PAYE in Ireland explained

Step 01

What PAYE means in Ireland

PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn. If you are an employee in Ireland, you normally pay tax through PAYE. Every time you are paid, your employer deducts: • Income Tax • Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) • Universal Social Charge (USC) • Local Property Tax (LPT) at source, if applicable Your employer pays those amounts to Revenue. PAYE spreads your yearly liability across paydays. The same system can also deduct tax from an occupational pension from a previous employer. This page is about **Revenue / Ireland** PAYE — not the UK’s PAYE Online or “PAYE Anytime” products.

Step 02

Tax credits, TCC, and RPN

Tax credits reduce the Income Tax you pay. Under PAYE they are spread evenly across the year (weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or four-weekly, depending on how you are paid). Unused credits in a period carry forward within the same tax year only — you cannot refund them or carry them into another year. Your **Tax Credit Certificate (TCC)** in myAccount lists credits, reliefs, rate bands, USC rates/bands, and your employment identifier. Revenue sends your employer a **Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN)** with **totals** only — not a breakdown of each credit. Revenue’s 2026 examples (published on “How tax credits work”) show a single employee with a **€2,000** Single Person Tax Credit and **€2,000** Employee Tax Credit (€4,000 total). A joint-assessment example uses a **€4,000** Married Person’s Tax Credit, **€2,000** Employee Tax Credit, and **€1,950** Home Carer Tax Credit. Claim and confirm your own entitlements in myAccount — amounts can differ.

First job in Ireland: register in myAccount promptly. Missing registration can mean emergency tax until Revenue and your employer have the right notifications.

Step 03

USC and PRSI on the payslip

USC and PRSI are separate from Income Tax but usually appear on the same payslip under PAYE withholding. For USC rate bands and year-to-year changes, see our USC rates guide. For PRSI classes and rates, use Revenue / DSP primary pages (and our PRSI guide when published).

Step 04

Check with Revenue

Use myAccount to manage tax for the current year, view your TCC, add your first job or pension where required, and submit a PAYE Income Tax Return to review earlier years (Revenue notes the previous four tax years for PAYE customers). Counttaxes does not change your PAYE record. An Ireland take-home calculator is coming later — until then, use Revenue tools for live credits and deductions.

Educational content only. Confirm figures on your TCC, RPN, and payslip.