Moving to Ireland for work: how your salary is taxed

How your salary is taxed

Income tax

A single person pays 20% on the first €44,000 of income (the standard rate band) and 40% on everything above it. The band is larger for single parents (€48,000) and married couples. Tax credits are then subtracted from the tax:

• Personal tax credit: €2,000 for a single person.
• Employee tax credit: €2,000 if you are paid through payroll.
• Rent Tax Credit: up to €1,000 if you rent your home privately. You claim it yourself; on €50,000 it adds +€1,000 a year.

Universal Social Charge (USC)

USC is charged on your gross income in bands. If your income is €13,000 or less, you pay no USC at all.

PRSI

Employee PRSI (social insurance) is 4.2% of all your pay if you earn more than €352 a week, rising to 4.35% from 1 October 2026. There is no upper limit. A small PRSI credit reduces the charge for pay just above the threshold.

Worked example: €50,000 a year

Take-home pay at common salaries

Single PAYE employee, 2026 rates, no pension.

Emergency tax on your first payslips

Your employer can only apply your tax credits and rate band once Revenue sends it a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) for you. Until then it must use emergency tax:

• You have given your employer your PPSN: you get no tax credits. If you are paid weekly, the first €846.16 a week is taxed at 20% for weeks 1 to 4; if you are paid monthly, the first €3,666.67 of month 1. After that, all your pay is taxed at 40%.
• You have not given a PPSN: all pay is taxed at 40%, with no credits.
• USC is charged at a flat 8% on all pay in both cases. Emergency tax affects only income tax and USC.

The fix is simple: get your PPSN and register the job in Revenue myAccount. Your employer then receives an RPN, recalculates your tax from 1 January, and refunds the income tax and USC you overpaid on your next payday. Our emergency tax guide and calculator shows how much you are overpaying and how to get it back.

Tax residence and your first year

You are tax resident in Ireland for a year if you:

• spend 183 days or more in Ireland in that tax year, or
• spend 280 days or more in Ireland over that year and the previous one together (a year with 30 days or fewer is not counted).

A day counts if you are in Ireland for any part of it. If you arrive too late in the year to pass either test but will be resident the following year, you can choose to be treated as resident from the year you arrive, by telling Revenue in writing.

Split-year relief protects salary you earned abroad before moving. If you are resident in the year you arrive, were not resident the year before and will be resident the year after, employment income from before your arrival date is not taxed in Ireland. It covers employment income only, and you claim it through MyEnquiries or your Income Tax Return in myAccount.

SARP for intra-company transferees

Ireland has no general expat regime, but the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) helps people assigned to Ireland by their own employer group. For arrivals from 2026 it applies if your basic salary is at least €125,000: 30% of your income between €125,000 and €1,000,000 is not charged to income tax. On €200,000 that takes €22,500 out of income tax, worth up to €9,000 a year. The main conditions:

• You worked for the group abroad for at least six months before the assignment.
• You were not tax resident in Ireland in the previous five tax years, and you arrive by the end of 2030.
• You work in Ireland for at least 12 months in a row, and your employer certifies your eligibility within 90 days of your arrival.

The relief lasts up to five years and does not reduce USC. People who arrived from 2023 to 2025 keep the earlier €100,000 threshold. SARP is not included in our calculator.

My Future Fund: pension auto-enrolment

Since 1 January 2026, employees aged between 23 and 60 who are not paying into any pension through payroll and earn about €20,000 or more a year across all their jobs are automatically enrolled in My Future Fund. You pay 1.5% of your gross pay from your take-home pay, your employer adds 1.5% and the State 0.5%, on pay up to €80,000. The Ireland calculator can include it.

First steps after you arrive

1. Apply for a PPSN (Personal Public Service Number) once you are in Ireland: book through MyWelfare with a basic MyGovID account, then attend an appointment with proof of identity, proof of address and the reason you need it, such as a new job. The number arrives by post.
2. Register for Revenue myAccount and register your first job under PAYE Services, Add Job or Pension details. You need your employer's tax registration number, your start date and how often you are paid. Your employer then gets your tax details and you avoid emergency tax.
3. Check your first payslips for emergency tax and your credits.
4. Claim the Rent Tax Credit in myAccount if you rent privately, and check other credits you may be due.
5. Decide about pensions: join your employer's scheme if there is one; otherwise you are enrolled in My Future Fund.

Do you need to file a tax return?

Not if your only income is a salary taxed through payroll: the tax is settled each payday. You can still file an Income Tax Return in myAccount to claim credits you did not get during the year, such as the Rent Tax Credit or medical expenses, and claim back overpaid tax for up to four years. If you have other income, such as rent or foreign investment income, you must declare it; above €5,000 of taxable non-PAYE income you have to register for self-assessment and file a Form 11 instead.

What changes in 2027

Budget 2027, presented on 6 October 2026, changes these for 2027 once the Finance Bill is passed:

• The standard rate band rises from €44,000 to €46,500 for a single person.
• The personal and employee credits rise to €2,125 each, and the Rent Tax Credit to €1,150.
• The 2% USC band is extended to €30,300.
• Employee PRSI stays at 4.35% and rises to 4.5% from 1 October 2027.

On €50,000 that is +€691 a year. See every Budget 2027 change.

Sources

• Revenue: tax rates, bands and reliefs
• Revenue: Universal Social Charge
• Revenue: emergency tax rules
• Revenue: getting off emergency tax
• Revenue: tax residence
• Revenue: split-year treatment in your year of arrival
• Revenue: SARP conditions
• Revenue: add a job or pension in myAccount
• gov.ie: get a PPS number
• Revenue: do you need to submit a tax return?
• gov.ie: auto-enrolment questions answered
• Department of Finance: Budget 2027 tax policy changes
• Our methodology and the full list of sources for the calculator

Frequently asked questions

This guide explains the general rules for employees and is not personal tax advice. Rules change and individual situations differ, so check with the tax authority or a tax adviser before making decisions. Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected].