Ireland payroll runs through Revenue, the Irish tax administration, on a real-time basis: an employer registers for PAYE, then reports each employee's pay and deductions to Revenue on or before every payday, with income tax, the Universal Social Charge and Pay Related Social Insurance all handled through the payroll submission. Since January 2024, Enhanced Reporting Requirements extend real-time reporting to certain non-taxable payments such as travel and subsistence. The employer also pays its own PRSI contribution on top of gross pay, which is the main employer-side on-cost. The figures below come from Revenue's own pages; they change at each Budget, so the year matters when reading any Irish payroll number.
Registration and real-time reporting
Before paying anyone, a business registers as an employer with Revenue for PAYE purposes. From then on the model is submission per payday: payroll software reports pay, deductions and statutory details to Revenue in real time, and Revenue's systems reconcile employee tax positions continuously rather than at year end. Revenue's employer guidance covers the cycle from registration through payroll submissions to the transition between tax years, and the Enhanced Reporting Requirements in force since January 2024 add real-time reporting of certain expense and benefit payments made without deduction of tax. The practical consequence is that Irish payroll compliance is visible to the authority as it happens; late or missing submissions surface immediately rather than at an annual filing.
The deduction stack: income tax, USC, PRSI
Three deductions come out of gross pay. Income tax is withheld under PAYE according to the employee's Revenue-issued credits and rate bands. The Universal Social Charge is a separate tax on gross income: for 2026, Revenue's published standard rates are 0.5% on the first EUR 12,012, 2% on the next EUR 16,688, 3% on the next EUR 41,344 and 8% on the balance, with total income of EUR 13,000 or less exempt entirely. PRSI, Pay Related Social Insurance, is deducted from the employee and paid by the employer at class-based rates, with most private-sector employees in Class A; the employer's PRSI contribution is charged on top of gross pay rather than deducted from it, and current class rates are published by Revenue and the Department of Social Protection.
What the employer actually pays beyond salary
The employer's own PRSI contribution is the principal statutory on-cost of Irish employment, calculated as a percentage of each employee's pay by PRSI class and remitted with the payroll taxes each month. On top of that sit the obligations that do not show on a payslip: statutory leave entitlements, public holidays, auto-enrolment pension duties as they phase in, and the reporting burden above. Ireland has no general employer-funded health insurance mandate, and there is no separate payroll tax beyond PRSI, which keeps the on-cost arithmetic simpler than most of continental Europe. Rates and thresholds move at each Budget; the safe habit is to read the current year's figures from Revenue's own pages, which are linked below, rather than from any secondary summary, this page included.
Irish entity or employer of record
A company with an Irish entity registers as an employer and runs this machinery directly or through a payroll bureau. A company without one can hire through an employer of record: the EOR's Irish entity is the legal employer, operates PAYE, USC and PRSI in real time, and issues a contract compliant with Irish employment law, while the hire works for you. Ireland is a common first EOR country for US companies because of language and time zone, and most vendors in this site's index publish Irish coverage; their per-employee monthly fees are shown verbatim in the comparison table. The crossover to running your own entity comes with headcount, or when the business needs the entity anyway for contracts or tax reasons. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
Questions people ask about ireland payroll
What is real-time PAYE reporting in Ireland?
Employers report pay and deductions to Revenue on or before each payday rather than annually, and since January 2024 the Enhanced Reporting Requirements extend this to certain non-taxable payments such as travel and subsistence. Revenue reconciles employee positions continuously.
What are the USC rates for 2026?
Per Revenue's published thresholds: 0.5% on the first EUR 12,012, 2% on the next EUR 16,688, 3% on the next EUR 41,344 and 8% on the balance, with income of EUR 13,000 or less exempt from USC altogether.
What does an Irish employer pay on top of gross salary?
Employer PRSI, charged as a percentage of pay by PRSI class on top of gross salary, is the main statutory on-cost; the current class rates are published by Revenue and the Department of Social Protection and change with Budgets, so read the year's figures at source.
Can I employ someone in Ireland without an Irish entity?
Yes, through an employer of record whose Irish entity becomes the legal employer and runs PAYE, USC and PRSI. Compare the EOR's monthly fee against entity setup plus a payroll bureau at your expected Irish headcount.