Payroll services for Irish employers

What does an employer have to do under PAYE modernisation?

You must report each employee's pay, tax and deductions to Revenue on or before the day you pay them. This real-time reporting, known as PAYE modernisation, has applied since 1 January 2019. Each payroll submission uses the tax credits and rate band on the employee's Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN), so the RPN has to be in place before the first payday.

Getting it wrong is costly. Failing to send a return or notification, or to make or pay over deductions, can lead to a penalty of €4,000, and where the employer is a company, a separate €3,000 penalty on the company secretary.

When do you pay PAYE, PRSI and USC to Revenue?

After each month, Revenue builds a monthly statement from your payroll submissions. You check it and correct anything wrong; if you do nothing, it becomes your return on the 14th of the following month.

How much is employer PRSI in 2026?

Employer PRSI for most employees (Class A) depends on weekly pay. From 1 October 2026 it is 9.15% where weekly pay is €552 or less, and 11.40% on all pay where it is more than €552. The employee rate is 4.35%, with no employee PRSI up to €352 a week and a reduced charge up to €424. Before 1 October 2026 the rates were 9% and 11.25% for employers and 4.2% for employees.

What is pension auto-enrolment and what does it cost?

Since 1 January 2026, employees aged 23 to 59 who earn €20,000 or more a year and do not pay into a pension through payroll are enrolled in MyFutureFund. The employee and employer each pay 1.5% of gross pay and the State adds 0.5%. Rates rise every three years to 6% each from 2035. Contributions from the employee, the employer and the State stop once pay passes €80,000 in a year.

Employee and employer contributions appear on the payslip. An employee can opt out only after six months, in a two-month window, and the employer's contributions stay in the fund.

Read more: pension auto-enrolment in Ireland: what employers must do.

What happens when someone starts or leaves?

Before a new employee's first payday, you request an RPN from Revenue using their PPSN and start date. Without an RPN, emergency tax applies. When someone leaves, the last day they worked goes on their final payroll submission as the date of leaving, so their next employer gets the right tax details.

How are benefits in kind and staff rewards taxed?

A benefit in kind, such as a company car, is taxed like pay: you deduct income tax, PRSI and USC on its value through payroll. The small benefit exemption is the exception. You can give each employee up to five non-cash benefits a year, such as vouchers, worth up to €1,500 in total, tax-free. Vouchers that can be exchanged for cash do not qualify, and each benefit must be reported to Revenue.