainly does not favour the single person. Someone who is not part of a married couple and who earns a salary of €100,000 a year – which is by any measure good – will end up paying thousands of euro a year more in tax than a couple who earn €50,000 each.
If both the single person and the couple work for 40 years and nothing changes in terms of their salary and the level of tax they have to pay, the couple will end up paying well over €100,000 less in tax than the single person with exactly the same household income.
6. Inheritance
Married couples can give gifts and inheritances to each other tax-free, regardless of the amount while, as part of Budget 2025, parents can now leave their children €400,000 each – up from €335,000 previously – over their lifetime without the child becoming liable for capital acquisitions tax (CAT). Couples who inherit larger sums have the potential, with advance planning, of sharing the benefit with their partner and reducing their tax liability – an option that is not there for the single person.
The news is even more unfair for single people with no children as the CAT tax-free ceiling if leaving money to brothers, sisters, nephews or nieces is just €40,000.
7. Holidays
Single people are routinely expected to pay a premium for holidays. If a room in an Irish hotel is €200, it works out at €100 per person but is twice that for a single person who is not sharing.
And then you have single supplements, which are imposed by many tour operators and hotels on the basis that the prices of holidays advertised are based on “per person sharing”. Depending on where you go and who you book with, supplements can range from 125-200 per cent of the per-person price paid by couples.
8. Food
The second most expensive cost for most households – irrespective of their size – is food. The average weekly grocery spend for a couple in Ireland is about €150 a week, while a single person will need to spend about €100 – or €25 more than each of the individuals in the couple.
The actual spend is not the only part of the story, however, as many packets and portion sizes are geared towards couples and families and not for single people. Spread over the course of a year, the single person is likely to spend at least €1,000 more on their supermarket shopping.
9. Entertainment
Then there is entertainment. Couples can share the cost of everything from taxis and treats at the cinema to bottles of wine and takeout meals where the singleton has to bear much of these costs alone.
10. Good news
While it is bleak – financially at any rate – for single people, it is not all bad news. There are some areas where they get to claw back some cash. They are saved the cost of Christmas, birthday and Valentine’s Day presents, which, if spread over the course of a lifetime, could save someone at least €25,000.
And they don’t have to contend with people snoring in their beds and hogging the TV remote either.
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