The Difference between Our Professional Tax Qualifications

As Ireland’s only professional body exclusively dedicated to tax, we developed three professional tax qualifications – Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA), Tax Technician and Diploma in Tax – to suit the needs of a wide range of individuals. Leading through tax education, our courses and syllabi are continuously developed to ensure our students and graduates have the key skills and knowledge needed for them to their work and enhance their expertise.

Our Summer 2026 courses are open for registration. Use the comparison below to figure out which of our qualifications suits you and your needs.

Professional Tax Qualification Comparison

 
CTA
Tax Technician
Diploma in Tax
Entry requirements
NFQ Level 8 (Honour’s degree) or equivalentNFQ Level 5 (Leaving Cert) or equivalentAcademic or professional qualification with tax modules 
Other entry routes 
Yes – recognition of prior learningYes – recognition of prior learningYes – mutual recognition
Format
  • Online lectures
  • Independent study
  • Three Parts to complete
  • Online lectures
  • Independent study
  • Four modules to complete
  • Online lectures
  • Independent study
  • Seven modules over seven months
Exemptions
YesNoNo
Assessment
  • Online exams
  • Two exam sittings per year
  • Sit all exams in a Part per sitting
  • Online exams
  • Two exam sittings per year
  • Sit between one and four exams per sitting
  • Three multi-disciplinary assignments
  • Released and due throughout the programme
Who is it for

The CTA qualification suits

  • graduates from all disciplines
  • accounting and finance professionals
  • legal professionals
  • tax specialists in the public sector

The Tax Technician suits people

  • working in compliance roles
  • wanting to retrain or change career
  • looking to gain a basic understanding of a wide range of tax heads

The Diploma in Tax is ideal for

  • accountants and finance professionals
  • tax professionals looking to learn Irish law
  • individuals needing a better understanding of tax for their roles
  • individuals wanting to support their years of working with tax with a diploma
Registration
Register now for the CTARegister now for Tax TechnicianExpress your interest in the Diploma
Learn more
CTA HandbookTax Technician HandbookDiploma in Tax Handbook

Talk to our Education Team

If you have further questions, you can email the team at students@taxinstitute.ie or call 01 663 1700.

Written by Irish Tax Institute

April 07, 2026

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