What Is the ICOB Grant & Do I Qualify?

What is the Increased Cost Of Business Grant Scheme(ICOB) And Do I Qualify?

As part of Budget 2024 the Government announced the introduction of The Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) grant in Ireland.  The main purpose of the grant being to provide support from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) to those businesses most affected by the burden of ever increasing costs.

The grant was designed to assist businesses with the increased cost of doing business, particularly in areas such as rising rents, labour and energy costs.   

In total the Government has signed off on a package of €257m for the Scheme offering eligible small to medium sized businesses a one off grant payment, based on their commercial rates bills.

The scheme will be administered through local authorities and will be funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE).

How Do I Know If I Am Eligible?

In order to qualify for the ICOB grant your business must meet the following criteria:

• Your business must be a commercially trading business which currently operates from a property that is commercially rateable.(Businesses who do not have rateable premises are not covered by this scheme.)
• Your business must have a commercial rates bill of equal to or <€30,000 for 2023.
• Your business must have been trading on 1st February 2024 and you must intend to continue trading for at least three months from the date you verify your information.
• You must provide confirmation of your bank details.
• Your business must be rates compliant. Businesses in performing payment plans may be deemed to be compliant.
• Your business must be tax compliant and must possess a valid Tax Registration Number (TRN).

What Is The Value Of This Grant To My Business?

A business will be judged for eligibility based on their commercial rates paid in 2023.  Eligible businesses will receive the following:

How Do I Apply For This Grant

As the scheme is operated through your local authority you should keep an eye on your local authorities website in order to avail of up to date information in relation to the application processes concerning the ICOB grant in your area.

In general businesses are encouraged to use the ICOB portal, accessible via www.icob.ie. to complete applications.  You will need your LAID number, this is the Rate Number on the top right hand side of your Rates Bill.

Note: As of May 15th a second grant payment has been included for the Hospitality & Retail sectors.

Second Grant Payment For The Hospitality & Retail sectors:( Announced May 15th 2024)

A second grant is now available for eligible businesses operating in the retail and hospitality sectors.  The value of this grant is equal to that of the initial grant.

For businesses operating in these sectors who are already registered, there is no need to re-register to avail of this seond payment.  An email will be issued once the second payment has been processed notifying you of same.

In order for this decision to be implemented your business type needs to be classified correctly as operating in the retail or hospitality sectors.  Therefore should you believe your business to be incorrectly classified it is essential that you log into your MyCoCo account to update your self declared business type.

When Is The Closing Date?

The closing date for businesses to confirm eligibility and to upload verification details will be 1st May 2024.

Note: As of the 15th May 2024 the deadline has been re-opended until the 29th May 2024.

FAQ’s Doc In relation to ICBO Grant.

Should you require any assistance with your ICOB grant application please do not hesitate to contact a member of the DBASS team on info@dbass.ie or 01 849 88 00, we would be happy to help.