Payroll in Ireland 2026: PAYE, USC, PRSI and payslips

In Ireland the employer runs PAYE in real time: it retrieves each employee's Revenue Payroll Notification, deducts income tax, the Universal Social Charge (USC) and employee PRSI (4.35% from October 2026) from every payment and reports to Revenue on or before payday. The employer adds PRSI of 11.40%, or 9.15% on lower weekly pay.

Payroll in Ireland at a glance

PRSI and auto-enrolment contributions

Most employees pay Pay Related Social Insurance under Class A. The weekly income band decides the subclass; the rate then applies to all earnings, with no upper ceiling. Rates from 1 October 2026:

• The October increase. On 1 October 2026 every PRSI rate rose by 0.15 points: up to 30 September the employee rate was 4.20% and the employer rates 9.00% and 11.25%. The €552 threshold has applied since 1 January 2026.
• PRSI credit. At €352.01 a week the credit is €12; it is reduced by one-sixth of earnings above €352.01 and disappears above €424.
• Budget 2027. The weekly threshold for the higher employer rate is due to rise from €552 to €600 from 1 January 2027.

MyFutureFund is the new auto-enrolment pension, in place since 1 January 2026. Employees aged 23 to 60 who earn €20,000 or more a year across all employments and do not pay into a pension through payroll are enrolled automatically.

Employer and State contributions stop once salary reaches €80,000 in the year. The employee's contribution gets no tax relief: the State top-up takes its place. Employees can opt out only after 6 months, within a 2-month window.

Income tax and USC on salaries

Revenue sends each employee's tax credits and standard rate cut-off point to the employer in the Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN). You must use the latest RPN for every payroll run; if you cannot retrieve one, you must operate the emergency basis. The 2026 rate bands:

The tax is then reduced by tax credits: a single person normally has the Personal Tax Credit of €2,000 and the Employee (PAYE) Tax Credit of €2,000; a married couple or civil partners share a Personal Tax Credit of €4,000.

USC is a separate tax on total income. Once total income exceeds €13,000 a year it applies to all of it; some people pay reduced rates. Standard rates for 2026:

Budget 2027, announced on 6 October 2026, is set to raise the standard rate band for a single person to €46,500, the personal and employee tax credits to €2,125 each and the ceiling of the 2% USC band to €30,300 from 2027. The changes still have to be legislated.

Minimum wage, working time and mandatory pay

• National minimum wage: €14.15 an hour since 1 January 2026 for workers aged 20 and over; €12.74 at 19, €11.32 at 18 and €9.91 under 18. Overtime, unsocial-hours and Sunday premiums do not count towards the minimum wage. Budget 2027 announced an increase to €14.94 from 1 January 2027, which requires legislation.
• No 13th salary. Irish law does not require a 13th month or holiday bonus.
• Annual leave. Most employees are entitled to 4 working weeks of paid annual leave a year; an employee who works at least 1,365 hours in the leave year gets the full 4 weeks.
• Statutory sick pay. After 13 weeks' service, employees are entitled to 5 days' sick pay a year at 70% of normal pay, up to €110 a day, from the first day of certified sick leave.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

1. 1Before paying your first employee: register as an employer with Revenue through MyEnquiries in ROS. A company must register and operate PAYE on its directors' pay even if it has no other employees.
2. 2Before each payroll run: request the latest RPN for each employee, through your payroll software or ROS.
3. 3On or before each pay date: send a payroll submission with the pay date, the pay and the deductions for income tax, USC, PRSI and LPT.
4. 4By the 5th of the following month: Revenue makes the monthly statement available, totalling the submissions for the month.
5. 5By the 14th: accept or correct the statement; if you do nothing, Revenue deems it to be your monthly return on the 14th.
6. 6Payment: within 14 days of the end of the month, or 23 days if you file and pay through ROS. Employers whose income tax, PRSI and USC come to €28,800 or less a year can apply to pay quarterly after 12 months of registration.

Payslips. Under section 4 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 the employer must give a payslip every time it pays, at the time of payment or shortly after, showing gross pay and every deduction. It can be printed or electronic.

MyFutureFund. Employers register on the MyFutureFund employer portal; the employer must participate for every employee who is enrolled or opts in.

Worked example: €4,000 a month

A single employee with no children, aged 30, paid €4,000 gross a month (€48,000 a year, about €923 a week), standard credits of €4,000 a year, enrolled in MyFutureFund, for a month paid from October 2026:

The monthly cut-off point is €44,000 ÷ 12 = €3,666.67 and the monthly credits €4,000 ÷ 12 = €333.33; over the year that gives income tax of €6,400 and USC of €972.82. The State adds €20.00 a month to the employee's MyFutureFund account. For a month paid before 1 October 2026, PRSI was €168.00 for the employee and €450.00 for the employer.

Common mistakes

1. 1Running payroll without the latest RPN, so the credits and cut-off point are out of date.
2. 2Reporting after payday. The payroll submission is due on or before the pay date.
3. 3Keeping the old PRSI rates after 1 October 2026 (4.20%, 9.00% and 11.25%).
4. 4Applying the higher employer rate below €552 a week, or the lower rate above it.
5. 5Forgetting the PRSI credit for weekly pay between €352.01 and €424.
6. 6Not enrolling an eligible employee in MyFutureFund, or deducting the contribution without paying the employer's share.
7. 7Leaving the monthly statement unchecked until it is deemed your return on the 14th.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly ships a built-in payroll profile for Ireland: income tax and USC as modelled bands, the employee and employer PRSI rates in force from 1 October 2026 and the minimum wage, checked against official sources on 1 October 2026. It calculates gross to net and the employer contributions, produces payslips, and supports recurring payroll adjustments and imports of employees and payroll data; an administrator can adjust the rates in the payroll tax settings.

The profile models one employee in a primary job, single, without dependants, on the standard credits, so the credits and cut-off point on each employee's RPN, the PRSI credit, the lower employer PRSI rate, the USC exemption and MyFutureFund must be checked against Revenue's figures.

Alongside payroll, the human resources module handles leave requests and approvals with a leave calendar and HR documents, and attendance and time tracking records working hours and overtime. To close the books after the payroll run, see our month-end close checklist.