# ACRES payment dates 2026: when the money actually lands — and what to do if yours doesn't *Published 2026-07-08 by FarmAI Ireland* ::: official-advice-banner This article discusses CAP scheme payments. Payment timelines can shift between scheme years — always confirm your own case with DAFM or your ACRES advisor. ::: ACRES pays in two instalments: an advance from November, and a balancing payment the following year. For the 2025 scheme year, advances began issuing in early November 2025, and DAFM scheduled balancing payments from late May 2026. If you're up to date, you've had both. If you haven't, there's a query on your case — and it won't fix itself. Here's the payment rhythm, and the three checks to run if your money hasn't landed. --- ## How do ACRES payments work? Your ACRES contract pays a set amount per year — up to €7,311 on the General track, up to €10,500 on Co-operation — based on the actions in your approved plan. Curious what your actions are worth? Our free [ACRES Payment Estimator](/tools/acres-estimator) uses the DAFM rate card. The year's payment splits in two: 1. **The advance** — the bulk of the payment, issuing from November of the scheme year. 2. **The balance** — the remainder, issuing from May–June of the following year, once all checks and inspections are closed off. DAFM reported 96% of participants up to date on their 2025 payments. That's the good news. The bad news: if you're in the other 4%, the delay is nearly always a specific, fixable problem. --- ## Why would an ACRES payment be late? Three causes come up again and again: **1. An open query on your scores or evidence.** Results-based actions like low-input grassland pay €250–€400/ha depending on your field score. If your scorecard or annual evidence — photos, records of works — is incomplete, payment on those parcels waits. **2. A cross-scheme hold-up.** ACRES payments can wait behind unresolved issues on your BISS application — land parcel discrepancies especially. If your parcels changed this year, check both schemes, not just one. Our [BISS hub](/schemes/biss) covers the entitlement checks. **3. Non-productive investment (NPI) paperwork.** On the Co-operation track, NPI claims have their own approval and payment run. A missing invoice or an unapproved works claim stalls that portion without affecting the rest. --- ## What to do if your payment hasn't arrived 1. **Check your ACRES correspondence on [agfood.ie](https://www.agfood.ie).** Most payment holds show up as a query letter you may have missed. 2. **Ring your advisor or planner first.** They can see your case status and resolve evidence queries directly — that's what they're paid for. 3. **If it's still stuck, contact DAFM's ACRES section** through the details on the [official scheme page](https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-agriculture-food-and-the-marine/services/agri-climate-rural-environment-scheme-acres/). Have your herd number and tranche ready. Keep a simple log of your annual evidence as you go — dates, photos, works done. Every payment query gets resolved faster when the records exist. Our guide to [ACRES compliance across all your parcels](/read/save-hours-every-month-on-acres-compliance-across-all-your-p) shows a system that takes minutes a month. --- ## Common questions **When are ACRES payments made?** Advances issue from November of the scheme year, balancing payments from May–June of the following year. For 2025: advances from early November 2025, with balancing payments scheduled from late May 2026. **How much is the ACRES payment?** Up to €7,311 per year on ACRES General and up to €10,500 on ACRES Co-operation, depending on the actions in your plan and your field scores on results-based measures. **Who do I contact about a late ACRES payment?** Start with your ACRES advisor or planner — they can see your case status. If the issue is with DAFM directly, use the contact details on the official ACRES page on gov.ie, with your herd number to hand. --- ## The bottom line ACRES money moves on a rhythm — November and late May. If yours didn't, there's a query with your name on it, and the fastest fix is a phone call to your advisor this week, not a wait until the next payment run. *Everything we've published on ACRES — payment rates, paperwork guides, and the free [ACRES Payment Estimator](/tools/acres-estimator) — is gathered on our [ACRES hub](/schemes/acres).* --- ## Sources - [DAFM — ACRES Scheme](https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-agriculture-food-and-the-marine/services/agri-climate-rural-environment-scheme-acres/) — Official scheme page with terms, conditions, and payment updates - [Agriland — DAFM ACRES payment updates](https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/dafm-updates-farmers-on-acres-payment-progress/) — Reporting on DAFM's ACRES payment progress and timelines - [DAFM — ACRES payment rates (PDF)](https://assets.gov.ie/231652/ae01f6df-6396-454b-bd4c-26fff0bcb7d0.pdf) — The official rate card: payments per measure for General and Co-operation tracks --- *Source: [FarmAI Ireland](https://farmai.ie/read/acres-payment-dates-2026-when-the-money-lands)*